The Third Annual Willow Invitational
Each summer, Willow gathers a vibrant community of artists, collectors, and viewers who share a love for realism and a belief that it has new ground to explore. Together, we celebrate the evolving traditions of drawing, painting, and sculpture rooted in observation, care, and deep seeing.
Read about last year’s show in the August 2024 issue of Fine Art Connoisseur
Where We’ve Been
In 2023, we profiled a school of realism. Students and faculty from Grand Central Atelier in NYC brought 75 works of fine art for a one-day exhibition in our southern Vermont home. Over 200 guests came to see their work. More than a few young artists met collectors and supporters who will follow them for years to come.
In 2024, we turned our attention to the journey of the artists making their way through four years of rigorous classical training. What does it take to make powerful realist work? Students at Grand Central Atelier devote their first two years to the fundamentals: structure, shape, size, value, color. From those foundations, they spend third and fourth years on forming a personal voice and vision.
Where We Are Now
Eric Leichtung, Farmer’s Road (2025)
This year, we turn to something more personal and just as essential: the moment of encounter between a viewer and a work of art. Some experience that moment as a deep connection. Others call it resonance, or meaning. But at its heart, it’s about attention; the kind of attention that isn’t just looking—it’s a whole new state of being. It draws you out of ordinary time and into a higher state of awareness in which the world becomes limitless. Your heart may have skipped a beat and you’ve entered into a perfect state of flow between natural and supernatural worlds.
Philosophers have long reminded us that meaning isn’t found only in language or analysis—it’s found in how we move through the world, in how we perceive, how we dwell, how we’re touched by things. These artworks are about just that: a perceptual world that asks to be sensed more than decoded. The works in this exhibition invite you to reconnect with your senses and to inhabit the moment.
This Year’s Theme: Turning Inward
Every lover of art brings their own way of seeing, Are you drawn in by the subject, by vibrant color, expert composition, brush technique, or by the emotive force of a work? At our show, every entry point is treasured. You might wax on about a brushstroke that pulls a canvas together or a line that moves a sculpture from one mood to another. You may respond to a subject, a gesture, a burst of color, a brushstroke. You might be drawn to the harmony of a composition or the emotional force in a facial expression. These layers are what make great works of art so rich and enduring.
The works in this year’s show were created in a state of flow with nature, material and essence. The composition was known before the first mark went down. Value ranges were intentional from the outset and mixing on the palette responded accordingly. What the artist saw and how they would represent it was never in question. Marks went down with a sense of pull, not push. Each mark landed and foretold what must come next. Few corrective passes were needed.
Works created with this level of attunement are sacred. The artwork transcends mere depiction—it transmits something larger than the subject and more expansive than even the artist’s vision. It hums with life and you’re invited to tune in to that life yourself, personally.
Samuel Davis, Maelström (2025)
What do you “see” in artwork?
We invite you to come to this show ready to yield to your senses. Turn inward to explore what matters to you about the artworks you encounter. When you see the artworks and meet their creators, we encourage you to let your reactions flow freely.
If you like an artwork because it tells a story, great! If you love it for the composition, wax on! If you love color, or Vermont landscapes, or nude figures or academic studies, this is the show for you! Great art has it’s own unfolding life and it isn’t complete until it’s seen. Collectors and viewers are part of the creative ecosystem—without you, artwork disappears and the mundane world reigns
Meet the Artists from Grand Central Atelier
Over 100 works by 40 artists will be on display and available for sale in this extraordinary exhibition. Contributing artists are trained or teach at Grand Central Atelier in Brooklyn, NY. Their portraits, figures, landscapes, and florals — created from life — demonstrate technical skill, artistic vision, and deep understanding of form, nature, and the sensuous world around us.
Tyler Berry, Elizabeth Reclining (2025)
Join Us
Experience FLOWSTATE in person.
