What Sets Us Apart

Our program recognizes painting as an expanded material and conceptual field. We value critical thinking, technical skill, and experimentation equally. Painting is not bound to a single dimension, form, or style – nor even to paint itself. Images (both still and moving), objects, and actions are produced through painting. They take place on canvas and paper, in real time and space, and on screens. In painting, we hold up mirrors to the world, and we build worlds.

Program Highlights

At the School of Art, students attain skill in observational study and critical thinking in Foundations (introductory courses in drawing, design, and art history). The Painting curriculum extends this work in its introductory courses as students become fluent in both water- and oil-based painting. Such technical dexterity and versatility enable students to articulate themselves, and to develop a ‘voice' in painting that both serves and gives rise to conceptual rigor. Through intermediate and advanced levels of study, students deepen and diversify their approach to medium, process, style, and content, and are increasingly challenged along both technical and conceptual lines. Their study culminates in the generation of a mature body of work and, through mentorship and professional practices coursework, they graduate prepared to enter – and reinvent – the expanded field of painting as skilled visual thinkers.

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STUDENT ART

 

 

 

Facilities & Technology

 The painting area manages two spacious and well-equipped primary studios, Art Building rooms 103 and B09, and shares additional space with other areas in the School of Art. Most classes using oil-based media are taught in Art 103, while Art B09 is primarily for water-based media. Both spaces feature Wi-Fi, enabling students and instructors to access online materials and information while working in the studios, and have permanently installed flat panel monitors for projection. Although most painting courses do not require any electronic devices, most students use laptops or tablets regularly in our classrooms to help them complete assignments and projects and access course materials and information on Blackboard.

Art 103 provides over 1,700 square feet of space, sufficient for up to 18 students to have workspace at easels with taborets or table-top surfaces. The room features a critique wall with dedicated lighting, painting storage racks and flat files, and student lockers. Up to five classes can be offered each term, and painting students are welcome to work independently when there are no scheduled classes. There is a dedicated ventilation system for frequent air exchange, and a small, enclosed area for processes that require extra precautions, such as large surface glazing or encaustic work. Floor-to-ceiling north windows provide natural light, overhead lighting provides even artificial light, and track lighting with adjustable flood can be used to illuminate subject matter such as still life arrangements or figure painting models. There are banks of deep sinks for cleanup, and a supply closet for storing various consumable materials for students, supplemental stand lights, demonstration materials, and other supplies.

Art B09 operates in a similar fashion, providing over 1,200 square feet of space for up to 15 students to have workspace on several table-top surfaces along with an easel for each. The room features a dedicated critique wall, two sink areas, painting storage racks and flat files, and student lockers. Stand lights and adjustable floodlights are used to complement banks of fluorescent lighting in the general workspace and to provide directional illumination for still life arrangements and portrait studies. Up to three classes can be offered in B09 each term.

The painting area also shares use of Art SB15, a dedicated critique/exhibition room, with the printmaking and photography areas. Used primarily by advanced and graduate level classes, the “Alt Space” provides 700 square feet of floor space and over 70 linear feet of wall space for displaying and critiquing 2D and 3D work or creating installation work. The room features several pedestals and adjustable, gallery-style track lighting for presenting and photographing student work. For outstanding seniors nearing graduation, the area provides one to three competitively assigned senior studios each semester, which are individual spaces of about 140 square feet each within a larger room. Outside of Art 103, the area regularly exhibits examples of undergraduate student work on about 22 feet of lighted exhibition wall, prominently visible across from the School of Art's main office entrance.

Painting Lab Rm 103

75 cubicle lockers
45 flat files 
98 medium painting racks 
38 large painting racks 
2 fire safe cabinets (one is located in 103A)

Painting Lab Rm B09

21 flat files
24 wooden lockers
15 metal lockers
4 wooden supplies drawers
1 large wooden supply closet
24 painting racks 

admissions

Upon completion of the Foundations curriculum, students interested in painting are invited to participate in a portfolio review with area faculty. The review is an opportunity to receive feedback on current work and to learn more about the Painting program. In addition, faculty and students will discuss future coursework, the student's artistic interests and ambitions, and potential career paths after graduation.

Curriculum