Jo Feldman

Since childhood in Australia, I have always loved to paint and draw, finding in them a deep source of quietude and creative fulfilment. During my university years in Sydney, I began taking extracurricular life drawing classes as a way to manage stress and reconnect with my creativity.

Over the years, I continued to attend life drawing sessions and various art classes, learning from several gifted artists. During the nearly 40 years I lived in the United States, I attended classes with remarkable teachers: Philip Wade in Austin, Texas; Brandon Soloff and Rick Piloco at Chelsea Classical Studio in New York City; and John Murdoch at the Bucks County Classical Art Center (BCCAC) in New Hope, Pennsylvania.

A surprising gift of the pandemic’s isolation and introspection was the clarity to pursue my lifelong dream of formally studying art. In September 2022, I enrolled in BCCAC’s two-year intensive atelier program, focusing exclusively on graphite drawing techniques. That period was followed by a two-year painting intensive, from 2024 to 2026.

These four years of immersive study led to breakthroughs in my artistic practice. Through a combination of precise, experience-rich instruction from John Murdoch, and my own practice of meticulous and disciplined observation of the subject, I developed a keener eye and a more advanced repertoire of techniques for rendering life on paper and canvas.