ART 281 Painting 1

Lecture Hours: 2
Lab Hours: 4
Credits: 4

Introduces traditional approaches to and techniques of representational painting. Includes introduction to materials, color theory, historical perspectives, demonstrations, critiques, slide lectures, field trips, research, reading, and studio time for beginning painters who have strong fundamental drawing skills.

Prerequisite: Completion of one of the following 100 level courses: ART 101, ART 115, ART 116, ART 117, or ART 131 or consent of instructor based on drawing skills AND placement into WR 115 (or higher), or completion of WR 090 (or higher) with a grade of C or better.
Student Learning Outcomes:

Choose studio practices and materials that ensure the longevity of paintings, personal safety, and consciousness of environmental impact.
Execute a variety of painting application methods and exhibit a sense of their appropriate use.
Use traditional practices of representation and color in a painting in order to convey a persuasive illusion of space or volume on a 2-D surface.
Design dynamic compositions.
Use color control to create both contrast and unity, through employment of the principles and practices of color theory for painters.
Use a variety of idea generation strategies to develop image complexity and content.
Analyze historical and contemporary visual examples to discover options, precedents, and shifts in representation.
Speak and write critically about paintings-personal, peer and historical.
Use principles to maintain a disciplined work ethic.

Content Outline

Choices of Media and Materials
- Purchasing materials-ex. local paint manufacturers
- Brushes
- Recycled rags
- The reusable palette opposed to disposable paper
- Solvents, mediums
- Supports and grounds. Reuse of canvas and stretcher bars.
- Varnishes
- Pigments
- Additional supplies and use of studio equipment
Safety
- Toxicity of pigments and solvents in regards to self and environment
- Protective measures
  - Selection of medium and pigments
  - Barrier creams
  - Ventilation
  - Solvent (or waste water) disposal and clean-up procedures
Color Theory for Painters
- The color wheel
  - Primary and secondary hues
  - Compliments
  - Neutrals
  - Value
  - Intensity
- Color and context:
  - The relativity of color perception
  - Color within color
- How colors conflict–contrast and disunity
  - The seven color contrasts
    - Hue
    - Value
    - Intensity
    - Complementary
    - Temperature
    - Extension
    - Simultaneous
- How color can be controlled to achieve unity
  - Color harmony - 3 methods
    - Using same or similar values
    - Using analogous colors
    - Neutralizing intensity
  - Use of subjective rather than objective color
  - Employment of color tonality
  - Manipulation of the spatial effects (temperature) of color in the 2-D picture plane
Painting Methods
- Under-painting
- A la prima
- Wet-into-wet
- Scumbling, scrubbing, blending, feathering
- Glazing
Content
- Idea generation strategies
- Personal, art historical, and/or social theme introduction
- Introduction to narrative and metaphor
Historical and Contemporary Representational Painting
Time periods, genres, genders and cultures
Materials and processes of representation
Professional Painting Practices
- Fat over lean
- Finishing and varnishing
- Presentation and framing
- Archival considerations
Practices of Representation
- Hard/obscure edges
- Linear and atmospheric perspective
- Composition
  - Symmetry vs. asymmetry
  - Armature of the rectangle
  - The grid
  - Point of emphasis
- Figure/ground integration
- Brush stroke
Critique and Assessment Strategies
- Group, peer-based, and individual critiques
- Oral and written
- Formal analysis
- Alternative choices
- Suggested use of rubrics to help students recognize both strengths and weaknesses