Teaching times

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There's nothing more difficult than planning a timetable, after all, many of the students have to earn a living during the day. On top of this, the applicants come from all over the country, and even from abroad.

The teaching year runs from mid September to early June. We also keep the usual school holidays for the north of the Netherlands.

Timetable

The timetable is compact with two lessons a day, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. This means that students coming from far away can follow the entire curriculum and only need to spend one night a week in Groningen. The next day they can use the teaching room during the day, often taking a course or drawing from a model.

In the first year, this has resulted in lessons on Wednesdays from 4 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. and from 7.30 p.m. to 10 p.m. (practical lessons); on Thursdays the classroom is open to students for independent painting from 9 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. There will be a model available in the morning and in the afternoon there is a Photoshop course. The actual lessons are from 4 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. (practical) and from 7.30 p.m. to 9 p.m. (art history). The workshops (digital design, photography) will be separately timetabled.

 The second year is similarly timetabled, but with the lessons on Mondays and Tuesdays between 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. (all practicals). The graphics lessons will be at a separate location with their own timetable. The room is available during the day on Tuesday to paint - there will be a model in the morning and art history in the afternoon.

Lessons in the third year are concentrated on Thursdays and Fridays. The lessons on Thursdays begin at 1 p.m. and continue through until 9 p.m. The lessons on Fridays run from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Lessons in the fourth year are concentrated on Fridays and Saturdays. There will be a model all day on Fridays, and on Saturdays, after the Master Classes, there will be lessons in looking at art. Incidentally, most of the emphasis will be on the Master Classes (six Saturdays).

The fifth year concentrates on supervised independent work. The supervision will be planned into a discussion timetable, and performed by the teachers from the Specialized Training. They will also coordinate with the Master Training. In addition, there will be guest lectures and a half day for preparation for the profession. This will all take place on Wednesdays. Wednesdays during the day will be kept free for drawing/painting from a model for fifth-year students.

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Subject matter in art is always relative.There are only a few really ‘objective’ subjects, such as anatomy or geometrical perspective.Techniques can always be adapted, and core fields such as composition, form and colour are subjective.Knowledge of these core fields must be regarded as a collection of rules of thumb, experience, mnemonics and inherited knowledge rather than strict rules or canons.It’s very useful to know about them, though.
In the field of tension between form and content, this course concentrates on form.
Content is individual and is assumed to be something personal to the students. However, awareness will be promoted and instruments to assist personal expansion will be introduced.

Composition
Composition or arrangement is a core concept in the visual arts. A number of different approaches will be dealt with, including a methodology for preparing and structuring a painting.
During the composition lessons, we will examine geometrical composition, organic or dynamic composition and musical composition. In addition, attention will be paid to composition as an important carrier of expression.

Tone and colour study
Tone is the range between bright light and deep dark. For example, all shades of grey between white and black, or all the shades of any other colour. Using colour is a very subjective thing: we provide some basic knowledge and instructions, never laws or fixed rules.

Form study
Form study involves control over the fine locomotor system.The ability to exactly reproduce something, as well as the ability to imbue drawn or painted forms with ‘tension’ is mainly the result of practice rather than knowledge.The most useful exercise for this is drawing from a model.

Illusory techniques
Classical painting is able to suggest space on a flat surface.This can be done in two ways: by creating an illusion of plasticity or an illusion of depth (perspective).
There are two types of perspective – optical or atmospheric perspective and geometric perspective. A great deal of attention will be paid to both.

Painting style
Classical painting is able to suggest space on a flat surface.This can be done in two ways: by creating an illusion of plasticity or an illusion of depth (perspective). There are two types of perspective – optical or atmospheric perspective and geometric perspective. A great deal of attention will be paid to both.

Forms of expression
The actuality of a painting is what it expresses or emanates, its expression. There are an infinite number of variations, depending on the personality or even the mood of the creator, but often these are founded on certain principles. This will be clarified during the lessons with the help of examples, but they will also be dealt with during the Master Classes.

Finish
The leitmotiv in the fourth year is a series of six Master Classes, given by experienced 'Master Painters'. Each of them will in his or her own way grant us a glimpse behind the scenes. This will be followed by a short period of independent work and integration, rounded off with a discussion of the work. The next Master Class will start after that discussion, and so on.

Self study
Self study is a very important component of the course.The ability to create work yourself, either by doing commissions or by processing what you have learned in class is very important.This independence will gradually increase during the course, until it becomes the major component in the final year.

Reproduction techniques
Images can be created in series and printed by hand.The graphics techniques most often used by painters will be offered in three workshops.If you wish, these can result in supplementary courses at the Grafisch Centrum Groningen.
The graphics techniques dealt with during the workshops will be woodcuts and linocuts, etching and lithography.

Cultural knowledge
For 40,000 years, art has been one of the oldest human traditions. Knowledge of this history should be part of the general development of an artist. This also applies, to a lesser extent, to literature and classical literature, the history of music and some knowledge of the major world religions in relation to the way that they use images.