PROGRESS!

The TAD RVA site is well under way, and construction will be completed very soon. We'll keep everyone posted with progress as things continue to develop. We have a lot to do before The Academy begins at the end of the month, and we can't wait to open the doors on May 30th.

For anyone wanting to see our facilities, instructors, technology, and students in action, we will be holding an Open House the last week of the Academy. The date will be June 23rd, and is subject to change. Our visiting artist is TBA, but you can count on it being an industry Icon.

Seats are still available for the Illustration Academy. The program has never been more affordable, or more convenient with locations in both Richmond, VA and Kansas City. Financing may be available with a deposit of 25%. Feel free to contact me for more information at sterling@theartdepartment.org or 1 + (804) 306.9536

FREE TAD online class this weekend!

Empower your Artwork in TAD's Online Digital & Traditional Images Class on Saturday. Improve your artwork with a FREE online art education experience like no other! Join a stellar group of the biggest names in art for live demonstrations by Jon Foster and Cryptcrawler. Enjoy video and image presentations with simultaneous live roundtable discussions by George Pratt, Sterling Hundley John English, Brent Watkinson, Jason Manley and special guests who will put a smile on your creative face and help you empower your portfolio from here on out.

When: Saturday May 8th 2010 central 12-3PM central daylight time (Austin TX time)
Where: Right here on ConceptArt.Org (you will be sent a link)
How: We will announce shortly!

You will learn. Your art will improve with this information.

Yeah. You heard me. It's free. No strings. Three hours of world class art education to help you with your skills.

Some of you are going to move way too slowly to get in on this. Don't fret. Miss it and you can see it free On Demand too!!! Best part is, this is just an example of what we are going to be doing every month in www.visualliteracyprogram.com until the end of the year.

TAD presents this award winning group of artists for you ConceptArt.Org. Again the first three hundred students can attend live. On Demand is free too! If you don't make it Sat you can catch it on any day or night you like. Space is limited to 300 viewers at one time, so you may need to be patient. This is going to be absolutely full of information and inspiration. I hope you will check it out.

We will be announcing the process of admissions for the live students shortly. But this is your official heads up and keep your eyes peeled!

Apartment Hunting Advice (Part One)

This information comes to us from our soon to be Richmond neighbor Andrew Wright. During a recent apartment hunting trip, this is what Andrew and Edward Kinsella found out about the Richmond area:

"Rental Information:

The best place we were finding apartments was on craigslist.org. There were all types of apartments/houses in all price ranges. We stayed away from larger complexes (10 apartments or more), were looking at 3 bedrooms or 2 bedrooms with an office, had a budget of $1000 to $1500, and wanted to be within the area of The Fan/Museum District. We did have certain criteria as well which made our price range a bit higher. We did not want to be around college students, had to be on a somewhat quiet street, and needed to be close to some good restaurants and bars. I seem to remember studios going for around $500, one bedrooms around $500-$700, and some two bedrooms $800-$1000 that did not fall into our criteria but were still decent in most respects.

There are two people and companies that I have been dealing with whom are great.
The first is John at River City Real Estate. He has a lot of properties for very reasonable prices. Plus he is a really nice guy. His number is: 804.358.7801 and the website is: http://www.rivercityrealestate.net/propertyprofiles.htm

The second is Mark at Snipes Properties. Another great guy. I am not sure of all the properties but this is who we will hopefully be renting from. I do know that many of the properties they have are not listed on their website. His number is 804.347.3127.

Finally, one place I recommend to STAY AWAY from. Fan Apartments. We were shown a place that should have been condemned. I am not exaggerating here. It was absolutely disgusting. I got the feeling, just from the way she was showing us the place, that many of the other properties would be the same way. SAY NO TO FAN APARTMENTS!"

Visitors!

Edward Kinsella III, Andrew Wright, and Kyle T. Webster were in town this past week, and we all got together at The Boathouse, a great restaurant right next to the TAD RVA school. Also in attendance were Josh George, Sterling Hundley, Robert Meganck, Kelly Alder, and Jenna Chew - it was a lot of fun sharing a great meal, looking through everyone's sketchbooks, and talking shop!

Josh George/Sterling Hundley Demo Videos!

Videos of the demos by Josh George and Sterling Hundley courtesy of Chance Godwin.

TAD RVA Open House Demo: Josh George from Chance Godwin on Vimeo.

TAD RVA Open House: Sterling Hundley from Chance Godwin on Vimeo.

The Illustration Academy & TAD RVA!

The Illustration Academy is coming to TAD RVA!

Enrollment is limited, so get your application in today!

Illustration Academy Information; 2010 Schedule

Registration will take place at from 2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m.
on Sunday, May 30th, 2010.

The Academy will be in session from 9:00 a.m. Monday, May 31st,
through 6:00 p.m. Friday, June 25th, 2010.

The Illustration Academy will be held in two locations using the same schedules.

Location One: Kansas City, MO.
Location Two: Richmond, VA.

The Illustration Academy's 2010 summer program will be held in two locations, Kansas City and Richmond, Virginia. The Illustration Academy is now operating as a Special Program within The Art Department's (TAD) Illustration Major. The 2010 Illustration Academy will be held in the TAD studios (Pods) that are being developed to accommodate the immersion component of TAD.

Students will have their choice of either location, Kansas City or Richmond, as positions are available. The same stellar professionals will make up The Illustration Academy Faculty. It will be a major advantage to have the Academy in our own space as we will finally have total control.

Dates: May 31- June 25th
Locations: Kansas City & Richmond VA
Fee: $3900
Housing Information coming shortly!

Student can learn more about TAD at: http://theartdepartment.org

Open House Demo Pieces

Here are the pieces that Josh George (top) and Sterling Hundley worked on for their demos at the TAD RVA Open House.