Miano Arts Academy
The best two weeks of figure drawing I have had to date!
Isabelle Peng
8/8/20254 min read
“Desire births determination, determination births discipline, discipline [makes dreams come true.]”
~ Charles Miano, Founder and Artist Director of Miano Arts Academy (Rephrased)
I had the best two weeks of figure drawing at Miano Arts Academy. The entire experience fulfilled my long-held dream: to learn the ancient Renaissance skills.
Since I first began my art journey, I have been captivated by realism, specifically the paintings in the Renaissance era.
I was fascinated by the masters such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael. I have even daydreamed about what it would be like under their mentorship. More so, later on, especially when I began to learn figure drawing.
There is so much beauty in anatomy that I'm still learning to grasp. If you’ve been following along my journey, you would have known that figure drawing has never been my strong suit.
For a recap, I dare to get vulnerable. Here are a couple of the WORST figure drawing works I've done...
The more the merrier, so here's another page I did.
(…believe it or not, I have worse drawings than these.)
Knowing there are so many brilliant people attending this studio, my initial goal was to survive, and if I was lucky, to thrive. I was targeting to be the most improved rather than one of the best. I told my mom that if I cried after my first day, do not to be surprised.
I didn’t cry at all for the whole two weeks, and on the contrary, I was so surprised that I had improved so much and quicker than I thought. The knowledge I had learned truly was life-changing.
At first, I couldn’t even sharpen a pencil correctly. We were taught to do it the old-fashioned way to create a sharp point, allowing my linework to get miles better.
But who knew that charcoal could be so soft to break on one touch? (Ugh.)
And my thumb even started to hurt!
Finally, after countless practice, I did it! ^^
(And I got a little bit overly obsessed! Now, I can’t stop, haha.)
As a side note, pencils are so much easier, as they’re much more durable, haha.
The only downside to this ancient way was that my room became laden with charcoal dust. (Even though I was doing it over a bin!) Anyone who stepped feet in my room was guaranteed black footprints; I wasn't exempt from this, mommy either, unfortunately, so she got mad, haha!
All messes and jokes aside, I finally found a drawing method that fits my learning style!
(I could ALWAYS do better, but I’m so grateful to get on the right track for improvement. ^^)
After gestures, my foodie self was catered by delicious lunch snacks! (If you’ve been following me for a while, you know no adventure is complete for me until there’s food!)
My absolute favorite was the brownies. (And so did everyone else! They were always the first to disappear, haha.)
After lunch, we spent the rest of the day on our long pose drawing. We made our tonal paper for the long pose.
Everyone was super nice and friendly. Everyone was ready to encourage and help one another. I felt right at home with my new friends. I’m still keeping in touch with a couple of them and seeking their advice and support. I also plan to learn crocheting from one of them who made these flowers to decorate the snack table. ^^ Aren’t they gorgeous? She’s so generous to offer to teach me.
These two weeks were truly incredible. I’m so excited and eager to share with you what I have learned, so for my next blog, I’m going to share 10 takeaways, one from each day in class.
Till Next Time,
Isabelle