School of Fine Arts

This course provides a foundation in the practices and materials associated with painting, and prepares students to work in oil- and water-based media. Working from direct observation, students develop an understanding of formal concerns as well as paint manipulation to produce strong representational paintings.

Students explore versatile processes for planning and developing a visual idea using oil-based media. They examine both traditional and contemporary applications while developing their ability to articulate artistic intent. Adhering to professional standards, students also construct painting supports, create grounds for oil-based media and complete photo documentation of their work.

Students examine the connection between material application and meaning through the use of both traditional and contemporary applications of water-based media. Employing versatile processes for planning and developing a visual idea, students explore techniques such as wet-into-wet, dry-brush paint application and masking. Students also select and prepare professional-quality painting supports for water-based media and complete photo documentation of their work.

Emphasis is placed on the development of creative, individualized approaches to materials and content, including the incorporation of complex and varied subject matter, media and concepts. Using a structure that alternates studio sessions with lectures and discussions of visual documentation, presentation and other professional components, students create work in a thematic series that develops their painting methods and personal concepts.

From Kandinsky to Twombly, artists use abstraction to reveal their unique and innovative interpretations of the tangible world and to expand the viewers’ perception of art and reality. In this course, students analyze and create works that transcend a purely representational depiction of the world around them to continue the evolution and expansion of their visual language. Students explore various approaches to abstract painting and apply this knowledge to the analysis and creation of their work.

Using a particular era or artist as the focal point, this course provides an extended exploration of a traditional oil painting medium or method. Replication projects provide direct experience with the medium or method under investigation. In a final independent project, students adapt the traditional applications they learned in the creation of their own contemporary work.

With an examination of the conceptual, perceptual and technical evolution of portraiture in the history of painting, this course provides an excellent overview of portrait painting. While the course concentrates on issues specific to this genre, attention is also given to the role of technique and theory in the expression of the masters and contemporary practitioners. Models are available for the entire quarter.

This course provides an overview of landscape in painting, with a focus on the conceptual, perceptual and technical evolution of the landscape image in the history of painting. While the course concentrates on issues specific to this genre, attention is also given to the role of technique and theory in the expression of the masters and contemporary practitioners.

Moving beyond the pictorial tradition of painting, students explore the use of nontraditional materials to engage in spatial and temporal strategies, such as installation, performance, light, sound and other media. Emphasis is placed on the cross-media use of technology, presentation and documentation.

Students create a cohesive body of work based on a studio proposal. Students develop appropriate goals in coordination with the professor to explore the language of color, shape and texture in relationship to expanded concepts.

This course introduces students to various aspects of conceptual art and explores practical issues relevant to painting within current contemporary art. Technical expansiveness, theoretical development and the role of visuality are explored through projects and class discussion.

The pictorial language of painting applies to a range of narrative-based disciplines, including illustration, film, theater and animation. Through an investigation of the painter as storyteller, students explore a variety of narrative structures and expressive strategies. Students learn about the interdisciplinary relationship between painting and art production studios through individual and collaborative opportunities.

Students engage in urban environments through the creation of site-specific public artworks that connect place, audience, and community. From murals and installations to sculptural interventions, students navigate the technical, aesthetic, and collaborative dimensions of public art. The course emphasizes professional practices including proposal writing, budgeting, and client engagement, preparing students for real-world commissions and public projects. Hands-on production is supported by access to advanced fabrication tools, enabling ambitious, contemporary work. Students build portfolios that reflect both creative vision and industry readiness, while critically examining the social and ethical impact of art in public spaces.

The human image — particularly the conceptual, perceptual and technical issues surrounding figurative representation — is investigated in this course. Topics may include the psychological, political, and abstracted bodies, and the figure in contemporary art. Image presentations, critiques, live model sessions and gallery/museum visits supplement studio work.

Extending the skill base acquired in Life Painting, this course focuses on the conceptual, perceptual and technical evolution of the human figure in the history of painting. While the course concentrates on advanced issues specific to this genre, attention is also given to the role of technique and theory in the expression of the masters and contemporary practitioners. Students gain experience with multiple figure compositions and complex environments. Models are available for the entire quarter.

