Bachelor of Arts in Art: Studio Arts–Painting

At the core of instruction are individual and group critiques conducted by faculty. The Painting faculty are dedicated educators, accomplished artists, and respected scholars.

Our faculty are known for being actively engaged in helping each student develop her/ his ideas, technical skills, confidence, and professional knowledge. Our students are a diverse group of artists who excel at visualizing their distinctive experiences, cultures, and voices. Students develop habits and problem-solving skills that will inform a lifetime of creative endeavors. Our students become active participants in Studio Arts uniquely vital, and continually strong presence in the contemporary art world.

The goals of the Studio Arts concentration are to:

• Acquire a knowledge and understanding of concepts, and techniques as used to create artworks
• Demonstrate through the creation of a body of work an understanding of the painting process and its use as a medium for communication
• Develop the capability to creatively express one's personal experience and thought with visual skill and clarity
• Develop a critical appreciation of historical and contemporary painting
• Develop expertise applicable to professional practice as evidenced within an art portfolio

Freshmen and sophomore students will focus on the foundations of the visual arts. The core of the upper division studies is the completion of a portfolio of paintings/sculptures during the Senior year for their Senior Thesis Exhibition. The experience of creating a body of work will develop personally significant ideas that reference the Studio Arts rich history and contribute to its lively contemporary conversation. A variety of elective courses are available to provide the opportunity to focus more specifically on career goals and enhance their personal interests.

The Studio Arts–Painting concentration prepares students to be leaders in an increasingly visual world. Painters creatively pose and solve visual problems through complex image-making.

Our students learn both the conceptual and formal approaches to painting, from representational to experimental practices. Students study pictorial space, color mixing, still life studies, landscape, figure painting, and abstraction.