MEET OUR INSTRUCTORS

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   Following a career in secondary education, Trudy Mitchell began her classical training in academic drawing and painting with Christina Grace Mastrangelo in 2014, and is now enrolled in the intermediate level of the atelier program of the Academy of Realist Art in Boston. 

   Her work and artistic interests are inspired by extensive time spent in Florence and Rome which allowed close study of the master works of past centuries. Before (finally!) discovering the means to study Academic drawing and painting, she pursued printmaking with a primary interest in the drawing methods found in etchings. 

   She teaches the classical drawing program at The Mill Studio of Fine Arts using the 19th Century training methods of Charles Bargue. In her role as co-founder of the studio and Program Director, she maintains a well-structured educational program of classes and workshops for the artists of all ages who study at the studio.

   Christina Grace Mastrangelo (b. 1983) grew up in Western Massachusetts. She graduated from the rigorous drawing and painting program at the Angel Academy of Art in Florence, Italy, in 2009. An internationally-recognized artist, Christina has been asked to show at The European Museum of Modern Art in Barcelona, Spain, as well as the Villa Bardini in Florence, Italy. She has had two solo shows in Florence, one at the D'Amour Museum of Fine Art in Springfield, Massachusetts, and her most recent at the St.Botolph Club in Boston, Massachusetts. Of note, Christina has received awards from the Art Renewal Center, Portrait Society of America, Oil Painters of America, and the Salmagundi Club. She is currently represented by the Guild of Boston Artists in Boston and Williams Fine Art Dealers in Wenham, Massachusetts.

    From an early age, Eliza developed an interest in classical art, beginning her study of traditional realist techniques at the age of 14 under the direction of Angel Academy alumnus, Christina Mastrangelo, with whom she trained for five years. In 2012, Eliza’s first oil painting was accepted into the Academic Artists Association's 62nd National Exhibition, receiving the Academic Council Award. She was the youngest artist to ever have been accepted into the annual exhibition at that time. Since then, her work has been shown in the 2013 Alpine Fellowship in Switzerland, and at the Guild of Boston Artists’ 2018 Regional Exhibition. 

Eliza's desire to learn more about the techniques of the old masters lead her to Florence, Italy, where she enrolled in the Florence Academy of Art to study oil painting. At her graduation ceremony in 2016, her advanced still life was selected for the award Best Still Life of the Year.

Currently, Eliza‘s focus is on creating a body of her own work, seeking to merge the ideals of classical aesthetics with expressions compatible to the modern-day experience. 

Carlo Russo graduated from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 2004 where he focused his studies on the  methods and practices of traditional realism.  Since his graduation, he has been a full-time artist and has exhibited his works in numerous galleries across the United States. While known primarily for his mastery in still life painting, he is accomplished in figurative and landscape painting as well. Carlo works in the natural northern light that fills his studio. He is intent on creating beautiful works which capture the myriad textures, colors, and forms that we find all around us. 

Roman Kashalapov is Ukrainian-born and has lived over thirty years in the United States. He has a BFA in monumental sculpture from Gregov’s Art College in Odessa, Ukraine. His career spans over 28 years in the toy industry starting as a sculptor for Design Innovation Inc. Currently, he provides toy designs through his own business, Creative Spectrum Two, LLC.

He loves traveling and his very favorite sculptors are Rodin and Milles - Gaudi , as the artist, is his absolutely favorite!

Tyler Berry was raised in Connecticut. In 2016, he received a BFA from Hartford Art School, and would subsequently work as an animator in Greece and then Poland on the feature film “Loving Vincent”. During this experience, he frequented art museums across Europe, studying the work of the Old Masters and antique sculpture. Tyler focuses primarily on portraiture and figuration striving to bring a fidelity to nature to his pursuit of beauty. These are the driving undercurrents of his work. Tyler is the recipient of numerous awards, and has participated in many group shows in New England, NYC, and Europe. A graduate of Grand Central Atelier's core program, he currently lives and works in NYC.