Matthew Collins

OAA FOUNDER & Head instructor
 

I have been drawing since a young age and my family runs an art school for people of all ages. At one point, we hosted workshops with the Academy of Realist Art Toronto. Initially I wasn’t interested in representational realism. I was still in my cartoonist phase at that time. But I gradually came to the conclusion that my best work was when I took my time on one piece. So I gave the ARA method a shot and ended up studying in Toronto with them for 4 years. This gave me strong foundations in realism as well as strong technical knowledge in drawing and painting. While studying there, I started to shadow the instructors and learn a bit about teaching. I even found out that I’m quite good at guiding people and instructing them at their pace.

When I moved back to Ottawa, I took over teaching classical drawing and painting classes at my family run art school. I have given workshops and demos throughout the 6 years I have been an instructor. Now I am the Chief Instructor of the Ottawa Art Academy and I’m proud to help my students successfully improve in their art skills as well as their understanding of academic drawing and painting.