course syllabus/materials

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course will focus on the introduction and development of painting vocabulary and techniques, the study of painting in a contemporary context through related artists and art historical movements, and the cultivation of ideas as students create a habit of research and investment in their practice and chosen concepts.  Through assigned projects, students will build upon their existing painting ability and technical facility while exploring the possibilities of painting today and how ideas are represented through formal and material choices.  In conjunction with project assignments, students are required to create and maintain a ‘personal archive’ as a way to organize and collect conceptual resources for the cultivation of their personal vision. Individualized instruction and direction will be combined with class assignments, exercises, demonstrations, readings, visiting artist lectures, field trips, and critiques. There will also be a virtual component to the class through a website, which will play a supporting role in instruction and interaction.

EXPECTATIONS

Students are expected to arrive to class on time, ready with necessary materials, and prepared to work. There will be important demonstrations, lectures, announcements, or exercises at the beginning of each class, which will provide crucial information and/or instruction. In addition, students should think of this class as a creative laboratory, with a nurturing and creative community, to work in. Students are not only expected to take full advantage of the studio time, but to use all available resources such as the library, other campus labs, the instructor, and their classmates. In addition to the projects and assignments, there will be in-class critiques.  All students are expected to complete these projects and participate in critiques.

EVALUATION

Your grade will be based on the following:

Attendance 20%,
Production 40%,
Attitude: 20%, Archive 20%

3 absences = Automatic Dismissal; If you are late, see me.

SCHEDULE

Monday, 7/6:

  • Class introductions and slide show
  • Painting supports demo and discussion
  • Intro exercise: trip to library for first three additions to personal archive
  • ONGOING ASSIGNMENT-PERSONAL ARCHIVE: All students should begin and develop a personal archive during the course of the class. The archive can take on the form of a box, notebook, scrapbook, or sketchbook, but should be easy to carry. There are no requirements or restrictions on the content in the archive- just that it all stems from personal interests, practice and research, Examples of archive materials can include: sketches, small paintings, articles, excerpts from books, images, found objects- anything that will fit! Students should add to the archive on a daily basis in order to develop a habit of looking and research, while noticing the relationships and comparisons that occur as they collect.
  • Homework- To bring for next class: painting materials, one to three small (8”x10” or smaller) canvases, papers, or boards to work on.

Tuesday, 7/7:

  • Color theory and composition lesson, vocabulary and exercises
  • Assignment: Color wheel, 7 browns
  • 1ST ASSIGNMENT- INTREPRETING THROUGH COMPOSITION AND COLOR: Of the simple, familiar objects available, students must choose three to ‘interpret’ through composition and color. Students should think about the objects (water bottle, magazine, keys, batteries, etc) and consider how they will choose to convey each object through compositional choices and color decisions based on their own choices and on the lectures in class. Students should ask how the painting describes the function or history object itself and especially consider any experiences, associations, or memories that arise with the objects they choose.

Wednesday, 7/8:

  • Presentations: the first three items in your archive
  • Continue 1st assignment during studio time

Thursday, 7/9:

  • Continue 1st assignment during studio time
  • discuss ‘uncanny’, look at Andy Warhol video

Friday, 7/10:

  • First critique
  • Slide show and discussion-Representing stories and time in a single image:
  • Homework: Build on personal archive over the weekend, prepare and collect materials for the 2nd assignment. Reading: excerpt from Chromophobia by David Batchelor

Monday, 7/13:

  • Demonstration and discussion: working approaches to different source materials past and present
  • 2ND ASSIGNMENT-WHAT IF? TELL A STORY THROUGH IMAGES: Students choose one story that is significant to them. It can be a personal memory, from a newspaper article, or derived from a song lyric- students make sure there is a clear story (to them) in whatever they choose. Questions; How will you tell that story with one image or multiple images? Will it be an object, color, texture, line quality choice, or contrast in scale that will represent the tone or progress of the story? Will you use objects, photographs, mirrors, or found materials as your source(s)? Students may work on canvas, paper, or panel- scale of support must be considered and correspond with idea of story.

Tuesday, 7/14:

  • Field trip to see Kerry James Marshall murals and other paintings in the collection at SFMOMA- specifically looking at story-telling; will visit nearby galleries if there’s time.

Wednesday, 7/15:

  • Continue 2nd assignment

Thursday, 7/16:

  • Continue 2nd assignment

Friday, 7/17:

  • Narrative artist video
  • Continue 2nd assignment

Monday, 7/20:

  • Continue 2nd assignment

Tuesday, 7/21:

  • Continue 2nd assignment

Wednesday, 7/22:

  • Critique 2nd assignment
  • PARTNER RESEARCH PRESENTATIONS: Students will be assigned a person in the class who they will do research for based on their partner’s personal archive. Students will learn who their person is and what themes there are in their archive. Students will then present artists/ideas/resources that they think will be helpful to that person’s practice. Through this exercise, students will become invested in their fellow classmates’ work and hopefully the community of the classroom.
  • Homework: Build on personal archive, conduct research for next assignment, prepare necessary materials for Monday.

