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Essential Objectives

Course Syllabus

Revision Date: 04-Aug-25

Fall 2025 | ART-2211-VT01 - Painting I

In Person Class

Standard courses meet in person at CCV centers, typically once each week for the duration of the semester.

Location: Brattleboro
Credits: 3 (45 hours)
Day/Times: Friday, 12:15P - 03:15P
Semester Dates: 09-05-2025 to 12-12-2025
Last day to drop without a grade: 09-15-2025 - Refund Policy
Last day to withdraw (W grade): 11-03-2025 - Refund Policy
This course has started, please contact the offering academic center about registration
Materials/Lab Fees: $100.00

Faculty

Lauren Watrous
View Faculty Credentials
View Faculty Statement
Hiring Coordinator for this course: Collin Lee

General Education Requirements

This section meets the following CCV General Education Requirement(s) for the current catalog year:

Arts and Aesthetics

Note

Many degree programs have specific general education recommendations. In order to avoid taking unnecessary classes, please consult with additional resources like your program evaluation, your academic program catalog year page, and your academic advisor.

Courses may only be used to meet one General Education Requirement.

Course Description

In this course, students explore beginning painting strategies in oils or acrylic. Emphasis is on process and investigation of various spatial structures in both representational and nonrepresentational modes. Students develop a formal vocabulary, visual sensitivity and manipulative skills. Recommended prior learning: Drawing I or Introduction to Studio Art.

Essential Objectives

1. Demonstrate technical skills used in creating paintings including surface preparation and the proper use of brushes and/or knives.
2. Select and employ painting techniques including but not limited to ebauche, grisaille, scumbling, impasto, glaze, wash, wet-into-wet, dry brush, and spray techniques.
3. Explore color theory, as well as values, form, light and shadow relationships, perspective, composition, and design.
4. Examine and discuss the historical, social, and cultural context of paintings with an emphasis on global or cultural diversity.
5. Explore the environmental impacts of conventional painting materials and the use of sustainable alternatives.
6. Demonstrate the environmentally safe use and disposal of materials.
7. Create and display a portfolio of paintings.

Required Technology

More information on general computer and internet recommendations is available on the CCV computer recommendations Support page.

Please see CCV's Digital Equity Statement (pg. 45) to learn more about CCV's commitment to supporting all students access the technology they need to successfully finish their courses.

Required Textbooks and Resources

This course only uses free Open Educational Resources (OER) and/or library materials. For details, see the Canvas Site for this class.

Artificial Intelligence(AI) Policy Statement

CCV recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI tools are widely available and becoming embedded in many online writing and creative applications.

Integrated: This course's generative AI policy acknowledges the use of AI is an essential skill in today's world. By using genAI for specific purposes, students become equipped with relevant skills and tools necessary to thrive in a technology-driven society. Emphasizing the mastery of generative AI should empower you to harness its potential, enhancing your problem-solving abilities and preparing you for future challenges and opportunities. Be aware, however, that any time generative AI is used at any point in the assignment without attribution it may be considered a violation of CCV's Academic Integrity Policy.

If you use AI in creative work, please include that information in the presentation and discussion of that work.

Methods

For this class we will have weekly meetings in person:

Sharing discussions looking together at each other's work, process and progress.

Instructional demos which will also be explained through written description and still images.

Exercises or activities from the instructional demos

Individual subjects (which you will have proposed) for homework

Videos and slides spotlighting individual artists working in diverse fields throughout the world. *All videos are intended to have closed caption options so if you have trouble viewing the way you need to please let me know.

During the semester, we will have four writing opportunities that are meant to be part of the creative process, do not require formal writing, and can be done by hand (and photo documented) or typed.

