We’ll be honest, watching the video below about faculty member Giovanni Casadei’s works created in Ocean City leaves us pining for a lazy day on the beach with our toes in the sand. But what’s most refreshing about it is learning how Giovanni’s work has evolved since taking a class on abstraction at Fleisher, led by fellow faculty member John Sevcik.

We always hear about the impact Fleisher has on its students, but it’s a rare treat to see how our classes and workshops can impact faculty members. As filmmaker John Thornton states, “Though Giovanni has worked almost exclusively from observation, trying his hand at abstraction seems to have given him a new freedom in his landscapes.”

On a related note, don’t miss your chance to paint outdoors with Giovanni this fall. Join him for landscape painting along the banks of the Schuylkill River on Tuesday mornings or afternoons or in Fleisher’s studios for Alla Prima Figure Painting, Still Life Oil Painting, or an Alla Prima Still Life Oil Painting four-session workshop.

If you’re feeling ambitious and inspired and are wondering what impact a class with John can have on your work, check out the classes he’ll be teaching this fall.

Pictured: “Looking Out,” Giovanni Casadei, 2015.