Thursday, 7/23: Art History intensive- No class

Friday, 7/24: Art History intensive- No class

Monday, 7/27:

  • Visiting Artist: Martin Machado
  • 3RD ASSIGNMENT-CONVERSATION WITH AN HISTORICAL ARTIST: Students choose an artist from art history that they have learned of and possibly admire. Through painting or paintings, students have a ‘conversation’ with this artist between their work and the students’ work/world/perspective. In this assignment, students take into account the formal elements and content of the artists’ body of work. Through their ‘conversation’ they re-imagine the artists’ work in their painting to fit the contemporary world and their place in it. Questions to consider: What will they paint on? What size should it be?  What will they include in their palette? What are necessary source materials?

Tuesday, 7/28:

  • Continue 3rd assignment.

Wednesday, 7/29:

  • Continue 3rd assignment.

Thursday, 7/30:

  • Continue 3rd assignment.

Friday, 7/31:

  • Continue 3rd assignment.
  • Possible small field trip to Presidio/Golden Gate bridge for fresh air/discussion of class

Monday, 8/3:

  • Install work in Diego Gallery/discuss exhibition strategies and installation

Tuesday, 8/4:

  • Continue 3rd assignment.

Wednesday, 8/5:

  • Continue 3rd assignment.
  • ARTIST STATEMENT: Through a lecture, examples, and discussion, students will be introduced to the artist statement as a way to articulate the visual and inform viewers to an artists’ practice. For their final critique and exhibition, students will write a short statement that considers the work made in the class and the thought process followed through the personal archive. This exercise gives students a chance to articulate their vision developed during the course of the class.

Thursday, 8/6:

  • Continue 3rd assignment.
  • Prepare for exhibition/installation

Friday, 8/7:

  • Critique final projects with presentation of artist statements and personal archives
  • PARTY!!
  • FINAL EXHIBITION!!!

Materials List

Paint* (Acrylic or oil- tubes at least 37ml)

Necessary colors to have:

  • Cadmium Red medium
  • Alizarin Crimson
  • Cadmium Yellow medium
  • Yellow Ochre
  • Ultramarine Blue
  • Cerulean Blue
  • Titanium White
  • Payne’s Grey

Additional recommended optional colors:

  • Napthol Red
  • Venetian Red
  • Viridian
  • Indian Yellow
  • Cadmium Lemon
  • Pthalo Blue
  • Zinc White
  • Burnt Umber
  • Quinacridone Red

*Note: The class will accommodate instruction for both acrylic and oil paint. Please bring the type of paint that you would like to work with. If you have never worked with oil paint, I recommend beginning with acrylic and transitioning to oil later in the class.

Also, avoid buying hues for now (example: Cerulean blue hue). Hues are not made of pure pigments and will have a different result when mixing.

Recommended brands:

  • Acrylic: Golden, Utrecht
  • Oil: Gamblin, Utrecht, Old Holland, Holbein

Mediums (We will discuss and introduce these materials further in class)

  • Oil: Gamblin Gamsol Oderless Mineral Spirits (required for oil painting; you may not use any other kind of mineral spirits in the SFAI painting studios)
  • Oil: Galkyd Painting Medium (2 oz.)

Brushes

Painters accrue brushes on an ongoing basis. Please come prepared with at least ten brushes, varying in size and texture, appropriate for acrylic and/or oil painting. Make sure you have a wide variety (flat, round, wide, thin, etc.) of brushes to work with, ranging from very small to large. We will discuss brushes in greater detail during class.

Painting Supports

  • One pre-made canvas between 8”x10” and 11”x17” will be helpful for the first assignment.

We will discuss painting supports (what you paint on) on the first day of class and we will learn how to stretch a canvas and prepare other surfaces for painting. I recommend that you consider what kind of support you use and what materials you buy as you plan each project during the class, as opposed to buying a bunch of pre-made canvas, panels, and boards ahead of time.

Other Materials

  • Palette- A reusable large plastic palette or disposable palette paper works well for this class
  • Containers for water for Acrylic painting (large yogurt containers or jars work well)

-or- Glass jar for Mineral spirits for oil painting (I recommend Silicoil)

  • Sketchbook/Notebook for personal archive
  • Graphite pencils for sketching/ kneaded eraser
  • At least one palette knife

Other Optional Materials

  • Acrylic Gel Clear Matte Medium (20 oz. Tub) (optional- good for incorporating collage)
  • Additional sheets of 22”x30” or larger 180 to 300lb. paper (optional- great if you’d like to work with paper)
  • Scissors
  • Found materials to paint on (wooden boards or other suitable objects)
  • Small, cheap brushes or sponge brushes
  • Artists and blue painter’s tape
  • Sandpaper
  • Materials for building a canvas (this will be demonstrated and discussed in class):

Stretcher Bars

Canvas

Gesso

Large Brush

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