Beginning of semester planning for individual subjects, submitted to the teacher

A short observational writing exercise called ekphrastic writing to besubmitted to the class discussion

Midterm reflection, contemplating the semester mid-way, submitted to the teacher

End term reflection, contemplating your whole semester experience, submitted to the teacher

Evaluation Criteria

This Course uses a total pointssystem tocalculate grades

ReadCourse Resources: Welcome Letter

Attendance and class participation, exercises, sharing work, discussion,15 weeks, 10 points each class =150 points

Homework, 5points weekly =70points

Finalpresentation offinal independent work (which you've accumulated throughout the semester) during our last week of the semester =100 points

Total: 320for an A+ grade

Grading Criteria

CCV Letter Grades as outlined in the Evaluation System Policy are assigned according to the following chart:

High Low

A+ 100 98

A Less than 98 93

A- Less than 93 90

B+ Less than 90 88

B Less than 88 83

B- Less than 83 80

C+ Less than 80 78

C Less than 78 73

C- Less than 73 70

D+ Less than 70 68

D Less than 68 63

D- Less than 63 60

F Less than 60

P 100 60

NP Less than 60 0

Weekly Schedule

Week/Module	Topic	Readings	Assignments

1	Info on class materials and structure Introductions from everyone Write a plan for chosen subjects: plan for generating or gathering and bringing in resources in the form of photos or objects to draw from Do a simple drawing exercise	Description of drawing exercise and artist highlight	Brainstorm and gather chosen subject matter to paintfrom in-class and for homework drawig or painting exercise

2	Look at Ellsworth Kelly, Ruth Asawa, and Piet Mondrian plant drawings, Egon Schiele’s drawing of Melanie Drawing for painting- contour and “cartoon” transfer, starting with blind contour and moving into sighted contour drawing - watch transfer video Draw from leafy branches blind contour shapes with closed negative spaces half blind contour shapes with open negative space sighted contour	Description of painting exercise and artist highlight	Contour Drawing assignment from chosen subject

3	Look at Ellsworth Kelly, Ruth Asawa, and Piet Mondrian plant drawings, Egon Schiele’s drawing of Melanie Drawing for painting- contour and “cartoon” transfer, starting with blind contour and moving into sighted contour drawing - watch transfer video Draw from leafy branches blind contour shapes with closed negative spaces half blind contour shapes with open negative space sighted contour	Description of painting exercise and artist highlight	Contour Drawing or Painting assignment from chosen subject

4	Look at Kara Walker, The Hero with 1000 Diagnosable Disorders Learn about wet into wet and wet on dry painting techniques in watercolor and acrylic Observing for negative and positive shapes Observing for edges Paint papers with the wet-into-wet technique and then use them to cut out shapes for collage. Draw shapes and paint wet into wet within them. Transfer drawing and paint wet into wet first, and then wet on dry for harder edged areas	Description of painting exercise and artist highlight	Observing for edges, Wet into Wet and Wet on dry Painting assignment from chosen subject

5	Look at Kara Walker, The Hero with 1000 Diagnosable Disorders learn about wet into wet and wet on dry painting techniques in watercolor and acrylic Observing for negative and positive shapes Observing for edges Paint papers with the wet-into-wet technique and then use them to cut out shapes for collage. Draw shapes and paint wet into wet within them. Transfer drawing and paint wet into wet first, and then wet on dry for harder edged areas	Description of painting exercise and artist highlight	Observing for edges, wet into wet and wet on dry painting assignment from chosen subject

6	Look at Terry Winters “Double Gravity” Observing for values mixing for values in watercolor or acrylic paint from the subject, scaling up and down, and in a range of values from dark to light keying in value with dark medium and light valued subject	Description of painting exercise and artist highlight	Value Painting assignment from chosen subject

7	Midterm reflection	Something entertaining	Midterm break from homework

8	Look at Morandi’s Still Lifes and Landscapes Paint from still subjects, landscape and buildings Observing for edges and values as they pertain to atmospheric perspective Observing for negative shapes how to keep color in a world of its own, mixing using a limited palette color theory for painting - basic color mixing natural color in terms of atmospheric perspective - observing for values and saturation and temperature	Description of painting exercise and artist highlight	Landscape or interior or buildings Painting assignment from chosen subject

9	Look at Morandi’s Still Lifes and Landscapes Paint from still subjects, landscape and buildings Observing for edges and values as they pertain to atmospheric perspective Observing for negative shapes how to keep color in a world of its own, mixing using a limited palette color theory for painting - basic color mixing natural color in terms of atmospheric perspective - observing for values and saturation and temperature	Description of painting exercise and artist highlight	Landscape, interior or building painting assignment from chosen subject

