About the Barnstone Method and Art Education Project
Barnstone Studios is dedicated to make art education accessible to all who desire to develop their skills, enrich their lives, and learn to draw very well.
For 35 years, every student who walked through the Barnstone Studio doors – beginners to hobbyists to established artists alike – learned “the demanding intellectual rigor of art” from master artist Myron Barnstone. In his vibrant, light-filled studios in Europe and the United States, Myron trained thousands of students the skills, craft and techniques taught in classical Renaissance ateliers; his training produced students whose portfolios won them hundreds of thousands of dollars in scholarships from the finest art schools, college and universities. Numerous Barnstone Studios alumni have gone on to distinguished careers in art-related fields – truly a testament to the effectiveness of the Barnstone Method.
Today, we continue Myron’s legacy through the Barnstone Art Education Project, which includes:
About Myron
A native of Portland, Maine, Barnstone’s own artistic vision evolved from his first painting as a student at the Ruskin School of Art, Oxford University, England, in 1958. Through years of disciplined practice, Barnstone became proficient at creating work in the tradition of the classical masters. He utilized both critical thinking and the exacting science of geometric design, dubbed the Golden Section, to bring movement, drama and life to his pieces.
“Talent is a word used by the lazy to dismiss the work of others. Only through diligent practice can students truly understand epic art, and create their own.”
Myron Barnstone served in the United States military overseas, and during this time became keenly aware of the cost of war and conflict: this greatly influenced his artwork, and Myron himself developed a lifelong commitment to peace. While lived in Europe in the 1960’s, he sold many pieces, staged several highly lauded exhibits and continued his passionate study of art. it was in the the midst of his own success that he grew frustrated that contemporary art schools failed to provide students with a strong foundation. Myron Barnstone made a decision, to focus his efforts on teaching the current and future generations the classical techniques and skills that provide the foundation for all fine art – and in truth, define the visual world around us.
Myron Barnstone’s legacy is captured in the Barnstone Method Program – illustrating the masters’ precise application of geometric principles, conveying the techniques that bring movement, depth and feeling to design, sculpture, photography, and any other artistic medium.
Roger Brinker
Continuing Myron’s Legacy
Today, Roger Brinker, master educator and artist, now carries forward the live, atelier-style Barnstone Method training classes and lectures. Roger trained from early in his career with the master himself, serving as a hands-on associate instructor for Myron Barnstone. Now, as Senior Barnstone Master Guide, he leads, mentors, coaches, and trains emerging artists, experienced professionals, and everyone seeking to master the essential fundamentals of drawing and design.
Roger Brinker – Bio
Nurturing and building his student’s unique artistic voice from a strong mastery of the skills and techniques that are Western art’s legacy is Roger Brinker’s specialty. In fact, Brinker invented a new research concept modeled on the idea of an artist genealogy:
By tracing his own teachers’ artistic roots, he was able to chart a lineage that links his students and himself in a line that extends to the very beginnings of Western art. Brinker’s students can see how their training emanates in a direct line from artists such as Edgar Degas, Raphael, and Leonardo da Vinci.
A graduate of Temple University’s Tyler School of Art, Brinker was associate and instructor in classical drawing and design at the Barnstone Studios, contributing as education advisor, writing design course workbooks, and developing the curriculum for the Foundation Drawing and Design program now offered live in a virtual format.
Roger Brinker – Teaching Philosophy
“In order to truly express our own ideas and emotions, we must first develop the skills to accurately portray the objects and environments in our observed world and master their proportions, volumes, light, and color. As we practice this discipline, we will become aware of the marks, patterns, and rhythms that form the deeper poetry in our artistic language.
We will learn to look at the whole history of visual art and find the common thread that unifies various cultures, styles, and temperaments. That thread is founded in the elements and principles of our visual language. Myron Barnstone spent a lifetime developing clear explanations for how artists – whether Eastern or Western, and ancient or modern – all make use of this common art structure. The Barnstone Method is this body of art knowledge defining the shape and expression of our visual language – its letters, vocabulary, structure, and meaning.”
The Barnstone Studios – Evolution
1977:
Opened Barnstone Studio in Downtown Allentown, PA
$500 And Under Gallery
$500 And Under Gallery
$500 And Under Gallery
1982:
Moved Studio to Coplay, PA
2014:
Myron’s Final Lecture and Retirement
$500 And Under Gallery
$500 And Under Gallery
$500 And Under Gallery
Current:
Virtual Barnstone Studios
“Talent is a word used by the lazy to dismiss the work of others. Only through diligent practice can students truly understand epic art, and create their own.”
~ Myron Barnstone
The Barnstone Studio Today
$500 And Under Gallery
Here under the direction of Barnstone’s daughter, Catherine ‘Cat’ Barnstone Szafran, the art studio showcases internationally-acclaimed original paintings and drawings by the late Myron Barnstone, now available for viewing and purchase.
Additional information about Barnstone Method classes, private coaching from Barnstone Master Guides, original works, limited edition prints and other related products is available by contacting us : Barnstone Studios
202 A East Main Street Thurmont, MD 21788