To Make Painters

Nicole Eisenman, "The Drawing Class" 2011, 82" x 65" Courtesy of Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Photo credit: Robert Wedemeyer.

My teaching centers on technical skills, visual language, and process. By giving students a variety of lectures on past and contemporary artists as well as hands-on projects, I help them understand all possibilities within drawing and painting, stimulating them to think critically and create independently.

Below, I briefly explore the three areas of learning that I emphasize in my courses.  

- Understanding materials and techniques: Color theory, the many brush sizes, and the effects of different surfaces are a few of the topics taught in a series of projects that I assign to students. Each project I assign contains elements of instruction-following and creative autonomy. I believe that by having these two elements in each project, students learn both how to execute a ready-made plan as well as to discover techniques and materials on their own. With each project, students broaden their view of what is possible within each medium.

- Learning visual language: In my courses, I require students to see, read, speak, and write about works of art. Students are asked to engage not only with the work of past and contemporary artists but also with their own work as well as that of their classmates. They do so through a series of written assignments, presentations, and critiques (both individually and in groups). These projects teach students how their pieces relate to past and contemporary works of art, helping them to better communicate visually. 

- Learning the importance of process: By allowing students to experiment, take risks, and make mistakes both formally and conceptually, I help them become problem-solvers. I assign students both in-class projects and homework. When giving students in-class projects, which allow them to observe each other’s process, I guide them in their decision-making. When giving students homework, however, I encourage them to create independently. These two different activities help students gain confidence in the process of creating.

These three areas of learning are key to any level of drawing or painting class. By implementing this teaching method, I believe students are able to acquire knowledge of drawing and painting as well as life-long skills.