10	Look at Eadweard Muybridge sequences of animals and people in motion. Look at something from Nicolades Gesture Draw, then paint from the images on larger paper and canvas using full arm swings, elbow swings, and wrist swings for a warm-up gesture drawing with charcoal, subject in motion, Gesture painting with thinned acrylic	Description of painting exercise and artist highlight	Gesture painting or drawing assignment from chosen subject

11	Look at Alma Thomas, Stanley Whitney, and Lesley Vance (including reference to Cotán) Abstraction rules of play abstracting materiality	Description of painting exercise and artist highlight	Abstract Painting assignment from chosen approach

12	Look at Alma Thomas, Stanley Whitney, and Lesley Vance (including reference to Cotán) Abstraction rules of play abstracting materiality	Description of drawing exercise and artist highlight video	Independent project

13	Look back on the semester and choose something to do more of for the last couple weeks.	Something entertaining	Independent project

14	last week to work on chosen independent work	N/A	Independent project

15	Final Week		View and comment on all final presentations of work. Write and submit to teacher Final Reflections Any makeup work can be submitted by the end of the semester

Attendance Policy

Regular attendance and participation in classes are essential for success in and are completion requirements for courses at CCV. A student's failure to meet attendance requirements as specified in course descriptions will normally result in a non-satisfactory grade.

In general, missing more than 20% of a course due to absences, lateness or early departures may jeopardize a student's ability to earn a satisfactory final grade.
Attending an on-ground or synchronous course means a student appeared in the live classroom for at least a meaningful portion of a given class meeting. Attending an online course means a student posted a discussion forum response, completed a quiz or attempted some other academically required activity. Simply viewing a course item or module does not count as attendance.
Meeting the minimum attendance requirement for a course does not mean a student has satisfied the academic requirements for participation, which require students to go above and beyond simply attending a portion of the class. Faculty members will individually determine what constitutes participation in each course they teach and explain in their course descriptions how participation factors into a student's final grade.

Participation Expectations

Full participation in class means that you will:

Be present at all classes, submitting and participating in discussions, and encouraging observations or thoughts on other people’s work.

Participating in class exercises

Watchvideos about artists working in a diversity of mediums throughout the world andcomment on something memorable about what you watched.

Participate in short creative or reflective writing activities

Most importantly, conceive an independent project for the semester and work on this for your weekly homework. You will shareprogress on this project everyweek and present this as a body of work or portfolio in our final week of classes.

Missing & Late Work Policy

Late assignments are not encouraged because participation is the main focus of this class and discussions benefit from everyone present having work to share. Please submit whatever you have by the due date.

If you do have a late assignment it can be submitted anytime before midterm for the first half of the semester's work and before end term for the second half of the semester's work, to get full credit.

Please inform me if you are submitting late work so I know to look for it. This is very important so I can give you credit.

Students who know that they will not have course access for any given week should make arrangements to complete assignments and participation, preferably before the absence so others can see and comment on your work.

Communication via email or text is key.Please make it a priority to have my contact info offline in case you need to let me know about anabsence or late work

Accessibility Services for Students with Disabilities:

CCV strives to mitigate barriers to course access for students with documented disabilities. To request accommodations, please

Provide disability documentation to the Accessibility Coordinator at your academic center. https://ccv.edu/discover-resources/students-with-disabilities/
Request an appointment to meet with accessibility coordinator to discuss your request and create an accommodation plan.
Once created, students will share the accommodation plan with faculty. Please note, faculty cannot make disability accommodations outside of this process.

Academic Integrity

CCV has a commitment to honesty and excellence in academic work and expects the same from all students. Academic dishonesty, or cheating, can occur whenever you present -as your own work- something that you did not do. You can also be guilty of cheating if you help someone else cheat. Being unaware of what constitutes academic dishonesty (such as knowing what plagiarism is) does not absolve a student of the responsibility to be honest in his/her academic work. Academic dishonesty is taken very seriously and may lead to dismissal from the College.

Apply Now for this semester.

Register for this semester: March 31 - August 29, 2024