2218 - Abstract Painting: Line, Form, Color and Surface

Course Overview

“Painting is just another way of keeping a diary.” - Pablo Picasso

Color, form, mark making, gesture, composition, surface interest.. these are a few things that could be present in a painting, along with feeling, atmosphere, and or narrative. Painting has a seductive materiality and presence and the freedom of non-figuration, or abstraction can unleash a great many interpretations. Abstraction can target certain concerns and interests or ask more questions than could ever be answered.

What You'll Learn

Starting with relatively simple exercises to build an initial composition, the students will incrementally increase the image of the painting to stand as an indirect self portrait or visual diary entry of that moment. Formal material discoveries and process derived inventions will collide with vision and subjective sensibilities. There will be no overriding stylist assumptions in the class, it will be about the individual and where they are and want to be as artists.

Additional Information

Supply List:

• Acrylic OR oil paints:
• cadmium red medium
• alizarine crimson
• ultramarine blue
• cobalt blue
• viridian green
• sap green
• Hansa(or lemon)yellow
• burnt sienna(brown)
• titanium white
• An assortment of sizes in brushes but be sure to include some medium and smaller sized soft bristle, square brushes.

For oil; either sable, martin or squirrel hair, or for both multi-use synthetic; multi-use synthetic brushes are the best buy as they are sturdy and cheap and useable for both oil and acrylic painters)

• A few different sized palette knives
• Non odorous solvent (Gamsol is the best) for oil only.
• Disposable paper palettes... the largest size is best
• Cotton rags and or paper towels
• A few closable, containers for solvent (oil only) which must be taken with you at the end of class OR containers for water (for acrylic).
• Two or three canvas boards (please, NO canvas pads, they are useless) OR two or three stretched canvas.........no smaller than 20"something by 16"-18"something....the bigger the better.
• In terms of colors, brushes, collage material etc....this list represents the bare bones of supplies......if you have more, feel free to bring it.