I have studied figurative drawing and painting full-time since 2012, in many different institutions. The more I learned, the more passionate I became. Art is what I want to dedicate my life to. 

My reason for changing schools was partly due to financial limitations ( depending from year to year on the possibility of scholarships and grants) but as I result I have learnt enormously from this constant change. I adopted from each school a different piece of puzzle, naturally through a personal inclination and understanding of what I wished my art to become.I am incredibly grateful to every artist I had the honour of studying with; each new way of working that I was exposed to embraced a distinct philosophy, a distinct process, but all of them were linked by a great passion for the history and beauty of the representational tradition. Each teacher helped me realize just how much I still have to learn. 

And this is why I am writing you today. My young educational journey has led me to the New York Academy of Art, where technique meets concept, and where I could have access to the help, knowledge and human resources to push my art forward, both in quality of rendition and refinement of ideas. This school is exceptional in teaching composition and perspective, two essential subjects I have never fully explored. My second year at this institution would make it possible for me to work in my own studio space, regularly critiqued and taught by master figurative artists such as Dan Thompson, Michael Grimaldi, and Steven Assael. It is an incredible opportunity, and I know I am ready to push my art forward by nourishing it in all the subtle ways that I have yet to learn. 

After this next year of full-time studies, I wish to better my abilities in sculpture, to further inform my drawings and paintings. I then wish to study color theory a little more, and soon start teaching as an assistant in New York. I have already started giving drawing workshops at the Montreal Botanical Gardens, and loved it; teaching is something I truly love doing, and I found myself learning even more about drawing from the experience of trying to explain it.  Furthermore, in my long-term career goals, I wish to involve myself in making traditional art more accessible and present in people’s daily life. I believe in representational art’s potential for increasing our knowledge of not only the world that surrounds us, but our knowledge of ourselves and others as well. It encourages contemplation and links us with the past : it is a way to slow down time and connect with the culture and place we come from.  In the past year, I have participated in New Fundamentals: Leadership for the Creative Ecology, hosted by the Banff Centre.This program united 30 leaders in the art industry from across Canada and the US, in a discussion around what ecology in the arts sectors meant, and how to enrich the industry with new inclusive, community-oriented and multi-disciplinary approaches. Among this group, I was a voice for traditional painting practices. I oriented my efforts and discourse on how to find creative ways for more people to become involved with the  traditional process of painting, (through its creative, social, historical, material or philosophical aspects)  and interact with its legacy in ways that can enrich everyday life.