About Drawn Studio
Drawn Studio is the only drawing-focused art instruction in St. Louis. We teach busy, everyday people who want to draw better without spending years studying anatomy or theory. Practical, focused, and designed for people with full lives.
You do not need talent, background, or prior training to start. We meet students where they are and tailor instruction to their goals, pace, and schedule. Whether you are a complete beginner, returning after years away, or feeling stuck, we prioritize steady, achievable progress.
About the Name/Logomark
“Drawn” is a word with weight. It carries the sense of something completed, a mark already made, and at the same time describes something happening now, the hand moving across paper. It also suggests being pulled toward something, compelled by it. Was drawn. Is drawn. The name acknowledges past, present, and presence.
Across centuries and disciplines, drawing has remained the foundation beneath painting, sculpture, architecture, and design. To draw is to participate in that continuity as a living practice.
The skull in our mark nods to time and inheritance. It speaks to endurance. The traditions of observational drawing have passed through countless hands. They have been preserved, forgotten, revived, and carried forward. Each generation receives them and adds to them.
“Draw a line, wake the dead.”
When we draw, we awaken something inside us. Attention sharpens. The eye slows down. The hand becomes deliberate. In a culture built for speed and distraction, drawing restores focus and presence.
Drawn Studio exists to support that awakening through disciplined instruction, careful observation, and respect for the craft. The past is something we stand on. The present is where the work happens.
Ryan Greis
Founder, Lead Instructor
Ryan Greis is Founder and Head of Instruction/Research at Drawn Studio. Guided by an active interest in late 19th/early 20th Century American Realism art, he has identified and located a number of previously lost works by painters including Frederick Oakes Sylvester and Frank Duveneck. Ryan is also a specialist in representational drawing and brings his unique intrigue in historic art and illustrative drawing techniques to his teaching studio.
His artwork has appeared on the pages of New York Press, St. Louis Magazine, Riverfront Times and other local and regional publications around the United States, earning him numerous awards year after year from the Association of Alternative Newsmedia.
Ryan is a Kentucky Governor's School of the Arts alumni. He earned his Bachelor's of Arts degree in Visual Communication from Northern Kentucky University and his MBA from Lindenwood University.
Jeff De Lierre
Instructor
Jeff De Lierre is a concept artist working in the video game industry. He studied drawing and painting at the renowned Watts Atelier of the Arts in California and has since worked as a professional artist for over a decade. He enjoys working both digitally and traditionally, taking inspiration from the fields of concept art and fine art. His past clients have included Intrepid Studios, Behavior Interactive, Nickelodeon, and Harper Collins, among others.