Preview — Sat, Aug 23, 1pm to 6pm — RSVP here
Opening reception — Sun Aug 24, 1pm to 6pm - Open to the Public
Closing reception — Sun Aug 31, 1pm to 6pm - Open to the Public
At the opening reception, you will meet artists standing near their works. This year’s show includes:
Florentine Bonnaud, Dunia (2025)
Intimate portraits that feel like quiet conversations
Vermont landscapes alive with shifting light
Figures and nudes rendered with grace and presence
Still lifes that radiate quiet power
Sculptures formed with elegance and clarity
Preview the show in an online catalogue
A digital catalogue is now available. The catalogue features hi-resolution photographs and information on all artworks. You may look through the catalogue in anticipation of seeing the works in person, but you may also purchase directly from the catalogue before the show opens.
Before the Show
Most of the artists in the show will be in residence at Willow in the two weeks before the show closes on August 31. The artists will embark in pairs on a plein air painting adventure across the scenic landscapes of southern Vermont.
You can support the show and residential week by partnering with us! We are seeking generous individuals to offer their property as subject for a landscape painting. We seek properties with grand or intimate views, historic buildings, landscaped gardens, or breathtaking natural streams and rivers. Invite the artists to your property during daytime hours Monday August 18 through Sunday August 31. The artists will be staying at Willow throughout that time.
We ask our neighbors across southern Vermont to volunteer their properties with scenic views, antique buildings, ponds , streams or old growth trees. After breakfast at Willow each morning, the artists will pack up portable easels, brushes, paints, and canvases and come to you.
You will love seeing your property on a canvas! Your support of their work is deeply appreciated!
Grant Perry, Stygian (2025)
Sign up for an exclusive preview
We are thrilled to offer art enthusiasts an exclusive opportunity to experience the exhibit in person at Willow before the show opens. Join us on Satyrday August 23 from 1pm to 6pm for a private viewing. This early viewing allows serious art collectors first access to the available works in a more intimate setting.
Classical technique in the contemporary world
Gaby Nighan, Yagya (2025)
Contemporary Classical Realism is an artistic movement that combines the techniques and principles of classical art with a contemporary approach. It emphasizes skillful draftsmanship, meticulous attention to detail, and a focus on capturing the beauty and essence of the natural world.
In some ways, this movement is not entirely new. Instead, it is a radical renewal of values worth cultivating. It invites us to appreciate the timeless techniques of the past while embracing the contemporary world we live in. It celebrates the skill, dedication, and vision of talented artists who push the boundaries of traditional art, creating works that are technically impressive and emotionally resonant.
Devin Cecil-Wishing, Outskirts #4: Shrine (2024)
Your Patronage Supports Artists
Thank you for considering the purchase of these exceptional artworks and for supporting the artists of Grand Central Atelier in their teaching and study. Your support plays a vital role in sustaining the artistic community and ensuring the continuation of classical art education. By investing in these artists, you become a part of their journey and help foster a thriving artistic ecosystem of teacher, student, and patron.
We invite you to explore the artworks on display, knowing that your purchase will have a meaningful impact on the artists' ongoing and work. Your support will contribute directly to the renewal of a timeless tradition and help to shape a new and contemporary vision for the art world.
Artist Bios
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After completing a BFA at the Hartford Art School in Connecticut, Chelsea joined the Grand Central Atelier community in 2018, where she continues to study. Pursuing her interest in the tools and legacy of the classical tradition her influences range from Jacopo Pontormo to Odilon Redon and Abbott Handerson Thayer. Bard’s widely acclaimed work hangs in collections throughout North America, Europe, Australia and Japan including at the Stobart Foundation and The New Salem Museum and Academy of Fine Art. Originally from Scotland, Connecticut, Chelsea now lives and maintains studio in NYC.
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Janice’s educational path to studying art full time at The Grand Central Atelier has been a scenic journey starting with acquiring her BA in natural sciences followed by academic research in molecular biology. After taking a sharp turn to pursue fine dining and hospitality for several years in New York and Los Angeles, she has returned to school to immerse herself in classical painting, drawing inspiration from nature, color, and ruffled collars. Currently living in the East Village, you can find her working at the GrowNYC Greenmarkets when she’s not at the studio.
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Liz Beard works full-time painting and teaching in Queens NY at Grand Central Atelier. Her current interests include symbolic still-life and figurative works done in her studio from live models and studies made from observation. Her work is both autobiographical and an exploration of tradition, poetry, and beauty. Guided by the look of nature, she aims to convey what is most poignant in what she sees.
