The course will initially focus on traditional methods of representing reality, such as those used by Italian Renaissance masters. In the final sessions, students will be introduced to the creation of images based on deformation and personal interpretation of reality. Students will mainly explore oil painting technique, though they will also be introduced to other painting techniques such as acrylics colors, pastels and palette knife work. Composition, color, and brushstroke will be consistently explored and analyzed.
Students will be guided individually through all the different phases of the making of their artwork. Every stage achieved will be discussed and analyzed to foster in the student a profound personal understanding of the complex pictorial process. All the students are invited to take part at anytime in any discussion which may emerge during the class, as collective participation will definitively further individual learning. Discussions will also focus upon complex issues, such as the relationship between technical skill and personal sensibility, rational decision making vs. intuitive response, conscious vs. unconscious art making.
The course will also aim to make the experience of painting in Siena unique and to enable the students to deeply comprehend the rich artistic culture of the environment where their "learning” takes place.