Scott Garder
b. 1986
As an only child, Scott Garder spent long periods of his youth alone contemplating the natural world around him. In this deep observation of his surroundings, he began to develop a keen sense of perception and visual memory. Whether laying in a field of grass in Northern California watching shapeshifting summer clouds, or taking pencil to paper drawing everything from oak trees to comic book characters, Scott’s imagination and visual acuity began incubating from his earliest childhood memories.
As a young adult however, he lost touch with his more sensitive nature and fell into a period of addiction and depression. Having fallen out of contact with what drives him most — love for the visual experience — Scott sought to escape his disconnected life through hard drugs and alcohol.
After several years and a series of rock bottoms, Scott found that sobriety and spirituality were the keys to unlocking a fulfilling life. During this reconnection with the self and newfound clarity of mind, Scott rediscovered his love for art and committed to learning the craft of drawing and painting as the old masters once learned.
Scott now studies full time in Brooklyn, New York at the Grand Central Atelier where he hopes to further develop his visual vocabulary and create works of art that harken back to his childhood, evoking a sense of childlike wonder and reverence for the beauty of the human experience.
Education
2022 - Present / Grand Central Atelier Core Program
2011 - 2015 / Art Institute of California - Sacramento / Bachelor or Science in Graphic Design
Exhibitions
2025 / “Flow State” / Invitational Group Show (Co-curator) / Vermont
2025 / “GCA End of Year” / Group show / NYC
2024 / “Passage” / Invitational Group show (Co-curator) / Vermont
2024 / “Reflection” / Group Show / Connecticut
2024 / “Face to Face” / Invitational Group show / NYC
2024 / “GCA End of Year” / Group show / NYC
2023 / “Atelier” / Invitational Group show (Co-curator) / Vermont
2023 / “The Tronie” / Invitational Group show / NYC
2023 / “GCA End of Year” / Group show / NYC
2022 / “SCNY Figurative Show” / Group show / NYC
Awards & Honors
2025 / Figure Drawing Structure Prix 1st Place / Grand Central Atelier
2024 / Figure Drawing Structure Prix 1st Place / Grand Central Atelier
2024 / Figure Drawing Competition 3rd Place / Salmagundi Club
2024 / Artistic Merit Scholarship / Grand Central Atelier
2023 / Artistic Merit Scholarship / Grand Central Atelier
Teaching & Workshops
2025 - Present / Figure Drawing Instructor / Grand Central Atelier
2025 / Figure Drawing Intensive / Eva Atelier / Brooklyn
2025 / Portrait Drawing Intensive / Wethersfield Academy / Connecticut
2024 / Portrait Drawing Intensive / Wethersfield Academy / Connecticut
Publications & Press
Fine Art Connoisseur / “Contemporary Realism’s Future” / August 2024 Issue
”A Conversation About Art” with Gabriela Handal / Podcast guest / Episode 118