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Tyler’s work holds a personal sophistication honed through a lifelong dedication to truthful observation, restraint and harmony, and fidelity to nature. His work is both an exploration and expression of humanity, pathos, and the natural world. The language of drawing, form, and light maintains in him a dialogue with the Old Masters. His paintings are a search for balance between the universal and particular, an attempt at humble authenticity.
Tyler Berry (b. 1994) was raised in rural Connecticut. Upon receiving his BFA in 2016 from the University of Hartford, he would work as an animator in Greece and then Poland on the feature film Loving Vincent. During this formative year, he immersed himself in the work of the Old Masters, studying and copying in the museums of Europe. A graduate and now core instructor of Grand Central Atelier’s four-year core program, Tyler currently lives and works in New York City. His work hangs in collections internationally, throughout the US, Europe, Japan, and China. He is the recipient of numerous awards and has participated in group shows throughout New England, New York City, and Europe, notably at Salmagundi Club and Sotheby’s in NYC, and the MEAM in Barcelona.
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Patrick was born in Busan, South Korea in 1984 and raised in La Grange, Illinois. He earned his undergraduate degree in Art History and English from the University of St Andrews in 2006. From 2010 to 2014 Patrick studied drawing and painting at Grand Central Atelier in New York, NY. In 2017 he relocated to Paris, France, where he now lives and works.
Patrick's immersion in the methodology, philosophy, and traditions of the classical atelier continues to inform his studio practice, while a determination to evince the beauty and vulnerability of his subjects provides the inspiration for his work.
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Devin's work has been exhibited in galleries and museums across the country. He has received numerous awards including acceptance to the Hudson River Fellowship and first place in the Alfred Ross Prize for Excellence in Cast Drawing, and has been awarded in the Art Renewal Center’s annual scholarship competition. His work has also been featured and won awards in the Art Renewal Center’s Annual Salon multiple times. He has also taught workshops around the globe, including in South Africa, Vienna, Oxford UK, Seattle, New York and San Francisco. Devin’s work has been featured in numerous publications including Fine Art Connoisseur, American Artist Magazine, The Epoch Times, Bay Nature Magazine, The New Criterion and the San Francisco Chronicle. Devin currently lives in New York City where he paints and teaches at the Grand Central Atelier. He is represented by Sheldon Fine Art in Newport, RI and William Ris Gallery in Jamesport, NY.
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Tori Cole (b.1999) was born and raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In 2015 she moved to Texas to pursue her art education full time and in the summer 2020 she moved to Brooklyn to attend Grand Central Atelier where she continues to study. A passion for art history has led her to draw on a wide range of artists from Johannes Vermeer to Bertha Wegmann, and as far back as the artists of the Northern Renaissance.
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Kate Donovan (b. 1996) was raised in a small, Bohemian town in Northern California. Growing up, she was inspired by the incredibly vast, bio-diverse beauty in all directions. Kate has always sought strongly to represent the greatest gift we have been given: the ability to see and experience nature. Her passion for realism began in Middle School: drawing portraits and animals and painting still life in watercolor. Dual-enrolled as a teen, she graduated with an Associates in Fine Art (with Highest Honors) from Santa Rosa Junior College in 2017. During High School she also began plein air painting, focusing mostly along the coastline of California and Oregon. She discovered classical training in 2018 at Russian River Atelier where she studied closely under mentor Linda Schroeter, for two years (2018-2020). In 2020 Kate moved to New York to study at Grand Central Atelier, where she is now enrolled in her final 4th year of the core program. Kate has been a participant of the Hudson River Fellowship for the past 3 years, received various scholarships and a Structure Prix Award at GCA. Her work hangs in private collections across the United States.
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Michael Fetherston (b. 1973) is a native of New York City and is a recent graduate of the Grand Central Atelier. At an early age, Fetherston developed a passion for classical painting during his many visits to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and attended numerous art schools hoping to find instructors who could teach him the techniques of the old masters. After many years of searching, Fetherston never found anyone who still possessed the secrets of classical realist painting until he discovered the G.C.A. in 2016. Under the tutelage of Jacob Collins, Fetherston devoted himself to full time study and successfully completed the G.C.A.'s four year program. Fetherston believes that the rendering of the human form, in both portrait and full figure, is the most rewarding approach to painting. Fetherton works exclusively from life and without the use of photography.
