Painting Curriculum

Maine College of Art & Design’s Painting faculty believe uncovering what individuals want to express carries equal weight with learning how to express it. Formal development is balanced, from the beginning of the curricular delivery, with conceptual growth. Traditional and nontraditional methods of painting are supported in the department and discussed within the context of the history of painting. The curriculum requires each painting major to choose an elective outside or within the department that supports their individual interests. The Junior and Senior year of the major is designed to be an immersive studio experience, and throughout the painting curriculum, courses, assignments and concepts are cumulative in nature. As each course progresses, students gain the ability to integrate formal, technical and conceptual information on increasingly deeper levels. Students graduate with a self-directed body of work and the ability to identify and talk about their work within an historical and contemporary context.

To major in Painting, students must take:

Preparation (1st & 2nd Year)
Foundation Painting (PT 100), and (1) PT Studio Elective

Junior Year (3rd Year)
Junior Painting Studio (PT 321-322), Introduction to the Discipline (SEM 351), Junior Seminar: Fine Art Topics/Practice (352), and (2) Approved Studio Electives

Senior Year (4th Year)
Painting Major Studio (PT 421-422), Professional Studio (SEM 451), Senior Synthesis (SEM 452), and (2) Approved Studio Electives

View the course catalog to read descriptions of each of the courses.