Bachelor of Fine Arts - Art - Painting (Optional Co-op)

The Bachelor of Fine Arts concentration in painting is designed to prepare the student to become a fine artist. The integration of studio and lecture courses in the curriculum as well as activities and enrichment opportunities encourages the skills and concepts essential to the student’s growth as an artist. A broad spectrum of methods, ideas and conceptual problems, including still life, landscape and figurative studies, gives students experience with a variety of subjects. Students broaden their visual repertory and develop their skills through the study of color, space, shape, form, texture, surface and the physicality of paint. Advanced courses and the development of the student artist’s personal aesthetic allow the student to create an individual visual “language.”

The Painting program teaches the discipline of painting as a visual language both upholding tradition and seeking innovation. The program's goal is to empower students with a broad range of representational skills, a confident command of materials and processes, and a powerful vocabulary of symbols, metaphors, themes and subjects.

Being a painter means understanding the long history of the medium and how one can use it, disrupt it, and include oneself in that history. The program is structured to underscore individual studio work that is assessed through one-on-one and group critiques.

Art history courses and critical discussions contribute further to a student’s understanding of the important role played by artists in society. Many students discover extensive connections between contemporary issues and the medium’s rich history. As a result, painters learn to document their times, express a personal vision, and influence public discourse on culture and society through painted communication.