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Jacob Gabriel b.1996 in New Haven, CT currently lives and studies in Queens, NY. With a deep love for the natural world, Jacob finds joy in painting the people, places, and objects around them, in their ever changing forms and environments. Jacob is committed to radical ideas of transformation, through study, practice, and community.
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Growing up an only child, Scott Garder spent long periods of his youth alone contemplating the natural world around him. In this deep observation of his surroundings, he began at an early age to develop a keen sense of perception and visual memory. Whether laying in a field of grass in the foothills of Northern California watching shapeshifting summer clouds, or taking pencil to paper drawing everything from oak trees to comic book characters, Scott’s imagination and visual acuity began incubating from his earliest childhood memories. As a young adult however, he lost touch with his more sensitive nature and fell into a period of addiction and depression. Having fallen out of contact with what drives him most — love for the visual experience — Scott sought to escape his disconnected life through hard drugs and alcohol. After several years and a series of rock bottoms, Scott found that sobriety and spirituality were the keys to unlocking a fulfilling life. During this reconnection with the self and newfound clarity of mind, Scott rediscovered his love for art and committed to learning the craft of drawing and painting as the old masters once learned. Scott now studies full time in Brooklyn, New York at the Grand Central Atelier where he hopes to further develop his visual vocabulary and create works of art that harken back to his childhood, evoking a sense of childlike wonder and reverence for the beauty of the human experience.
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There is so much beauty in the world, and it brings me immense joy to depict it and share it with the world. I particularly enjoy the honesty that painting from direct observation provides. I have always been fascinated by the old masters. Having been born in Moscow, I was taught to enjoy the masterpieces at the Tretyakov Gallery from an early age, and this fascination continued after coming to the United States as a child with many visits to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and later the Met, and others. My continuous learning journey and curiosity about painting brought me to study Classical Realism at Grand Central Atelier where I am currently an advanced studies student. While I have been creating for as long as I can remember, I had been away from an artistic career previously. However, six years ago I made the commitment to dedicate as much time as possible to art and this pursuit ultimately led me to quitting my corporate job to become an artist. The drastic career change makes me deeply grateful for every minute that I spend at the easel, in front of beautiful landscapes, still lifes, people, etc. Having spent time away from art only further ignited my passion for it. I am always working on developing my skills and discovering the many facets of creating.
I was always an outdoor enthusiast with hobbies such as hiking, skiing, and rock climbing; however, once I found out I could paint outdoors my life changed. Being able to share the natural beauty captured in these sessions makes it even better. Painting outdoors truly makes you one with a particular place/ painting subject, forcing you to be fully present in the moment, intimately intertwined with the here and now. You love the subject even more through the process, remembering every ray of sunshine, and every tree or twig. The study of subjects outdoors and the type of thinking that plein air demands, opens new doors of appreciation into the natural phenomenon encountered. I love standing outside in nature with nothing but my easel observing every curve of the earth, every tree, leaf, and cloud. Painting in a particular location engraves the beauty of that place deep inside your heart. You may not remember a place simply photographed in a few seconds, but making a multi-hour painting reveals the essence of a place to an artist and the art connoisseur. The feeling of the day, the warmth of the sun rays on your skin, or the droplets of rain, can be felt more acutely, and with a little luck captured in the work. My favorite time of day is the golden hour during the sunset, a magical time which has been capturing the imaginations of artists for centuries. I have been painting en plein air for several years now, and I love how fresh and heartfelt the paintings turn out. Nature is the greatest teacher of all subjects- beauty, art, harmony, peace.
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Lukas Griffiths (b.1999) was born and raised In Fort Worth, Texas. in 2015 he began part time training in Texas until 2020 when he moved to Brooklyn to attend the Grand Central Atelier where he currently studies.
