“I was lucky enough to take some sessions with JPA earlier this year and was instantly met by a group of welcoming and talented artists, and a unique creative environment that I have rarely had the chance to experience. The sessions are both investigative and exploratory, while also being lovingly guided by both Misa and Jacob, who are truly devoted to the success of their students. Unlike the traditional art school environment I experienced in college, at JPA I am able to take more risks, feel real safety in leaving my comfort zone, and am able to try new things without the pressure of a conventional classroom setting. I wholeheartedly support and recommend taking classes with these wonderful folks. I enjoy every time I am able to discover and explore more of my art practice with them.”

Like many if not most artists, I am mostly self-taught, and I’m not in a financial or life position to be a full time art student. I feel so lucky to have found JPA last fall.

Through attending JPA’s workshops and classes for the last several months, I’ve been able to benefit from so many aspects of formal art education that I’ve never been able to access before, like regular figure model painting sessions, tons of one on one interaction and space to ask questions, and thoughtful feedback and critique on my work in progress. It’s so gratifying to have people who have known me for years comment on my newer work and note that they see a real change and progression — JPA has been such a huge part of that development for me.

But maybe the most important thing I’ve found through JPA is a community of likeminded people who love making art and want to grow artistically, supported by teachers who are so passionate about education. Jacob and Misa are so wonderful about focusing on individual students and what they want to accomplish, and helping them get there. JPA is a perfect place to explore, experiment with new mediums and techniques, and get inspired.”

“My experience learning with Jacob and Misa has been very rewarding. The first thing that stood out to me was just how friendly they both are. However, by the end of our first class together, I was also blown away by just how passionate they both are as artists and educators. I loved their holistic approach of allowing each student to grow into their own unique voice. They are serious about allowing students the opportunities to explore their own style and sensibilities, and I found that their critiques were always substantive and helpful without trying to direct me down a specific style or path. They were always ready to suggest works by other artists that could help inform and contextualize my own work. As someone who has never received much of a formal art history education, I found this approach to extremely approachable and easy to digest as opposed to being smacked over the head with theory and movements and names and significant artists or pieces to memorize.

It was exactly the sort of soft approach to painting that helps one not only focus on their own process and growth, but to also feel confident exploring artists and history on their own should they choose to.

I’ve been a photographer for about twenty years now but I’ve always had an inkling that I would enjoy oil painting. Before leaving STL to pursue an MFA in photography, I took up the recommendation of a good friend and signed up for Jacob and Misa’s Summer Intensive Cohort to try my hand at putting oil on canvas. Not only did I find a new love and appreciation for charcoal and oil paint, the lessons from Misa and Jacob on composition, figure, structure, and color have really helped me gain a deeper understanding of the fundamentals of visual art in general. I’m already realizing changes in the way I view my photographic process. After years of thinking of photos in the same old way, it’s exciting thing to dabble in a new medium and see how the lessons learned can transform my ideas about something I thought I knew like the back of my hand. Who knows, maybe I should have been a painter all along?

“I studied at JPA for two years, and it was such a life-changing journey. I’m so grateful to have studied under two passionate painters and educators, Misa and Jacob. Across the time, Misa and Jacob guided me through different perspectives of the visual world. More importantly, these new perspectives opened my eyes and cultivated my sensibility. As these new ideas grew within me, they provided pathways to deeper insights into art and life. To me, it’s about relationships, forms, and the realm of the poetic.

As one of their students, I can definitely say that Misa and Jacob are amazing at discovering and accommodating the various characteristics and traits of their students. As the old saying goes, "All roads lead to Rome." Their sincere and humble guidance helped us engage with art in our own ways. Their teaching is such a good remedy for this current restless world. In JPA, It’s not about those cold, mechanical “how-to” methods, but about warm, humanly authentic seeing and experiencing.”