Brown University/ Comillas, Spain Saturday May 31- Tuesday, July 1, 2014

SYLLABUS Painting I and II: Color and Pattern/ Nature and Culture in Comillas, Spain Wendy Edwards, Brown University Professor of Art [email protected]

This high immersion studio class will investigate painting based on information collected from the surrounding environment and within the town of Comillas. Assignments will relate to the ocean, mountains, animals and Northern Spanish culture with an emphasis on color. Assignments will stem from direct observation and selected visual findings within the landscape, field trips and local architecture. The class will accommodate both beginning and advanced level students through individual and group critiques. All students will be given access to a studio space allowing for a wide range of projects ranging in scale and materials. The minimum requirement of nine highly focused completed paintings is expected within the four-week course. Basic painting and color principals as well as conceptual critical thinking skills will be introduced. This course will include ongoing interaction with the professor and individual support throughout the program. Students will be required to attend all classes. Slide lectures, articles and other visual materials will be included. Because Comillas does not have an art supply store students will be required to come prepared with specific materials such as canvas and brushes. A material list will be given well in advance so that materials can be purchased and brought with luggage. Paints are not allowed on planes so acrylic paint, mediums, gesso and some additional materials will be provided and distributed to each student at the first class meeting.

Grades will be based on the following: Attendance in all classes, critiques, related lectures and field trips Completion of all assignments Participation in group and individual critiques Ability to develop and transcribe visual information Technical proficiency Extended work outside of class time, days evenings and weekends

Week 1

Wednesday June 4th – (4:00-7:00) Canvas stretching and gesso demonstration Friday June 6th (9:30-1:30) Introduction to acrylic paint materials, color wheel and paint mixing Assignment # 1 - THREE SMALL Paintings, 8” x 10“ stretched canvases. Working from direct observation use each of the following as subjects: 1. Landscape near studio (composition and color) 2. Landscape based on moving clouds (speed and texture) 3. Landscape based on the ocean behind studio (light reflection) Completed color wheel diagram and three paintings due Tues. June 10th

Saturday June 7th- Field Trip to Bilbao Guggenheim Museum, Museo de Bellas Artes and art supply store. Lunch (Pintxos) in old town. Stop in Santander if the The Botin Art Centre has opened.

Week 2 Tuesday June 10th – 9:30AM -1:30PM Assignment # 2 -ARCHITECTURAL EMBELLISHMENT canvas 16” x 20”- Meet at Gaudi’s El Capricho in town and select an area on the exterior of the building to develop a sense of his early obsession with patterning. Due Friday the 13th http://www.elcaprichodegaudi.com/

Thursday June 12th - 9:30AM-1:30PM Assignment# 3-Pattern and Color Indigenous to Comillas Identify a specimen in nature that repeatedly catches your attention through its color intensity. Collect flowers, leaves and shells and work on at least one small study both in and outside of the studio. Study the clusters and patterns and determine how to separate and or magnify your selected specimen from the environment. Work on a larger format to complete the assignment minimum size canvas 20” x 24”.

Friday June 13th 9:30AM- 1:30PM - Faculty team group and individual critiques on all work produced up to this point.

Saturday, June 14th –Field trip to Altamira Neocaves Museum, Regina Coeli Museum of Religious Art, tour medieval town of Santillana del Mar. Picnic lunch prepared by Beatrice. Visit El Castillo caves in afternoon.

Week 3 Tuesday June 17th Assignment #4 -Light Reflection – Study the light patterns on the ocean at different times of the day. Include two different qualities of light in one painting. Consider dividing the canvas into a diptych or grid and clearly separate the two light sensibilities. You will need to work on a number of small studies on site and bring them back into the studio to reconfigure a whole composition. Work in class all day. Minimum size canvas 36” x 40”. Due Friday the 20st.

Thursday June 19th – Work in class

Friday June 20th – 9AM-1PM - Faculty team group and individual critiques

Saturday, June 21st – Field trip to Picos de Europa, beautiful mountains!!! Fuente dé: cable car and route, Monastery of Santo Toribio de Liebana. Group lunch in Potes

Week 4 Tuesday June 24th Assignment #5- Borders and Boundaries – Consider your position in Spain as a visitor. How do you perceive the cultural differences with regard to food, language, music, politics and the economy? Select a specific area of interest and work with images relating to the notion of visual borders separating countries or cultures and consider merging these images digitally and transfer them to the canvas. Take into account references to the past as well as the present. Minimum size canvas 36” x 40”. Due Friday June 27th.

Thursday June 26th Assignment #6 - Appropriation and or Individual Project Appropriation: Select a painting from the Museum in Bilbao or another famous Spanish painting and reinterpret the visual information as well as the content by turning the painting inside out or upside down. Study all aspects of the painting composition and personalize the images selected. Final Individual Project – Assemble all of the work produced during the first three weeks and select one painting to expand on. In consultation with the professor establish the scope of your experience painting in Comillas and work on pushing the content of your individual ideas further and develop a final painting as you plan your transition home. Minimum size canvas 36” x 40”. Due Monday the 30th for final critique.

Friday June 27th– 8:30AM-1: 30PM -Faculty team group and individual critiques- Select work and prepare for student exhibition in the Fundacion Galleries. Transport work and hang the exhibition.

Saturday June 28th- Open studio work day and catch up with all projects.

Sunday June 29h- Reception for student exhibition 12-1:30 in the Fundacion Galleries. Transport work back to the studio at the end of the reception. Studio Work Day – Complete all projects for Monday final critique.

Week 5

Monday July 1st – 8AM –all day final individual critiques on all the work produced during the session. Studios should be well organized for viewing work and hung in chronological order.

PACK AND CLEAN UP Due to the San Pedro holiday in Comillas the correos (post office) is closed but is open in San Vincente so if you are sending anything home, purchase packing boxes in advance and arrange with your host family for a quick trip to the San Vincente Correos a town close to Comillas. Large paintings can be rolled up and placed in PVC tubes, which will be provided for each student. The tubes can be sent through as luggage on the plane. Note that an oversize fee may apply at the airport in Santander. We encourage you to take your work home with you on the plane due to both shipping costs and delivery time.

Tuesday July 2nd- Depart Comillas early AM for Santander airport.