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Brendan Johnston (b.1984) is a compelling young painter and sculptor dedicated to representational fine art. Born in New York City, Brendan developed an early interest culture and history. After graduating from McGill University with a Major in Art History and Humanities, Brendan moved back to New York to pursue a career as artist. In 2006, he began studying at the Harlem Studio of art. Then in 2008, Brendan enrolled in the Grand Central Atelier, where he diligently studied academic drawing, painting and sculpture. In 2014, Brendan traveled to Italy to finish his studies by copying old master paintings in the Museums of Rome, Florence and Naples. Now living in New York City, Brendan is a resident artist and teacher at the Grand Central Atelier. He is currently creating dynamic works in nearly every genre of painting. He is also working in the challenging medium of terra cotta, producing unique sculpture busts. Brendan’s work is represented by galleries in California, New York and Massachusetts.
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Eric Leichtung (b. 1995) is an award winning painter from Queens, New York. From a young age, he would voraciously draw and was introduced to painting in high school. He attended Rhode Island School of Design where he received a BFA in Illustration, and has studied at the Grand Central Atelier under Jacob Collins. He is a 2021 and 2022 recipient of the Hudson River Fellowship. He has exhibited work across the East coast, and his work is included in numerous private collections across the United States.
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Noorjahan Mahajabin Asha is a Bangladeshi Canadian painter and sculptor. Born and raised in Bangladesh she immigrated to Canada in 2011. Asha studied part time drawing with Craig Berry where she became familiar with 19th century classical figurative painting. In 2019 she moved to New York to pursue her artistic training. A curiosity toward understanding form and depth led her to the realm of sculpture. She studied drawing, painting and sculpture in Grand Central Atelier and graduated in 2023. Currently she works from her own studio in New work.
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Rodrigo Mateo (b. 1984) is originally from Buenos Aires Argentina and emigrated to the United States in 1998 where he received a B.A. in photography at the State University of New York at New Paltz. He graduated from Grand Central Atelier four year training program in 2012 under Jacob Collins and then continued private studies with Michael Klein in New York and Paul Ingbretson in New Hampshire. Rodrigo exhibits regularly with Williams Fine Art Dealers, Collins Galleries, Cooper & Smith and Eleven Street Arts. His work has also been exhibited at Still Point Arts Gallery and Robert Simon Fine Arts in New York City. Awards and honors include three years at the Hudson River School Fellowship for Landscape; La Napoule Art Foundation scholarship in France and Decorative commissions for the C.S. Lewis Institute in Ohio. Rodrigo is a painting instructor at Grand Central Atelier concentrating on the copying of old masters, still life and figure painting. He currently resides in Long Island City, New York.
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Edward Minoff is a contemporary realist painter. His work has been featured in galleries and museums from New York City to Beijing, including over ten solo exhibitions. His career began in animation working for Ralph Bakshi and later MTV before co-founding AMPnyc Animation Studio where he produced award winning work for The Cartoon Network, ESPN, MTV and Disney, among others. While studying with renowned artist Jacob Collins at the Water Street Atelier in Brooklyn, NY, Edward made the transition from animation to fine art, eventually moving to Italy to finish his studies at the Florence Academy of Art. He is known for his dramatic paintings of the ocean as well as his sensitive portraits, all created completely from life, studies and imagination. His work and writings about process have been featured in magazines books, and blogs, documenting his unique approach to the challenge of painting ocean waves through a deep study of wave anatomy, never using photographic reference. His work is contained in public and private collections including The Bodleian Library at The University of Oxford, The United States Embassy at Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, and The New Britain Museum of Art. He currently teaches drawing and painting at Columbia University and the Grand Central Atelier and is the co-host and co-creator of Suggested Donation Podcast featuring conversation with artists and other creative people. Ted teaches drawing in GCA’s Core Program.
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Kevin (b.1992) and his family immigrated to the US from their native Peru in the year 2003. They settled a new home in Fairfax, Virginia, a county relatively close to the National Gallery in Washington D.C., a museum Kevin would spend visiting through much of his youth. As a senior in high school, he was awarded the National American Visions Medal from the Alliance for Young Artists and Writers. In 2013, he moved to New York to study at Grand Central Atelier. Upon completion in 2017, he became an instructor. Kevin has been a recipient of the Morris and Alma Schapiro Fund Scholarship, the Anders Larson-Toich Fund Scholarship, and the GCA Structure Prix. Currently, he lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Kevin teaches painting in GCA’s Core Program.