With a focus on the conceptual, perceptual and technical evolution of the landscape image in the history of painting, this course continues to develop the skill base begun in landscape painting. While the course concentrates on advanced issues specific to this genre, attention is also given to the role of technique and theory in the expression of the masters and contemporary practitioners.

In this course, students evaluate their existing portfolio and conduct research to formalize the concept for a professionally refined, cohesive body of work that reflects their personal vision. Students create and revise individual work, appropriately integrating constructive feedback. Professional presentation standards and installation methods appropriate for their chosen audience are employed.

Internships offer students valuable opportunities to work in a professional environment and gain firsthand experience to help them prepare for careers. In an approved internship setting, a student typically spends one quarter working with an on-site professional supervisor and a faculty internship supervisor to achieve specific goals and objectives related to the program of study.

To succeed in the competitive fine art market of the 21st century, artists must present a professional and cohesive body of work that reflects their unique aesthetic, and incorporates advanced techniques and fabrication methods. Critical thinking, decision-making and contemporary art discourse are emphasized as students prepare for their professional careers and engage with the art world through participation in exhibitions, open studios and sales opportunities.

This accelerated drawing course covers fundamental considerations of drawing as a form of expression. The objective is to enhance students’ awareness of and skill with technique, materials, composition and aesthetics.

Allowing graduate students to develop their strengths pertaining to their own aesthetic and choices of materials, this open-studio course also enables them to work toward an advanced cohesive body of work. Students have relevant reading and writing assignments and are required to complete a finished artist’s statement.

This first-year graduate studio course explores painting as a formal visual language. Students create directed new work that examines their own formal choices: color, value, line, shape, surface quality, composition and scale. The course is driven by group critiques, individual critiques, and reading and writing assignments.

This independent studio course approaches drawing as a unique fine art medium, as well as a means for building momentum for work in other media. Students explore drawing both as a process through which ideas may be presented and as a finished product with renewed relevance in contemporary art. The course encourages students to establish a working method in drawing unique to their respective studio practice.

Students explore abstraction as a dynamic language of expression, tracing its historical roots and contemporary relevance through studio practice. By engaging with a wide range of materials, surfaces, and construction techniques, students develop a personalized approach to abstract composition. The course emphasizes experimentation, critical reflection, and conceptual development, encouraging students to translate referent forms into innovative visual statements. Through hands-on work and professional documentation, students build a portfolio that reflects both technical skills and creative risk-taking.

With coursework structured according to the goals and needs of each student, this studio course is designed to refine students’ personal direction and critical vocabulary. Both individual and group critiques support the projects.

Using an individual program designed for each student based on previous coursework, this studio course is designed to further refine students’ personal focus and critical vocabulary. Both individual and group critiques support the projects.

This course provides graduate painting students the opportunity to establish an individual work plan and criteria under the guidance of a faculty member within a standard course format. Students create a feasibility plan that outlines the resources needed to meet objectives of their work plan. A student must have passed the faculty preliminary review in order to be eligible to take this course. The course is recommended for sequencing as an elective in the fourth quarter of the M.F.A. in preparation for the review for candidacy.

All M.A. painting students are required to create a personal, cohesive body of work and an extended artist statement. Students have the opportunity to combine historic and contemporary references with focused, self-directed expression, articulating ideas and contextual theories through refined critical self-analysis.

This studio course is designed to further refine students’ personal focus and critical vocabulary. An individual program is designed for each student based on previous coursework. Both individual and group critiques support the development of thesis exhibition and the quality of the work.

This course focuses on the conceptual, perceptual and technical evolution of the human figure in the history of painting. While the course concentrates on advanced issues specific to this genre, attention is also given to the role of technique and theory in the expression of the masters and contemporary practitioners. Students explore complex figure groups, complex environments and sophisticated use of scale. Models are available for the entire quarter.

This course introduces the historically complex role of the painter as narrator, concentrating on the balance of subject matter with aesthetic form. Students explore the unique pictorial requirements of narrative painting, such as depictions of the passage of time. Students also investigate categories of contemporary narrative painting, while simultaneously evaluating painting’s relationship to other current narrative forms.

