Cindy MacMillan - Director
Ms. MacMillan, the Director in Boston is a practicing artist who divides her time between working in the studio and overseeing the academy operations. One of the first graduates of this program in Toronto she completed the rigorous program under the tutelage of Michael John Angel in 2002. She went on to earn a masters degree from the New York Academy of Art in 2007. Cindy has been a recipient of scholarships from the Art Renewal Center and the New York Academy of Art. Her work has won numerous awards and is collected internationally. Cindy is dedicated to providing students a quality art education in a demanding yet supportive environment that respects each student as an individual.
For more about Cindy MacMillan and her work, visit www.cindymacmillan.com
Garrett Vitanza - Senior Instructor
Garrett first attended the Academy of Realist Art when he was sixteen, participating in The “Old Master Workshop” instructed by Fernando Freitas. Garrett grasped the basic skills of oil painting covered in the workshop and executed a self portrait which subsequently won first place in the National Congressional Art Competition in 2004. After graduating High School he moved to Toronto and studied for 3 years at the Academy of Realist Art. Since completing the program he has worked on several commissioned projects including murals. Garrett is currently working on a body of work that focuses on the figure and its relation to narrative and is continuing his education, pursuing a BFA at The School of The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
For more about Garrett and his work, visit http://garrettvitanzaart.blogspot.com
Julie Beck - Instructor
Assistant Director
Julie Beck was born and raised in Western Upstate New York. From 1998 to 2002, she attended Roger Williams University in Rhode Island where she graduated valedictorian with a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics. From 2002 to 2011, she worked primarily as a freelance designer but continued to draw and paint as a self-taught artist. In 2011, a move to Massachusetts introduced her to the Academy of Realist Art, Boston which catapulted her abilities to a new level. Since then, Julie has become both an instructor at, as well as the Assistant Director of ARA Boston.
Julie is an award winning artist currently working out of her personal studio at ARA Boston, where she is developing a body of work that explores the concepts of nostalgia, relationships, and identity. She has a wide range of painting subjects including still life paintings and animal/figurative works. Her work can be found in private collections throughout the US and internationally.
For more about Julie and her work, visit http://www.juliebcreative.com
Eric Johnson - Instructor
Eric Johnson, an American artist, born in Tampa Bay. In the early years of his adult life, he sought to pursue on a journey to find classical training in what once was the most influential city to study art in the early 20th century, Boston. In 2014 he received a scholarship to study at the Academy of Realist Art Boston. He currently is continuing his education and has adopted the working methods and philosophy of the Boston painters. His training has made him appreciate the "classic spirit" and strive to achieve the truthful representation of nature, not photography.
In his endeavor to rediscover the art's past working methods and materials, Eric has fallen in love with the craft of pigment and paint making. Eric makes the majority of all of his materials in the classical methods of the past for his works. Eric placed Third overall in the 2019 Still life and Floral Competition, a finalist in the 2016 ARC Salon as well as in the Richeson's 2016 Figurative and Portrait competition.
Eric was faculty at the 2019 FACE conference and you can purchase his Painting in the Style of Rembrandt DVD here.
Eric’s Website: http://ericjohnsonfineart.com
John Asimacopoulos - Figure and Anatomy Instructor
John Asimacopoulos started as a student at the Academy of Realist Art Boston in September 2015, after making the decision to switch from a medical career to pursue an artistic one. His studies did not go to waste though, as they gave him knowledge, and appreciation of the human body, especially through his study of anatomy, which included dissection. John applied what he learned, and started teaching artistic anatomy, and figure drawing at the school in 2018. He graduated from the school in 2021.
He has won numerous awards, including two Art Renewal Center scholarships in 2017, and 2019, the John F. and Anna Lee Stacey Scholarship Fund in 2017, the Head Start Student Competition in 2017, and second place in the Richeson Still Life & Floral Competition in 2021. He has been involved in group shows at Bowersock Gallery in Provincetown, and the Portsmouth Music and Arts Center. He has also juried for the 3rd Annual Northeast Fine Arts Exhibition in 2021.
He is currently working on a series of narrative paintings exploring the theme of transformation.
Antonio Lones - Instructor
Antonio Lones was born and raised in El Salvador. From a very early age he was involved in artistic activities. His teachers had noticed his affinity for drawing since elementary school, but it wasn’t until 2011 that he was first introduced to formal drawing and painting methods but with no guidance. In 2013, leaving his studies in architecture he moved to the U.S. pursuing ‘the American dream’. He had been very influenced by the realist movement and the classical methodology and as a self-taught artist he kept creating artworks while he was learning a new language. Taking his appreciation for classical painting and portraiture, he started to search for art schools in Boston, which ultimately led him to enroll at ARA Boston in 2018, after receiving a one year full tuition scholarship.
He participated in a group show in 2017/18 which showcased Latino heritage in the Somerville Public Library, MA. In 2020 he won first place in the November self portrait challenge from New Masters Academy with the best technical skill award. In 2021 he won the people's choice award from Richeson Still life and Floral competition. Currently, he is working as instructor while he finishes the main program and starting to build his own series of personal paintings.
You can find him in Instagram here.
Lyasya Sinkovski - Instructor in Training
Lyasya Sinkovski is a Boston-based artist and art instructor. She was born and raised in Moscow, Russia. Despite having drawn most of her life, Lyasya received a degree in Linguistics, summa cum laude, and made a successful career in marketing before switching to art. Lyasya was inspired by and studied Russian academic drawing techniques, but had no formal training. She has always strongly believed that drawing is a foundation of any skill-based art. In 2019 Lyasya received a scholarship at Academy of Realist Art, Boston. Since then, she completed the drawing part of the program and is now studying painting.
Loyal to her first love, drawing, Lyasya teaches Bargue/cast at ARA Boston, while giving private and small group art classes at her home studio in Roslindale and working on her personal projects, mostly portraits. Lyasya’s drawings has won several awards and have been exhibited in Boston City Hall.
