Painting, Drawing and Mixed Media

The aim of the Painting, Drawing and Mixed Media Department at LdM is to train students with the specific technical and creative skills to find their own artistic voice within the constructs of a higher-education institution. The faculty is made up of artists and educators recognized in their fields who provide a strong foundation in art traditions and believe in the strength of visual language in studio practice. The Department uses its unparalleled access to museums, festivals, and contemporary artists’ studios to provide students with a broad exposure to the arts. 

The Department’s goal is to give each student a solid theoretical foundation while encouraging individual creativity through the investigation and expression of multiple mediums. The curriculum maps out three levels of skill acquisition from beginning to advanced levels. Through this process, students begin to make their own personal journey of reflection, discovery and experimentation. The first level starts with learning the fundamental principles and rules of drawing and painting through the study of objects. Students then study the human form with live models and move on to analyze the great themes that make up a composition: light, perspective and proportion. In the intermediate phase, students learn to perfect their techniques through skills such as the mixing of colors, brush strokes, and the preparation of the canvas using traditional techniques.

Gradually, during the most advanced courses, students discover the tone of their own stylistic code. In the advanced level of drawing and painting students move from the universal figurative language to the discovery of personal expressive techniques. Supported by the guidance of the instructors, students are then ready to explore non-traditional modes using mixed media and alternative materials to build their body of work. This exchange allows for a dynamic dialogue between the faculty and students, putting at their disposal the invaluable resource of their experience.

The painting and drawing lessons take place in classrooms and art studios. The workstations are always illuminated by the same light source to allow the student to work on the same composition over several days, both during lessons with the instructor and independently during open studio hours. In all the locations where the Department has classes, a plaster cast gallery (gipsoteca) is available for students with copies of works of art (from classical antiquity to the modern age) of various shapes and sizes. These models are indispensable for the practice of freehand copy. The Institute also makes use of the collaboration of professional models for the study of the human form.

LdM believes that professionalism in the art world is based on the growth and development of personal awareness. Students gain the ability to innovate which is only possible with a strong foundation of knowledge and communication as well as through the practice of creating, moving and exhibiting works of art. Professional creative fields that appeal to many who follow this study are gallery managers, multimedia artists, art directors, and fine artists.

Certificates available at LdM:

• Fine Arts One-Year Certificate
• Fine Arts Professional Certificate