Josh Dihle

This course investigates painting materials, application, color, form, and ideas through contemporary and traditional methodologies. Designed to accommodate many skill levels, students can explore various creative strategies through a skill-based curriculum as well as individual projects. This course serves as a requirement and preparation for topic-based Painting Studio Multi-Level B classes.

This course investigates the properties and possibilities of traditional and modern media, grounds, supports, methods, adhesives, and pigments.

This course investigates the properties and possibilities of traditional and modern media, grounds, supports, methods, adhesives, and pigments.

This course investigates the properties and possibilities of traditional and modern media, grounds, supports, methods, adhesives, and pigments.

In this materially-oriented multi-level studio course, students will expose the possibilities beneath, within, and above the painting surface. Students will learn both archival and experimental strategies for making work that upsets distinctio­ns between image and object. Through demonstrations and open-ended assignments, students will learn impasto painting techniques, adhesives, sculptural surface construction, wood relief carving, embedding, and alternative materials.
Deep Surface will give students the opportunity to explore juicy facture, heavy-duty mediums, extraction tools, image excavation, and extravagant adornment. We will narrow­­ the gap between painting and sculpture. In support of these efforts, course readings will include Hamza Walker, Annie Albers, and Tatiana Berg. Readings and discussions will compliment slide talks, demonstrations, and critiques. We will look at artwork hailing from a wide swath of histories and world cultures, including 20th Century African American folk art, ancient Greek and Mesopotamian relief carving, Medieval and early Renaissance painting, and a range of contemporary painting-sculpture hybrid practices.
Students will produce artworks using a range of materials and technical processes that bridge the divide between painting and sculpture. A total of at least seven completed paintings are due during the semester.

This course is specifically designed for post-bacc painting students.
This course is designed to present experienced students with an intensive survey of painting materials, methods, and processes. We will undertake a close examination of historical and contemporary painting techniques to harness the range of optical and material effects available within the medium. Students will learn by demonstration and direct exploration. We will seek control over pigments and binders as well as an understanding of the physical and chemical principles that underpin their archival use. Particular emphasis will be given to control in handling of color relationships, surface properties, and perceptual space.
Mark David Gottsegen¿s The Painter¿s Handbook is the required course text. We will explore the production and handling of egg tempera, egg oil emulsion, casein, acrylic, and oil paints. In some cases, we will make our own paint. Students will learn various methods, including include surface preparation, underpainting, modeling form, glazing, and color mixing. We will contextualize these methods by looking at the work of historical and contemporary practitioners, from cave painting to Medieval altarpieces to today¿s painting innovators.
The first half of the class will focus on a range of paints and processes. The second half will balance open-ended assignments with independent work while utilizing the materials and methods we¿ve learned. Students should expect to complete between 8 and 10 paintings over the course of the semester.

Painting Materials: Individual Investigations





This class is for students who wish to gain material mastery of their work by expanding their knowledge of its physical aspects. Students will learn to make their own paints and employ application processes and strategies from the earliest forms to experimental approaches of the moment. The class will be balanced between practical demonstrations of paint formulation and application methods, individual projects and class critiques. Covered media will include, but are not limited to: tempera and emulsion paints, acrylic, casein, oil, encaustic, distemper, pigment dispersions, grounds and supports. Special emphasis will be placed on areas of greatest student interest and individual approaches.