As the name implies, Figurative Art is our main focus and has been for decades. The Society was created to provide fundamental skill-sets, aesthetic sensibilities, professional practices, and materials expertise to those individuals in pursuit of multiple creative endeavors.
Figurative Art itself based upon a tacit understanding of abstracted shapes, be it idealized or observed. It is not our task to try to reconcile opposing principles or to champion a movement. TSoFA has no Manifesto, no Mission Statement, and no Agenda other than providing
We acknowledge and respect all genres of Art while recognizing there is: the good, the bad, and the ugly in every niche.
We recognize creativity as an individual quest and not a group sport, and to that end, we will head off tribalism, expose the propagandists, chaletans and profiteers and try to right the ship when it strays into muddy waters,
It matters not if one agrees with Plato’s ‘Idealism’ or Aristotle’s ‘Naturalism.’ What matters is that they take the elements that work for them and leave behind what does not.
Artist’s do not think the same or see the same and should not be expected or required to draw, paint, or sculpt the same.
That said, there are certain axioms that act as guideposts to one’s journey. Being able to draw things that look like things is a rite of passage but not an absolute. What is paramount is getting the hand and brain on the same page, and understanding one’s eyes are merely go-betweens.
We provide a multitude of essential skill-sets and fundamental principles that may be needed to express one’s vision. Our task is to present those in a manner that provides the most effective use of time and prevents time-consuming detours.
Figurative Art is a big tent referring to all subject matter derived from natural sources, which includes: still-life, landscape, living forms, and formalism. As that may be, the Society’s prime focus is on drawing, painting, and sculpting imagery derived from human form.
The human form is the core of training and the pinnacle of accomplishment for the figurative artist and has been for over six centuries. Of the top 150 drawings, paintings and sculptures throughout history over 95% contain the human form.
What role life drawing played in the ancient world is conjecture, but its role in the traditional training of artist from the Renaissance on is quite evident.
Our aesthetics take root in the traditions and humanism of that flourished during the rebirth of culture, i.e. the Renaissance.
Couple this with the tenets of the ancient Greeks and the three pillars of Classical Aesthetics, and the Beaux-Arts tradition i.e., Truth, Beauty, and Virtue and you have a synopsis of The Society of Figurative Arts.
We remain in the fray as spirit guides and stewards of classical creative culture and the humanity of the individual.