Painting—Arts 161/262/263—Spring 2016
Tuesdays; 6:10 p.m.-9:50 p.m.; Studio 104, Building C
Office Hour: Tuesdays, 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Professor Julia Healy
Jhealy@qcc.cuny.edu
Course Descriptions: Arts
161: Basic elements of oil or acrylic painting,
designed for acquisition of skill and technique in the medium. Experiences in
realism, abstraction and non-objectivity.
Introduction: This course will explore painting at the beginning
level. Students will receive basic instruction on learning "to
see" and develop skills in using form, tone, color and composition.
Subjects will include still life, landscape, the figure and a self-portrait.
Occasional presentations on historic and contemporary artists will supplement
the topics covered, as well as a self-guided visit to a museum. We will have
ongoing individual critiques, as well as group critiques and written
self-reflections and writing assignments over the course of the semester.
Course Objectives
At the end of the course, students will:
· Employ
techniques of mixing and blending color
· Create
the effects of three-dimensional forms with shadow and light
· Observe
and arrange still life objects, the figure and landscapes into a strong
composition of forms and
shapes
· Analyze
personal work through critique and feedback from classmates and
instructor
· Examine
works by other artists that relate to their process
· Identify
elements and principles of design in the world around them and translate
these into paintings
· Create
five paintings, including one final project
· Develop
our thinking and writing skills through personal reflections and
aesthetic
inquiry
Attendance and Lateness: Attendance is mandatory and essential to your
performance. There is no substitute for working and participating in
class. Three absences are grounds for a failing grade.
Please be on time. Class
begins promptly at 6:10 p.m. Two tardies will be
counted as one absence. If you will have an ongoing scheduling
conflict, please discuss it with me at the beginning of the semester. Note that
parking is always an issue, so allow time to find a space or take public
transportation.
Make-Up Policy: As a student in this course, it is your responsibility to make
certain you obtain information covered, should you miss a session. This
syllabus and our blog have the information you need to know what we are working
on and what it due. Previously-absent students must come to the following class
with all of the appropriate work finished for that class.
Grading: Individual grades will be given for each of the four first paintings
and averaged to make up 40% of your grade. Class participation/attendance
will count as 10% and your written assignments/reflections will count for
another 20%. Your final project will count for 20% of your grade. Bringing in a
self-portrait photo for the last project will count for 10%. Two unexcused
absences will lower your grade by one letter grade. (From a B to a C,
for, instance.)
Sample Rubrics for Fruit
Still Life painting:
To receive a D, make a painting as assigned from
observation
To receive a C, make a painting as assigned from
observation and show that you can make it three-dimensional using light and
dark colors
To receive a B, make a painting as assigned,
from observation, show that you can create a three-dimensional effect using
light and dark and show that you understand how to mix and blend colors for
shading and use composition to good effect
To receive an A, make a painting as assigned
from observation, show that you can create a three-dimensional effect using
light and dark, show that you understand how to mix and blend color and show
that you can create texture and surface qualities, understand and employ
thoughtful composition, background, middle ground and foreground, while, at the
same time, you are also developing your own style
Supplies: See below. Materials and supplies for this class
are not inexpensive but if you take care of them, they will last a long time.
We will discuss how to approach buying the materials the first class. You
must come prepared to work every week, with all the materials you need. Do not
expect other students to lend you paint, brushes and canvases!!!
Writing Help: You may want to refer to a very helpful website operated by Purdue
University: http://owl.english.edu
The format to use is the MLA one and they have
many resources available to help you make your writing better.
Sessions:
Feb. 2 Introduction and Syllabus; Group Project
Feb. 16 Introduction to the Still Life: Tonal Still
Life (Painting #1)
Bring canvas or canvas
board (12 x 16" or so), rags, black and white paint, turpenoid,
3 bright brushes of different sizes and other brushes as desired, jar for turp,
palette, brush cleaner and lots of rags!
Feb. 23 Finish Tonal Painting (#1)
Have another support available to work on a free-choice, if you finish early. Reflection/Writing
sheet #1 due next week.
Mar. 1 Painting
#1 Critique at 6:10 p.m. Introduction to Color. Begin Fruit Still Life (Painting
#2) Bring small canvas or canvas board no bigger than 9
x 12", palette, brushes, rags, turpenoid, brush cleaner and all your
colors.
Mar. 8 Fruit
Still Life.(Painting #2), continued and completed. Be prepared to work. Reflection/Writing
sheet #2 due next week. Bring a landscape photo to paint next week. This will
be graded as a project!
Mar. 15 Landscape Power Point.
Begin Landscape Painting (Painting # 3) or
continue still life. Bring canvas or canvas board at least 14 x
18", palette, brushes, rags, turpenoid, brush cleaner and all your colors.
Mar. 22 Critique
on Fruit Still Life (Painting #2) at 6:10 p.m..
Landscape (Painting #3) begun or continued.
Mar. 29 Landscape
(Painting #3), continued and finished. Reflection/Writing
sheet #3 due next week.
