Art / Painting Courses in Paris & Western France

Studio Escalier:
Studio Escalier is an independent, private, studio art school and international arts colony, founded in 2001 by Timothy Stotz, Anthony Ryder and Nicole Michelle Tully. We offer intensive art courses to both French and international students in Argenton-Chateau (now Argenton-les-Vallées), a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in the Poitou-Charentes region of Western France, and drawing programs in Montmartre (18th Arrondissement), Paris. Studio Escalier also occasionally invites very select visiting faculty to offer short residencies and other courses. All course lectures are delivered in English.

Our studio facilities and lectures in Paris, as well as our campus in Argenton-Chateau are not open to the general public. Personal interviews and telephone interviews are not a part of the admissions process. All enrollment and administration for courses is done via the internet.

Our student body has represented 30 different countries, more than 25 major cities worldwide, as well as 35 US states. We enroll anywhere from 25 to 55 students annually, across all programs. The average student age in our intensive courses and Winter at the Louvre program is 30 years (Approximately 3/4 are age 18-29 & 1/4 are age 30-65), and for our shorter drawing programs & various special programs is 44 years.

* Paris Drawing Programs:
- December in Paris - Drawing Program 2011: 20 hours life-drawing and 9 daylight hours at the Louvre per week (3-week program)
- Winter at the Lourve 2012 (9-week Drawing Intensive)

* Intensive Drawing & Painting Courses in Argenton-Chateau:
- 2011 Summer Intensive (12-weeks, drawing & painting, 6 hours daily)
- 2011 Autumn Intensive (8-weeks, short- & long-pose painting, 6 hours daily)

* Special Painting Programs in Argenton-Chateau (3-weeks):
- November 2011 Alla Prima Studio (3-weeks alla prima painting in Argenton-Chateau)
- Spring 2012 Still Life Studio (3-weeks still-life painting in Argenton-Chateau)
- Spring 2012 Figure Painting in Oil (Figure painting in Argenton-Chateau)

* The Intensive Course Studio - Les Escaliers, Argenton-Chateau:  Our Summer and Autumn Intensive Courses are held at Les Escaliers, the studio-residence of Timothy Stotz and Nicole Michelle Tully, in Argenton-Chateau, France (Poitou-Charentes - 79). The Intensive Course Studio is available to students Sunday to Thursday, during school hours only (9 am - 6 pm). The Intensive Course curriculum takes Fridays and Saturdays as its weekend.

The course studio in Argenton-Chateau offers an approximately 900 sq ft (85m2) northlight studio on the third floor (40 steps to walk up). There is ample room for twelve students to work, plus the instructors. The Intensive Course studio offers hot-water brush sinks, a small study lounge and reading room, a coffee break area, racks and shelves for individual supply storage, and a full bathroom. The studio is well-ventilated, heated and insulated, and its ceiling peaks at 19 feet (6 metres).

High-quality easels, chairs, tall stools, drawing boards and tabourets will be provided for drawing and painting in the classroom only, and a small studio fee will cover the cost of providing non-toxic solvents and medium.

No cameras, mirrors, devices, electronics, audio or video recorders of any kind are allowed in the studio at any time. Les Escaliers is a private and historic faculty residence, and is not open to the general public. The property was the childhood home and residence of 19th c. sénateur Camille Jouffrault and his son député des Deux-Sêvres André Jouffrault.

* The Paris Program Studio - Studio Escalier, Montmartre:  Located on a tiny street in Montmartre (18th Arrondissement), our new Paris Program Studio sits in a quiet residential section of a quartier world-renowned for its artistic heritage. [Metro: Abbesses - M12]. The studio is available to students during school hours only, Monday - Friday.

It offers approximately 450 sq ft (42m2) of active studio space, with a 14-foot ceiling (4.25 meters), and one entire wall of north light. There is ample space for up to 10 students to work, plus the instructors.

The studio is well-heated and insulated. High-quality easels, chairs, tall stools, drawing boards and folding stools are provided for classroom use. The Paris Program Studio is currently available for drawing instruction only. No cameras, mirrors, devices, electronics, audio or video recorders of any kind are allowed in the studio at any time. The Paris Program Studio is a private and historic faculty residence, and is not open to the general public.

Our Paris address was the first Montmartre atelier of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec where he first met Suzanne Valadon.

Special Programs in Argenton-Chateau:   Special 4-week programs meet occasionally in parallel to our Intensive Courses. They hold their daily work-sessions at the spacious Salle des Fetes in Argenton Chateau, or at the historic 19th century property called Les Sylvains.

Built in 1900, the Salle des Fetes is a 4500 sq ft (420 m2) facility, featuring a 1500 sq ft northlight painting studio, its own kitchen, bathrooms and sinks. It has been used as both an instructional space and a public exhibition space for student and faculty works.

Built in 1861 as an hotel particulier for the local notaire, Les Sylvains ("The Fauns") is an 8000 sq ft (750 m2) facility in the center of Argenton-Chateau. It offers a 600 sq. ft north-light art studio, multiple furnished 2BR apartments for student housing, a 1024K wireless DSL network (for student use only), and laundry facilities. It offers a private, quarter-acre formal garden for official functions and plein-air performances.

The performance spaces and group studio at Les Sylvains are available to residents Monday to Friday, during school hours only (9 am - 6 pm). Les Sylvains is wholly owned and operated by Studio Escalier, and is not open to the general public.

A course supply list is sent to all accepted students approximately six weeks before the first day of class (dry media for drawing and oil color for painting are preferred.) Solvent and a basic painting medium are provided for sale at the studio.

Therefore, you can bring all your supplies on the plane as checked luggage (not carry-on), or ship them 2-3 weeks ahead of your arrival. Always use regular post airmail. Please ask us for advice on labeling to avoid paying customs charges.

If you prefer to work with specific brands of extra-fine art materials (specific oil-primed linens, oil grounds, fine art papers, etc) you should bring them with you.