Painting II

Course Description

ART2501C – Painting II is a 3-credit, integrated lecture-and-studio course continuing the painting sequence begun in ART2500C (Painting I). Students build on the foundational oil and/or acrylic technique introduced in Painting I, advancing toward greater technical command, more sophisticated compositional strategies, deeper engagement with color theory, and the development of an individual artistic voice. Studio projects move beyond the structured exercises of Painting I toward more open, self-directed work — typically including extended observational paintings, expanded color and chromatic studies, more complex still-life and figure work, and projects emphasizing personal subject matter and conceptual development.

The course sits within the Florida Statewide Course Numbering System (SCNS) under Visual Arts and Art History > Studio Art and is offered at approximately 24 Florida public institutions. ART2501C is required for the painting concentration in most Florida BFA programs and is the gateway to upper-division painting coursework. The integrated "C" format means lecture, demonstration, critique, and studio work are combined; students typically meet for 6 hours of studio per week (the standard 2:1 studio-to-credit ratio for visual arts).

ART2501C continues the studio-critique format introduced in ART2500C: students develop work between class sessions, present projects in regular group critiques, and respond to peer and instructor feedback. Most institutions require students to read and reflect on contemporary painting practice, visit gallery and museum exhibitions when available, and prepare a portfolio of advanced work suitable for review for entry into the painting major or for transfer to a four-year program.

Learning Outcomes

Required Outcomes

Upon successful completion of ART2501C, students will be able to:

• Demonstrate advanced technical proficiency with oil and/or acrylic paint: surface preparation, paint handling, layering and glazing, scumbling, impasto, wet-into-wet, broken color, and other applied painting techniques.
• Apply advanced color theory: extended color mixing; limited and expanded palettes; warm and cool variations; complementary, analogous, and split-complementary color schemes; chromatic neutrals; the perception of color in different lighting conditions.
• Develop compositional sophistication: figure-ground relationships; multiple focal points; visual rhythm and movement; format and scale decisions; the relationship between subject and surface.
• Apply observational drawing and painting skills at an advanced level: extended still-life paintings; observed light effects; structural drawing as preparation for paintings.
• Engage in independent project development: defining a personal subject matter; producing series-based work; documenting the development of ideas through sketches, studies, and notes.
• Articulate conceptual content in painting: subject, theme, intention, and the relationship between formal choices and meaning.
• Engage thoughtfully in group critiques at an advanced level: making careful formal and conceptual observations; offering substantive critical feedback; receiving and integrating critique into revision.
• Identify and discuss the work of historical and contemporary painters across cultures and movements; place personal practice in dialogue with painting traditions.
• Maintain professional studio practices: organized workspace; safe handling of solvents, mediums, and pigments; ventilation; brush care; canvas preparation.
• Document and present finished work effectively: photographing paintings for portfolio and digital submission; preparing a cohesive portfolio of advanced work.
• Develop a portfolio of advanced painting suitable for review for entry into a BFA painting major or for transfer to a four-year institution.

Optional Outcomes

Depending on instructor specialty and institutional resources, students may also:

• Engage with figure painting from the live model (where life models are available) at an introductory or intermediate level.
• Engage with landscape painting: en plein air observation; the challenges of rapidly changing light and weather; Florida-specific landscape (coast, wetland, urban).
• Engage with non-objective and abstract painting as a deliberate practice rather than a fallback.
• Engage with alternative painting surfaces and supports: panel, paper, unconventional substrates.
• Engage with painting media beyond oil and acrylic: watercolor, gouache, casein, encaustic, mixed media (where facilities allow).
• Engage with contemporary painting discourse: the role of painting in 21st-century art; debates around figuration, abstraction, and post-medium practice; identity and representation in contemporary painting.
• Conduct artist research: writing about a contemporary painter and presenting on their practice.

Major Topics

Required Topics

• Review and Extension of Painting I Foundations: Surface preparation; medium handling; basic color mixing; brush selection and care; safe studio practice.
• Advanced Paint Application Techniques: Direct painting (alla prima); indirect painting (underpainting, glazes, scumbles); wet-into-wet; impasto and palette-knife work; broken color and visible brushwork.
• Advanced Color Theory and Mixing: Extended color mixing; chromatic gray and neutral mixing; limited and expanded palettes; warm and cool color decisions; the relationship between color and light.
• Light, Form, and Atmosphere: Painting form through value and color rather than line; observed light effects; atmospheric perspective; cast shadows and reflected light.
• Composition at the Advanced Level: Figure-ground; visual hierarchy; multiple focal points; rhythm and movement; the role of edges; format and scale decisions.
• Subject Development: Choosing personal subject matter; series-based development; sustained engagement with a subject across multiple paintings.
• Working from Observation: Extended still-life setups; the long-pose study; rendering observed light and surface qualities.
• Working from Imagination, Reference, and Combination: Using photo reference responsibly; working from sketches and studies; the relationship between observation, imagination, and memory.
• Advanced Critique: Formal and conceptual analysis; offering substantive feedback; integrating critique into revision; learning to articulate one's own intentions.
• Historical and Contemporary Painting Reference: Selected painters from across periods (Renaissance through contemporary); examination of contemporary painting practice; how historical work informs current practice.
• Documentation and Portfolio: Photographing paintings under proper light conditions; color-correction in post-processing; building a cohesive portfolio.
• Studio Safety: Solvent and medium safety; proper ventilation; handling of cadmium, cobalt, lead, and other potentially hazardous pigments at an introductory awareness level; disposal protocols.

