Intermediate Painting: Ground to Surface

Course Description

Summary

When you first learn how to paint, the focus is typically on gaining facility with the application and manipulation of paint to articulate the subject. In this intermediate course, we shift our attention to the often overlooked step that precedes painting: preparing the surface. 

Students will learn how to prepare different supports, including canvas, linen, and wood panel, with different painting grounds and sizing, including: acrylic gesso, acrylic sizing, and oil ground. In addition to demonstrations of surface preparation, students may also learn how to make their own traditional gesso ground and/or egg tempera paint from scratch using raw egg yolks and powdered pigments. 

As students develop material sensitivity and technical skill in preparing surfaces, they will also use those surfaces to create a cohesive body of work on a theme or subject of their choice. In addition to working with oil and/or acrylic paint, experimentation with other painting media, such as watercolor, gouache, and ink, is strongly encouraged. Self-motivated students interested in cultivating a deep material understanding of painting and prepared to pursue independent work will thrive in this course.

Class time will include demonstrations, critiques, and occasional readings, discussions, or slideshows, as well as possible visits to regional museums. Outside of class, students are expected to work rigorously and independently on paintings using their prepared surfaces.

Students are required to purchase a material kit that may cost between $150-$200.