Instructors > Ryan S. Brown

Ryan S. Brown

Guest Instructor

Ryan S. Brown is an award-winning American painter in the naturalist tradition.  Ryan was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, and decided to pursue art as a profession by the time he was a senior in high school. This pursuit led him to Brigham Young University (BYU) where he studied Illustration, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2002.

In his senior year at BYU, Ryan began studying with William Whitaker, a renowned portrait and figurative painter. He became aware of the deficiencies in his University education, and because his interests were in the academic and naturalist traditions of the nineteenth century, it became necessary for him to get the foundational drawing and painting training not offered at the university.

Soon after graduating BYU, Ryan went on to study classical painting in Florence, Italy at the Florence Academy of Art, where upon graduation he won the Painting of the Year and Presidents awards.  Returning to Utah after his studies in 2008, Ryan opened the Masters Academy of Art in Springville, where he passes on the methods and practices within the tradition of classical painting.

​Ryan’s work contains the time-honored qualities of craftsmanship in drawing, color and composition that, although true to the tradition and heritage of painting that pays homage to past masters, have a uniquely contemporary feel. His works reach past culture, race or religion to connect on a human level with viewers.  Often painting the commonplace or the familiar, he allows us to see our world from a new perspective and gain insights into moments often overlooked. He reminds us to stop and see, to think, to dream and to embrace.  These human moments provide us with something that, in today’s world of instant gratification and social media, are all the more important.

Ryan's works remind us of our connection as human beings. They demand contemplation and consideration that moves us far beyond the pleasing images. His works are in public and private collections all over Europe, North America and Australia. Ryan is also the host of The Unvarnished Podcast, which features conversations and interviews with contemporary figurative artists.

2024 Courses:
Composing the Imagined Landscape in Oils | Workshop: 13 - 17 May 2024

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