Optional Topics

• Figure Painting from the Live Model: Observed proportion; flesh-tone mixing; the gestural relationship between figure and ground (where available).
• Landscape and En Plein Air Painting: Observed light and weather; rapid execution; Florida coastal, wetland, and urban subjects.
• Abstraction and Non-Objective Painting: Deliberate engagement with abstraction; the formal and conceptual stakes of non-representational work.
• Painting on Alternative Supports: Wood and panel; paper; mixed surfaces; unconventional supports.
• Mixed Media and Hybrid Practice: Combining painting with collage, drawing, printmaking, or photographic elements.
• Watercolor, Gouache, or Encaustic: Introduction to additional painting media (where facilities and instructor expertise allow).
• Artist Research and Critical Writing: Researching and presenting on a contemporary painter; engaging with art-critical writing.

Resources & Tools

• Common reference texts: Painting As a Pastime and Color and Light: A Guide for the Realist Painter by James Gurney; Alla Prima: Everything I Know About Painting by Richard Schmid; The Practice and Science of Drawing by Harold Speed; Color: A Natural History of the Palette by Victoria Finlay; Daniel Smith: Hand Book of Watercolor and Acrylic. Most institutions do not require a single fixed textbook for ART2501C.
• Open-access references: Smarthistory; the Met Museum's Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History; MoMA Learning; ArtStor (often via institution library); the artist websites of major contemporary painters.
• Required supplies: Continuation of the Painting I supply list, plus expanded color range. Typical supply costs run $200–400 per semester at the Painting II level, depending on canvas/panel sizes and pigment quality. Common supplies include: oil and/or acrylic paints (extended color list including cadmium, cobalt, ultramarine, alizarin, viridian, ivory black, titanium white); brushes (filberts, brights, rounds, riggers in multiple sizes); palette knives; canvas (stretched canvas or panels in increasing sizes); painting medium (linseed oil, walnut oil, gel medium); odorless mineral spirits or alternative solvent; palette; rags; sketchbook and reference photos.
• Studio facilities: Painting studio with adequate ventilation; easels and taborets; still-life setup space and lighting; (at well-equipped institutions) life-drawing/painting room with model stand and lighting; gallery or critique space.
• Florida cultural references: The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art (Sarasota — extensive painting collection from the Italian Baroque through American 20th-century); the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM); the Norton Museum of Art (West Palm Beach); the Salvador Dalí Museum (St. Petersburg); the Cummer Museum (Jacksonville); the Harn Museum at UF; the Tampa Museum of Art; ArtCenter/South Florida.
• Tutoring and support: Institution painting studio open hours (essential — extended studio time outside class is the primary work mode); peer studio support; visiting artist programs.

Career Pathways

ART2501C is foundational for Florida-relevant pathways involving painting and image-making:

• Studio Painter / Fine Artist — pathway through Florida BFA programs (UF, FSU, USF, FAU, FIU, UCF, FGCU, New World School of the Arts, Ringling College of Art and Design Sarasota); MFA programs at FSU, USF, UF, FIU, and others.
• Illustrator / Concept Artist — Florida game-development sector (EA Tiburon Orlando, Iron Galaxy, indie studios); Florida advertising and editorial illustration markets.
• Theme-Park Visual Development Artist / Background Painter — Walt Disney Imagineering, Universal Creative, SeaWorld Parks, and the broader Florida theme-park industry employ visual development artists, scenic painters, and mural specialists.
• Set Painter / Scenic Artist — Florida theatre, film, and theme-park production.
• Mural Painter / Public Artist — Florida's substantial public-art sector (Wynwood Walls Miami, downtown St. Petersburg, Jacksonville's Riverside, Sarasota Chalk Festival).
• Art Educator (K–12) — pathway through Florida art education programs.
• Art Therapist (long-term, with graduate work) — pathway through MA art therapy programs.
• Gallery Artist / Independent Painter — Florida's art-fair circuit (Art Basel Miami Beach, ArtMiami, Aspen Art Fair, Sarasota Art Festival); gallery representation.
• Conservator / Painting Restorer (long-term, with specialized graduate study) — Florida museums and private practice.

Special Information

Articulation and Transfer

ART2501C articulates to all Florida SUS institutions and is the standard intermediate painting course in the studio-art curriculum. A grade of C or higher is typically required at most institutions for the course to satisfy major prerequisites and transfer cleanly into the painting concentration. ART2501C is required for entry to upper-division painting coursework at most Florida BFA programs (e.g., ART3504C and beyond).

Prerequisites

The standard prerequisite is ART2500C (Painting I) with a minimum grade of C. Most institutions also expect prior or concurrent completion of ART1300C (Drawing I); some require ART2330C (Drawing II) for entry to ART2501C. Specific requirements vary by institution.

Course Format and Workload

ART2501C is typically a 3-credit integrated lecture-and-studio course with 6 hours of class time per week (the standard 2:1 studio-to-credit ratio). Expect 4–7 major paintings across the semester (each completed across 2–4 weeks with continuous critique), regular sketchbook and reference development, and a final portfolio review. Out-of-class studio time is essential and typically runs 8–12 hours per week — paintings cannot be completed in class time alone. Dedicated home or institutional studio space is strongly advised. Painting II is generally regarded as a demanding course that requires substantial outside-of-class commitment and willingness to work through extended periods of frustration as technique develops.

Position in the Painting Sequence

ART2501C is the second course in the standard painting sequence:

• ART2500C — Painting I (foundation course)
• ART2501C — Painting II (intermediate course)
• ART3504C and beyond — Upper-division painting (BFA-level)

Some institutions offer specialized intermediate courses (Watercolor, Figure Painting) as alternatives to ART2501C; consult the institution's catalog and advisor for specific pathway requirements.

Course Code Variations

Florida institutions consistently use ART2501C for this course, titled "Painting II" or "Intermediate Painting." Some institutions offer ART2510C (Watercolor) as a distinct intermediate painting course. The course content focuses consistently on intermediate painting practice in oil and/or acrylic.