November 24, 2022 / Eye on the Collective
Our Man In…
The Florence Academy of Art
A feature on The Florence Academy of Art’s cameo in Amazon Prime Video’s James May: Our Man in Italy
British television personality and journalist, James May, posing in costume for Advanced Painting students at FAA
This July, many friends and alumni of The Florence Academy of Art had a pleasant surprise when they saw familiar faces the studios of the academy featured on the popular show James May: Our Man in Italy. After the first few minutes of the 4th episode, The FAA makes its appearance with Director of the Intermediate Painting Program Toby Neve, and Principal Instructor Nicholas Chaundy leading May in a Florentine-themed “fine art experience.”
James May, Toby Neve, and Nicholas Chaundy
look at art in The Florence Academy of Art’s Florence campus
The new project for James May, a British television personality and journalist, of Top Gear and The Grand Tour fame, is an Amazon Prime Video travel documentary following James throughout a country where he dives into the culture of the place, and continuously entertains viewers. While the first season took place in Japan, in the second May “bumbles,” cracks witty-jokes, and earnestly and intimately connects with people and the places he travels to throughout Italy (visiting Sicily, Naples, Florence, Genoa, Milan, Venice, and more), all while attempting to “discover the secrets of la dolce vita.”
In the fourth episode of Season 2, titled “Really, Really Nice Cheese”, James finds himself in the city of Florence and “puts his Renaissance man credentials to the test with a spot of medieval sport, art, science, and modern-day alchemy.”
The Florence Academy of Art was able to take the lead on “art” with Toby Neve giving May a private lesson in perspective drawing from a beautiful location on the Arno River, overlooking the iconic Ponte Vecchio.
Later in the day, Nicholas Chaundy had the opportunity to lead a portrait class of select Advanced Painting students with James as the subject, wearing a Medici-inspired costume.
The faculty and students alike had an incredible experience working with James and the production crew. When asked about the experience Nicholas Chaundy said that it was a fun and entertaining experience, and mentioned specifically how pleased he was to see the students embrace the challenge of the pose and do such a great job, especially under the pressures of the circumstance (it’s certainly not the regular school day to paint a portrait quickly in a room full of crew and cameras)!
Toby Neve said “living in Florence is such an inspiring privilege for all of us who are involved in the craft and the tradition of European art, and having the opportunity to share that experience and the wonderful city of Florence with more people is a delight. James was such a keen and interested student which made my part in the production enjoyable and inspiring. Hopefully James will return one day since we only scratched the surface of what this beautiful city has to offer.”
A shot from the episode.
From the left:
Emma Garay,
Saara Knapp,
Francesco Bianchini
Louis Szápáry
Phoebe Stewart Carter
Nikolas von Tiedemann
A shot from the episode.
From the left:
Emma Garay,
Saara Knapp,
Francesco Bianchini
Louis Szápáry
Phoebe Stewart Carter
Nikolas von Tiedemann
While it might be unlikely that May will return as a full time student, he did take a small piece of this experience back home with him. At the end of the portrait session, James and the crew took a silent vote on their favorite of the portraits, and unanimously chose the one by Francesco Bianchini, who is now a Principal Instructor at the FAA. Francesco graciously gifted his painting to James!
Portrait of James May
by Francesco Bianchini
To see how James was as a sitter and student alike, as well as the reactions to the beautiful artworks the students created in a very short time period under pressure, you’ll just have to see the episode!
Click here to view James May: Our Man In Italy, Season 2, Episode 4, “Really, Really Nice Cheese”
We thank FAA’s featured faculty, graduates, and Advanced Painting students for participating in this wonderful production!
Faculty: Toby Neve, Nicholas Chaundy, Francesco Bianchini
Recent Graduates: Louis Szápáry, Phoebe Stewart Carter, Saara Knapp, Morgan Lyons
Advanced Painting Students: Emma Garay, Nikolas von Tiedemann
More about Patrick Okrasinski
Patrick Okrasinski was born in New York City in 1996. Even as a young boy, he was consumed by drawing. The time he spent with his grandparents in the idyllic Polish countryside help fuel his love of the natural world.
In the Fall of 2016 he found his way to the US branch of the Florence Academy of Art in Jersey City. There he was able to study at the highest levels of figurative painting, under the tutelage of Jordan Sokol, Amaya Gurpide, Stephen Bauman, Cornelia Hernes, and Edmond Rochat. As a student he won numerous prizes, including the ARC Scholarship Competition.
After graduating, he spent three months as Artist in Residence with the Claude Monet Foundation in Giverny, painting in Monet’s garden and the surrounding French countryside. Since then he was awarded the prestigious Donald Jurney Travelling Fellowship, the Hudson River Fellowship and has won multiple awards at national juried shows.
He is currently based in New Jersey and his work is available through Ann Long Fine Art, Collins Galleries, and Williams Fine Art Dealers.
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