Happy New Year - Winter Update

Happy New Year!

We hope everyone had a restful holiday season but it's time to get back to work!

This will be a short winter update. We have been busy behind the scenes getting the studio ready for new classes and welcoming new students this spring.

Our upcoming Spring classes begin February 2 and they are filling quickly. At the moment, there are only few spots left so if you have been thinking about joining us, now is the time to register.

We intentionally keep our classes small to provide ample easel time with the instructors with and ensure everyone has a great view of the model.

Mondays Figure Painting with Stephen Early - 1 spot available!

Tuesdays Still Life Painting with Darren Kingsley - 2 spots available!

Thursdays Figure Painting with Darren Kingsley - 2 spots available!

Full schedules, pricing, and registration are available on our website. 

Apply for Spring Realist Classes

Open Studios!

Our Open Studios have been off to a great start this year. The work coming out of the studio has been outstanding, and it has been exciting to see everyone pushing their paintings forward week after week. If you have been curious about joining us, Open Studios take place on Sundays, and all experience levels are welcome.

We are also excited to have Ashe Parra (@ashe.parra) scheduled as our model for an upcoming two-week pose. Ashe is a traveling figure model, and we are thrilled to work with her during her Philadelphia stop. 

That said, if you are local, you have probably heard about the snow storm forecasted for this weekend. We are monitoring conditions closely and will make a final decision about Sunday’s Open Studio by Saturday evening. Updates will be shared as soon as we know more.

Register For Sunday Open Studios

As we head into the new year, we also have a small favor to ask. If you have joined us for Open Studios, classes, workshops, or exhibitions, we would be incredibly grateful if you could take a moment to leave us a Google review. Reviews make a huge difference for a small studio like ours and help new students find us.

How to leave a review:

1. Click the link below

2. Sign into your Google account

3. Click “Write a review” at the bottom of our card and share a few words about your experience

[Realist Art League on Google]

Oh! And a quick community note

We want to take a moment to congratulate our instructor Stephen Early on his work on the cover of American Art Collector, with a feature on his work in the current issue.

Stephen’s dedication to figurative painting and teaching has been a huge part of our studio community, and we are thrilled to see his work receiving this level of recognition. We encourage you to take a few minutes to read the feature here:

American Art Collector Feb 2026

Congratulations, Stephen!

Warmly,
The Realist Art League

Equity, Access, and Accountability Commitment

The Realist Art League acknowledges that fine art education and cultural institutions in the United States have historically excluded individuals and communities through economic barriers, limited professional access, discriminatory practices, and unequal

representation, including the marginalization of LGBTQ+ artists, BIPOC artists, and arts workers. These inequities have shaped who is able to receive training, who is visible within the field, and who is compensated for their labor.

In response, the Realist Art League commits to actively reducing these barriers through intentional organizational practices. We design our programs to remain financially accessible, offer instruction from living master artists without reliance on elite academic gatekeeping, and remove or waive financial requirements when cost would prevent participation. We maintain inclusive hiring practices for instructors and models and enforce clear community standards that prohibit discrimination and harassment.

This commitment extends to how we present and support artists. Our exhibitions prioritize transparency, accessibility, and local participation, and our public programming is free and open to the community. Wetreat instructors, models, and staff as professional contributors whose labor, expertise, and identities are respected and valued.

Equity at the Realist Art League is understood as an ongoing responsibility to the broader art community. We publicly share this commitment, regularly assess our policies and programming through participant feedback, and adapt our practices to remain responsive to the evolving needs of the artists and community we serve.

Accountability, access, and respect are foundational to our mission and integral to how we operate.