Art always comes from art and in the end, many of the ways I set things up can be traced to things I’ve seen.

Sculpture gives me an opportunity to reflect on the journey of the human species, its interaction with the divine earth and living beings. The opportunity to represent the energy that’s been loaned to me in my finite physical form.

As an adult I have somewhat forgotten how to daydream being caught up with everyday life. Being out in nature and letting my mind wander in thought and dreams gave me a sense of hope for the world. I hope people take the opportunity to dream again like as they did as a child.

While painting this, I wanted to capture that sense of peace that I had associated with flowers growing up. As I continue to paint, these themes of experiences from childhood reoccur and become something I reflect on constantly.

An inside look at the artworks by FAA artists that were awarded as winners in international competitions in 2022 and early 2023

The exquisite rhythms, the fine and highly expressive drawing of the human figure in states of tension and movement, and the variety in paint application, enticed me to copy this piece and unlock its wisdom.

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

This painting is about the uniquely feminine and complex relationships between sisters. I love the intensity of the bonds between women. I think that when women grow up together, they take on aspects of the things in the other that they admire, while also working to define themselves against each other. Sisters never grow up alone, and they shape each other into the women they become.

We captured many wonderful talks and techniques on film, and were able to experience first hand how much hard work and discipline FAA artists put into the development of their craft. We also had some unexpectedly hilarious moments that we are glad to bring to you today.

An inside look at the artworks by FAA artists that were awarded as finalists and winners in international competitions this year to date.

Nelson learned immensely from Annigoni’s way of painting landscapes with ink washes, just concentrating on rendering visually in terms of values. He would say, "getting the values right is the most important thing, that’s what gives life to the drawing, more than color. When you have color there can be the risk of concentrating too much on that and not getting the values completely right. In a well constructed ink wash drawing, you can forget that it lacks color, because the values say it all."

One of the other great things about painting still life is that is humble and forgiving. You can set up a still life anywhere. It can be as simple or complex as you want.