OUR MISSION
The Académie des beaux-arts de Québec is a private educational institution unique in Québec City. Our academic training is directly inspired by the teachings given at the European art academies during the 19th Century.
Since the closure of the Fine Arts schools of Quebec and Montreal in 1969, no teaching of classical techniques of drawing and painting has been taught in public institutions.
Our mission is to preserve, promote and disseminate this ancestral knowledge which is the foundation of realistic figurative art. The Academy's teachers are integral figurative artists who are keen to share their knowledge and experience with you.
Build with us a modern figurative art populated with high-quality works carried out according to the rules of art.
The Academy focuses its teachings on the acquisition of classical techniques applied to fine arts. The mediums we use include: graphite, charcoal, pastel and oil paint. Some peripheral courses are offered to allow you to improve your global knowledge of visual arts: perspective course, the study of artistic anatomy, photography and Photoshop, model drawing ateliers, etc.
All subjects are integrated (still-life, landscape, etc.) However, the Academy specializes in portraiture.
TOWARDS WHOM OUR TRAINING IS DIRECTED.
FOR ADULTS
Our courses for adults are ideal for both beginner painters, who want to start their practice on the right foot, as well as for advanced painters who are looking for a finer training. Professional painters will surely acquire new knowledge and improve certain aspects of their work.
FOR KIDS
We offer a complete training for children aged between 8 and 16. They are usually fast learners when rightly motivated. We want to encourage our young artists to realize their ideas fueled by their passion for fine arts with teachings adapted to their learning process. We want to keep their learning fun and efficient so parents can witness the artistic growth of their young ones.
HOMEWORK AND EXERCISES - NECESSARY TIME TO DEDICATE BETWEEN LESSONS:
The material and knowledge transmitted to you during the lessons must be assimilated by exercises to be done at home. Before committing you must make sure you have the time and the determination to draw or paint between two classes. The seriousness of your implication will determine the speed and effectiveness of your learning in the fine arts.
COURSE FREQUENCY
Courses FOR ADULTS are given in 3 hours per weeks or 6 hours per 2 weeks blocks. For YOUNG PEOPLE, a course usually lasts 2 hours. The school year is divided into two semesters: fall and winter-spring.
FREE INTERVIEW
We usually schedule a first meeting with every new student to orient him or her in our curriculum. This also allows new students to get acquainted with the environment in which they will grow as artists and gives them the opportunity to talk about their personal objectives.
ENROLLMENT ALWAYS OPEN
Our teaching is very adapted to the individual, students can enroll whenever they feel they are ready and integrate in a group during a session. The price is re-evaluated according to the number of classes taken.
DIPLOMAS AND CERTIFICATES
The student is eligible for a diploma after completing the totality of our training.
The student is eligible for a certificate of studies for successfully completing all the exercises of a given course.
SUMMARY OF OUR TEACHING
Two complementary disciplines are taught at the Academy: drawing and painting.
The learning of those disciplines is proposed to you through progressive degrees of difficulty. The learning of drawing precedes painting since an impeccable painting rests on a solid base of drawing.
The three mediums taught in order: graphite-charcoal, dry pastel and oil painting allow a gradual integration of skills to master; starting with drawing and progressing to painting. In a drawing made with graphite, charcoal or dry pastel, the paper support is always present while painting involves completely covering the support. Pastel allows to draw and paint. It thus offers a valuable intermediary between drawing and oil painting. First used in gray or monochrome values, it allows the student to be initiated to the color and the manipulation of the material directly on the support.
OUR EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR ADULTS
LEVEL 1, 2 AND 3 : OBSERVATION DRAWING - GRAPHITE PENCIL AND CHARCOAL
LEVEL 1: INTRODUCTION TO OBSERVATION DRAWING WITH: GRAPHITE, CHARCOAL OR PASTEL.
LEVEL 2: FROM THE LINEAR DRAWING, TO MASS DRAWING
LEVEL 3: FROM SKETCH TO RENDERING
LEVEL 4, 5 AND 6 : DRY PASTEL – BLACK AND WHITE TO COLOR
LEVEL 4: PAINT WITH PASTEL IN GRAY VALUES
LEVEL 5: SWITCH FROM GRAY VALUES TO COLOR
LEVEL 6: PAINT WITH PASTEL IN FULL COLORS
LEVEL 7, 8, 9 AND 10 : OIL PANTING – DEMI-PÂTE FRANÇAISE
LEVEL 7: THE SECRETS OF OIL PAINTING # 1 AND #2
Note: this training is an essential prerequisite for oil painting classes. It takes place during a full day but without a fixed date. When four people have expressed their interest on the site, a date is fixed for the course and we proceed to the registration.
Note: This training is given over 2 full days but without a fixed date. When four people have expressed their interest on the site, a date is fixed for the course and we proceed to the registration.
LEVEL 8: THE DEMI-PÂTE FRANÇAISE # 1 - THE PRACTICE OF THE CRAFT: THE GRISAILLE
LEVEL 9: THE DEMI-PÂTE FRANÇAISE # 2 - THE PRACTICE OF CRAFT: COLOR RENDERING
LEVEL 10: FINAL WORK.