Founded in 2017 by Visual Arts teacher, Emilio Longo, Skill-Based Art: A Learning Resource for Art Students & Artist-Teachers (SBA)™ was developed from the recognition of the lack of technical, skill-based drawing, painting and sculpture in our contemporary era. From its inception, the system of training painters and sculptors was based on the foundation of the Italian Renaissance bottega, and carried forward by the European academies and ateliers throughout Europe during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. It is re-emerging today as an alternative to modern and 21st century avant-garde visual arts education.
Reviewing the works of the great artists of the past five centuries, we believe that the time-honoured tradition of training represented by the works of those artists is still a valid system of training contemporary draftspeople, painters and sculptors, and is the answer to address the shortcomings of contemporary visual arts training currently offered in high schools, art and design schools and universities globally.
The term “skill-based art” embodies those traditional practices of drawing, painting and sculpture that are grounded in the accurate representation of the truth and beauty found in nature. As such, “skill-based art” differentiates itself from “conceptual-based art” which places emphasis on the concept first, and the discipline of skill attainment second, or not at all.
We are dedicated to cultivating a significant body of resources and information to educate the public about the tradition of skill-based art in order to ensure its survival into the future.
To learn more about our history and our work, read the following interview with Realist Art Resource.
| interview.pdf |
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