Abstract Painting

This studio-based course introduces students to abstract painting and expands their ability to enjoy and respond to abstract art. Students improve their color skills and learn techniques for composition and improvisation. The course also focuses on creating dynamic color interaction and compelling pictorial space. Each project addresses these themes in different ways using an open strategy for starting the painting and a process of working through formal challenges. Students can work with oil or acrylic paint on canvases or panels. Instruction includes brief demonstrations, studio projects, one-on-one discussion and group critiques. Students should expect to complete at least three works during the course. Lectures also touch on formalism in relationship to representational art and the impact of form on content.