Apr. 5 Last week for the Landscape! If done, you may want to start your final project, since we won't have a model this week. (See below)
Apr. 12 Begin Painting #4 Nude Figure. Bring a canvas or canvasboard at least 14 x 18” and the usual supplies. Note: Get your self-portrait picture done by May 3!!!!
Apr. 19 Nude, Week 2. Reflection sheets handed out and due next week. Also, bring in an image of you (with your face showing), printed out on 8 1/2 by 11” paper, no later than May 3. This is required and will be 10% of your grade.
May 3
May 10 Self-Portrait, Continued.
May 17 Self-Portrait, continued for 2 hours. Then Final Critiques on last three paintings.
___________________________________
262
The sessions are as above.
At this point you should have the basics of oil
painting down. I expect you know and understand:
The color wheel
Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, Complimentary
Colors
How to dull colors without using black
The idea of edge (as opposed to line) in
painting
How to blend
How to make different marks with the same brush
and different brushes
Composition
Foreground/Middle Ground/ Background
The importance of light and dark to create
illusion
How to use texture to great advantage
The importance of subject matter
If you are deficient in any of the above areas,
you may want to do some of the assignments for 161 to catch up.
If you feel comfortable with your painting abilities
and are familiar with the above, we will plan your curriculum together. Bring in a few samples of your work, as well
as any images on a thumb drive that you might have. (Phones are too small to
really see your work best.)
We will choose a theme or themes and work out
what processes you would like to explore. Some of the possibilities are:
glazing, scumbling, acrylic underpainting/oil over painting and mixed media.
Your materials, including your supports, will depend on your choices.
I expect you will have at least five works completed by the end of the
semester, and I will ask you to reflect on them in writing as part of your
grade.
Grading; Each painting will count as 15% of your
grade to make 75%. Your attendance and class participation will count as 10%.
Written assignments will count as 15%. Two unexcused absences will lower
your grade by one letter grade. (From a B to a C, for, instance.)
263
The sessions are as above.
You should know and be able to show
understanding all of the above concepts listed in the 262 syllabus, as well as:
Understand some of the possibilities of glazing,
scumbling, smafuto and chiarscuro.
Be able to identify transparent colors
Be able to identify opaque colors
Have a rudimentary understanding of the
interaction of color
Have a body of work that exhibits a personal style
Have a direction you want to explore this
semester
If you need to catch up in any way with some of
the above concepts (in 262 and 161 as well), you may work on some of their
assignments if you would benefit from them.
I expect you will have at least five works completed by the end of the
semester, and I will ask you to reflect on them in writing as part of your
grade.
Grading; Each painting will count as 15% of your
grade to make 75%. Your attendance and class participation will count as 10%.
Written assignments will count as 15%. Two unexcused absences will lower
your grade by one letter grade. (From a B to a C, for, instance.)
"ACCOMMODATIONS FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:
As stated in the current college catalog, any student who
needs specific accommodations based on the impact of a disability should
register with the office of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) to be
eligible for accommodations, which are determined on an individual basis. The
SSD office is located in the Science Building, room S-132 (718-631-6257).
Students should also contact their instructor privately to discuss their
specific needs."
Supplies
Apron or old shirt to use as smock. You will
ruin your clothes otherwise!
Container for paints such as a large shoebox,
tackle box or canvas tote.
A glass jar or two with a lid for turpenoid.
Label with your name.
Soft pencil 4B and eraser (optional)
Scissors (optional)
RAGS: LOTS OF THEM! OLD COTTON BEDSHEETS RIPPED UP, OLD WHITE
T-SHIRTS, ETC. NOTHING WITH A NAP, LIKE A TOWEL.
Turpenoid in the blue and white container (not the green one)
Master’s Brush Cleaner
Brushes: DON’T
BUY CHEAP SETS…THEY ARE USUALLY A RIP-OFF. Get soft, sable or sableline
brushes, not the stiff hogs hair kind. Those are harder to control. If you take
care of your brushes, they will last a long time.
Minimum Brushes Needed:
Several BRIGHT brushes (1-2 smalls, 2-3 mediums,
1-2 bigger)
1
ROUND brush medium/small
filberts,
flats (optional)
Palette knife
Palette—Palette paper tear-off pads are fine (12
x 16 “ gives you enough mixing room)
Paint
Oil is preferable for beginners. If you have to
use acrylic, see me privately. I use Gamblin Paints, but Windsor and Newton,
Utrecht, and Grumbacher are also good. The best student grade oil paint is
WINTON.
Basic Beginning Colors
37 ml tubes of:
Cadmium Red Medium
Cadmium Yellow
Alizarin Crimson
Ultramarine Blue
Permanent Green Light
Viridian Green
Burnt Umber
Raw Sienna or Yellow Ochre
Burnt Sienna
Ivory Black
Large 150ml tube of Titanium White
Optional Colors:
Cadmium Orange
Cerulean Blue
Terre Verte Green or Hooker’s Green
Dioxazine Violet
Magenta
Supports—stretched canvases or canvas boards or
a combination thereof