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Lorenzo was born and raised in the Philippines. After earning his undergraduate degree in psychology from Ateneo de Manila University, he moved to New York City to begin his artistic training at the Grand Central Atelier in 2018. A sensitive painter, Lorenzo is drawn to creating paintings reflecting an inner life that colors and shapes his perception and experience of nature. His personal work touches on nostalgia, longing, solitude, and a quiet appreciation for life. Lorenzo currently paints out of his studio in Brooklyn, New York.
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Heather Personett (b. 1988) is a figurative sculptor living in Brooklyn, NY. She attended State University of New York at Fredonia where she received her BFA in Illustration and Animation. Following graduation, she continued studying ceramics and sculpture which began her transition from two dimensional study to three dimensional arts. She then went on to receive her masters at the New York Academy of Art where she earned an MFA in Sculpture. She was a recipient of several Merit Awards as well as the Carrara Stone Carving Residency, and continued to work in stone as an apprentice for several years. More recently, Heather worked as a portrait sculptor and freelance artist at Studio EIS in Brooklyn. In 2022 she received first place in the Richard McDermott Miller portrait sculpting competition and was commissioned to sculpt a portrait bust for the Salmagundi Club Library as part of their 150 year anniversary competition after receiving first prize for her sculpture of Augustus Saint Gaudens. In addition to her freelance work as a sculptor and moldmaker, she is an adjunct professor at several universities, including the New York Academy of Art and Fashion Institute of Technology. She is also currently the Director of Sculpture at Grand Central Atelier, which launched its first full time core sculpture curriculum in 2022.
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Giovanni Priante was born in Puebla in 1994 and spent his formative years in Mexico City. After studying graphic and industrial design in Florence, Italy, Giovanni decided to pursue his artistic aspirations and moved to New York City where he finished the Grand Central Atelier 4-year training program. While at the academy, he became the recipient of various grants and scholarships including multiple Structure Prix Awards. He became a Hudson River fellow in 2022. Giovanni is currently a resident artist at GCA.
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Lara Saunders (b. 2001) was raised between Germany and New York City. Upon moving to the city, Lara was introduced to the classical training at the Grand Central Atelier and began her studies at the academy at age twelve. In 2022, she completed the rigorous four-year Core Program at GCA and became an instructor upon graduating. Outside of her figurative work, she also enjoys painting larger floral pieces. She lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.
Getting to Willlow
By car: Willow is located in the village of South Newfane VT about 25 minutes northwest of Brattleboro VT and 30 minutes northeast of Wilmington VT.
From Brattleboro, take Route 30 north about 9 miles. Go left on Depot Road where the West River and Rock River meet; travel 2 miles on Depot Road until you cross a small bridge over the Rock River; go left on Dover Road through the village of Williamsville; after passing through Williamsville you will cross a covered bridge. Willow is exactly 1.2 miles on your left. If you come to a stop sign you have gone 300 feet past our driveway.
From Wilmington, take Route 100 north toward West Dover about 3.5 miles. A half mile past the River Valley Market, take a right on East Dover Road; travel 1 mile. Take a right on Dover Hill Road; travel 8 miles on Dover Hill Road and E Dover Road (they are continuous) until you reach a 3-way stop sign in the village of South Newfane. Willow is 300 feet past the stop sign on your right.
By train: there are daily Amtrak trains from Washington DC, New York and Springfield MA.
By plane: Travelers may find Hartford (BDL—64.4 miles, 90 minutes) and Boston (BOS—85.7 miles, 2 hours 20 minutes) to be most convenient. Other nearby airports to check are Rutland VT (RUT, 55 miles, 1 hour 20 minutes), Manchester NH (MHT—85 miles, 2 hours), Albany NY (ALB—73 miles, 1 hour 40 minutes), and Worcester MA (ORH, 81 miles, 1 hour 50 minutes).
When you arrive at Willow
Park to the right and rear of Willow’s main house. Follow the signs to the building entrance on the pond (rear) side. Because our front hall will be used as gallery space, the front door will be locked; signs will direct you back to the entrance on the pond side of the building.
© 2025 FLOWSTATE: Connecting Through Art. An Exhibit of Contemporary Classical Realism. All rights reserved.