This course introduces students to various aspects of conceptual art, and explores practical issues relevant to painting within current contemporary art. Technical expansiveness, theoretical development and the role of visualization are explored through projects and class discussion.

This studio course is designed to further refine students’ personal focus and critical vocabulary. An individual program is designed for each student based on previous coursework. Both individual and group critiques support the projects.

This independent studio course for advanced students involves studio visits, critiques and seminar discussions about each student’s respective work, in preparation for the thesis. Each student finishes the course with a cohesive, exhibition-ready body of work, thesis statement, thesis outline and thesis document rough draft.

Students in this course undertake a field assignment under the supervision of a faculty member.

Students in this course undertake a teaching assignment under the supervision of a faculty member.

This course constitutes the culmination of the student’s research process. Painting M.F.A. candidates develop and prepare an original exhibition, accompanied by a written component, and complete research for post-graduate success.

Students research and explore a vast array of contemporary creative directions and career opportunities that transcend traditional fine art constructs. Building upon their visual language, students discover the possibilities of creating art and design in anticipation of scientific and technological advances, viewer experiences and emerging materials of the 21st century.

Fine artists use digital technologies to realize greater breadth and depth of creative expression. Through an exploration of advanced 2D and 3D digital applications, students enhance the complexity of their personal studio practice, and advance and expand the possibilities of their fine art.

By transforming space, installation artists create immersive, interactive experiences that alter the role of audience, from viewer to participant. Students engage in creative problem-solving to manipulate a space with physical and technological enhancements.

Fine art students gain an understanding of entrepreneurial strategies that are essential for a sustainable career as a visual artist. A digital art portfolio, website and marketing materials promoting a personal brand are produced to prepare students for career, exhibition and business opportunities. Additional business practices such as sales, expenses, record keeping, taxes and copyrights are examined.

To build a successful personal brand, artists must combine creative vision with business acumen and an entrepreneurial spirit. Through extensive exploration of current market opportunities, students define an intended brand position and establish a brand personality for a product, service or individual. Students engage in entrepreneurial strategies aligned with career aspirations to develop confidence and gain a competitive edge in creative industries.

The role art exhibitions in museums, galleries, art fairs, digital platforms and alternative venues play in the current art market are examined in this course. Students collaborate in the mounting of an exhibition, participating in every stage — from budgeting and venue selection to exhibition design, marketing and sales.

Students from a variety of disciplines within the School of Fine Arts work as a team to research, conceptualize and develop creative solutions for current design challenges. Specific projects vary from quarter to quarter. [This course may be taken up to three times for credit.]

Students redefine studio practice by integrating traditional artmaking with digital and emerging technologies. Through hands-on exploration of industry standard application, emerging technology platforms, and fabrication tools, students create hybrid works that expand the boundaries of contemporary painting. The course emphasizes concept development, technical proficiency, and professional presentation, guiding students through the full lifecycle of a self-directed project. From image editing and motion graphics to laser cutting and 3D modeling, students gain fluency in tools that support both visual experimentation and real-world application.

This course enlarges students’ critical vocabulary as well as their familiarity with current critical theory. Students increase their understanding of the reciprocal relationship between the theoretical structure of an artwork and the processes that constitute its form. Students begin to closely examine the theories and processes operating in their own work. All projects, critiques, writing assignments and discussions are designed to strengthen students’ respective work.

This course is designed to prepare M.A. students for fine art business practices. Class topics include building an exhibition record, dealing with the legal issues of art, preparing a professional portfolio and managing an online presence.

Expanding beyond the pictorial traditions within fine arts, students engage nontraditional media to inform their conceptual development. Emphasis is placed on extending beyond conventional and self-established forms of artmaking to consider space, sound, light and other media. Spatial and temporal strategies such as installation, performance and video are examined.

Utilizing new technology, this course takes advantage of the synthesis of media as a current and prevalent trend in the promotion and marketing of contemporary fine arts work. The course prepares students for the business aspects of a fine art career, including portfolio preparation, exhibition opportunities, Web-based and social media marketing and relevant business practices.