Fall 2005 - Fall 2009

This class is a thorough treatment of what every painter should know about materials and craft. Topics include:

the history of materials and techniques and their relationship to the formal aspects (and thereby the meanings) of paintings

"traditional" versus new materials

studio practices and methods

health and safety issues.

There will be a presentation by the instructor each week in class. Attendance is compulsory. There will also be a written examination at the end of the quarter, successful completion of which will account for two of the 4 units offered for this class.

In addition to attending the class and passing the exam, to earn four units in this class you must do the following:

build and prepare one well-crafted stretcher complete with canvas

build and prepare one well-crafted panel for painting

make one faithful copy of a painting produced before 1950. (We'll discuss this at length in class)

make one painting using a material or technique you have never used before . (We'll discuss this, too.)