Fine Art & Design – Painting & Visual Research Methods

This course is project based, focusing on research and experimentation processes within contemporary painting and drawing practice. Students will work through two projects in the first term and another two in the second term. These projects will concentrate on the exploration and honing of technical processes, and the development of conceptual and critical skills. For certain self-directed projects students will be expected to provide their own subject matter and source material. The course will further assist students in discovering and exploring themes and images of personal significance with command and clarity.

Central to the learning process and course programme are explorations with drawing, colour and scale. Studio work will involve drawing from a variety of source material (observed and invented), with numerous wet and dry media. The course will focus on the understanding and control of colour, and on the expressive application of acrylic, oil, and watercolour paint. Students will be challenged to experiment beyond existing boundaries, considering the possibilities offered by the appropriate manipulation of colour, light, form, scale and surface. The research process will require visits to the library and contemporary galleries and museums. Students will document the evolution of their work, by recording ideas, research, problem solving and resolution in their notebooks. Critiques will encourage the interpretation and discussion of ones own work, and the work of other students and artists.

This course includes practical demonstrations, lectures, critiques, individual and group tutorials, library research and gallery visits. Students will present project work, preparatory material, notebooks and sketches for assessment, and will be expected to create a cohesive body of work related to a specific theme by the end of the course.