COURSE DESCRIPTION:

     Beginning Painting is an intensive studio course that offers painting as an investigation of color, application, space and mark-making through the exploration of oil paint. I sometimes call it a boot camp for beginning painters. It requires great dedication and patience which a majority of the time is eventually rewarded.
     The emphasis for the semester will take two directions in tandem: 1.)painting from life and 2.)painting in traditional and non-traditional formats. (For example, how might you paint a landscape from life then address it with a post-modern approach?) These two approaches will include an introduction to three major genres: still life, landscape and the human form. Class periods will be split between demonstrations, slide lectures, in-class painting, group critiques and individual critiques. We will have some days of short-term, in-class assignments (finishing a painting in one sitting called a la prima) and many days of working on paintings for longer duration. Out of class work will include the paintings begun in class and sketches for preparatory work. For every hour spent in class, working, you need to spend an hour, MINIMUM, working out of class. This is the required time needed to earn an average grade defined as a "C". In addition to painting, you will be expected to keep a sketch book for developing ideas and taking notes from slide presentations, to read articles on contemporary painters and to attend openings and talks given in Olin Gallery

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

1. Come to know painting as a material (medium, pigment, ground and support) as well as something to be manipulated to make an illusion.
2. Develop an awareness of the painted space through color, transparency and opacity and varying methods of application.
3. Develop an awareness of the history of painting as it relates to the studio artist--that is, the evolution of different attitudes toward paint, the subject, paint and painting as object and picture.
4. Begin a familiarity with sketching for paintings. We will specifically explore color collage, painted sketches on paper and color drawings as preparatory exercises for work on canvas.
5. Practice the proper use and disposal of paint.
6. Begin to notice and develop intuitive or personal instincts toward paint as material and painting as idea through consistent, rigorous exercise.
7. Test preconceptions of painting (the act of and the object).

COURSE POLICIES:

1. Attendance: Since most of your work will be done during in-class studio time and feedback from me and your classmates is critical to your artistic growth, your presence is fundamental to your doing well in this course. If you have to miss a class due to extreme illness or a family emergency, you should call or e-mail me beforehand. Ambulatory illnesses, taking friends to the airport and leaving early for vacations will not be excused. More than three unexcused absences will adversely affect your grade. For each missed class beyond three unexcused your final grade will drop one grade. (For example, if you had a B- in the class, it would drop to a C+ for four unexcused absences.) You may not use a critique day as a day for an unexcused absence.
      You should be prepared to paint at the start of the class. that means that your palette, easel, and surface must be prepared for the beginning of class. There is no time to waste. Clean up will occur in the last 15 minutes of class. Leaving early is equivalent to a full absence. I am a real stickler for beginning on time. Attendance will be taken at the start of class and three tardies will equal one absence. It is your responsibility to see me after class to be marked present.
2. Participation: experimentation, and rigorous engagement with new ideas and techniques are expected. Positive attitude as in hard work and enthusiasm is essential!!!!!!!
3. Grading: will happen after a five week portfolio review, after 10 weeks and at the end of the semester. I will use a point system for all assignments. You will be given minor assignments such as work in the sketch book and readings on 20th century painters. All painting assignments will have a due date for the critique at which time the work should be 80-90% complete if not totally finished. You must be at the critique to receive credit on an assignment. Missing a crit equals two absences. Also, you must participate in the critique to receive a project grade. Even if you tend to be shy, I expect comments from you since the group critique gives everyone the opportunity to learn how to verbalize judgments regarding works of art.

Following are criteria which enter into the grade you receive on a project. The assignment will determine the weight of each one of these.

1. Creativity/Concept: How original are your ideas? How committed were you to processing them? (I put much emphasis on effort--it has a great deal to do with how you grow as a painter.) Did you challenge yourself in content and craft? Did you confer with the instructor as you were working on the painting? Did you do necessary research and preliminary sketches?
2. Design elements: How successful is the composition? the color? spatial concerns? How do the formal elements work together and do they support the content?
3. Craftsmanship: How well do you handle the paint? Is neatness an issue? Is the support well constructed and/or or gessoed properly? Are surfaces handled in such a way that they complement the message for the painting? Is the framing done properly? If other media is added to the painted surface has this been done correctly?

Any project may be resubmitted in which case the new grade will be averaged with the first to create your grade for that assignment. You may meet privately with me at anytime to discuss your progress in the class.

DISABILITIES:

If you have a disability and therefore may have a need for accommodations to participate in this course, please feel free to discuss you concerns in private with me AND be sure to contact Erin Salva, PBX 5453, in the Office Of the Dean for Academic Advising or e-mail her at SALVAE@kenyon.edu.

REQUIRED TEXT: Artist Manual: A complete Guide to Painting and Drawing Materials and Techniques, Angela Gair, editor

MATERIALS LIST: (all items except * are available at the Bookstore)

J-21 Stapler and staples (Arrow Brand avail at hardware stores)
Brushes:  Flat (hog) bristle brush #6, #10, #12
                 Filbert #4, #8
                 Round Sable #4, #6
Palette Knives: 1 trowel, 1 flat
Bottle of Liquin, 2.5oz
1 bottle cold pressed lindseed oil, 2.5oz. (opt.)
1 bottle of Damar varnish 2.5oz. (opt.)
1 bottle stand lindseed oil, 2.5oz. (opt.)
1/2 gallon Turpenoid (oderless turpentine); you may share gallon containers or buy two quart containers
Disposable palette, 12"x16"or larger

1 tube Oleopaste, 2oz. (opt. for creating texture/impasto)
Sketchbook, ringbound, 11"x14"
8 sheets of posterboard
3-5 yards of canvas
1 pr. Scissors, 6-8"
2" or 3" house paint brush*
2 qts. gesso; you may want to share a gallon with someone
4pcs. Vine Charcoal, #42
Cups and small tines for mediums*
Roll of paper towels*
2-3 LARGE jars with lids (e.g., mayo, lg. peanut butter, NOT juice bottles)
box of oil pastels, intermediate quality
Rags (cotton/old t-shirts are best)
2 #2 pencils

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