Southbay plein air art academy
The Southbay's Venture into Art. Come join us!
Palos Verdes Peninsula
ABOUT
The Southbay Plein Air Art Academy was created as a way for painters of all levels to come out to the beautiful Southbay and learn to paint, or learn how to paint better. The area has so many vibrant locations to inspire you, and the act of painting freely under the sky and in the fresh air goes back most importantly to Monet and the Impressionists. Your instructor, Ben Junta, www.paintscapestudio.com has over 3 decades of painting experience and loves to share his knowledge with students. So come on out and enjoy some magical time in the Southbay, see and feel the ocean, and surprise yourself with your new creations!
A graduate of Occidental College, artist Ben Junta www.paintscapestudio.com and www.benjunta.com makes his home in the Southbay. He has a long history of exhibiting his paintings across the United States, including Stanford University, The Vermont Studio Center, Bridgette Mayer Gallery, The Bryant Street Gallery, Hale Arts Spaces in Santa Monica, and most prominently with the well known online and brick and mortar retailer Serena and Lily (his paintings have been featured in their Los Angeles, San Francisco, Westport, CT, Pacific Palisades, Newport Beach and Southhampton, NY locations) www.serenaandlily.com
Born in Carmel, CA, and raised in Los Altos Hills, CA, Ben began his college career at Middlebury College where he played men's football and was the number one singles player on the men's tennis team. He ultimately transferred to Occidental College, where he was the number one men's singles player and voted to the All - SCIAC men's tennis teams in both his junior and senior years.
His post college artistic training occurred at numerous well respected institutions across the United States, including The Cape School of Art in Provincetown, MA, The Santa Fe Art Institute, and the renowned Vermont Studio Center. From these and other experiences he has formed a way of teaching that is rooted in classic art but is kept fun and fresh for students.
Ben keeps a large working art studio located at www.beaconartsbuilding.com as featured in this article link in The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/30/travel/arts-bloom-in-inglewood-calif.html?mcubz=1
His most current landscape exhibition will be Summer 2023 with the Bridgette Mayer Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Instructor Portfolio
Most all pieces here are sold but feel free to inquire
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Classes/Workshops
classes for Adults
Classes are being taught on an ongoing basis. Ben teaches in such a manner that he can have both separate beginner and intermediate classes as well as classes where levels are mixed. Sometimes, depending on one's prior experience, it is nice just to be amongst other painters and be part of a group experience. As this is focused on plein air (outdoor) painting, classes will be meeting in different locations such as the Hermosa Beach Pier, Abolone Cove in Palos Verdes, Point Vicente Lighthouse, Lunada Bay and other locations in Palos Verdes. Please contact Ben for a list of class meeting times. Typically, group classes are a minimun of 2-3 hours and cost begins at $100 per class, per student. Private classes are available as well, beginning at $200 for a 3 hour session and $125 for a two hour private session. Prior to enrollment, a list of needed art materials will be provided. Please email (benjunta@gmail.com) or call/text me (650.799.0525) as these classes are now being reintroduced as things are opening up again with the whole covid thing having calmed down.
Workshops
Multi day workshops are also a great way to gain much information in a more intensive format. These will tend to be multi day experiences where we will start painting in the morning, take a lunch break, and then continue painting after lunch. Due to covid, workshops had been put on hold, but we are ramping back up. Stay posted.