Painting Faculty
Painting faculty provide guidance, technical instruction, and critique to help students develop their painting skills, artistic vision, and conceptual thinking.
Meet our FacultyThrough both guided and progressively self-directed work, students master the elements of painting, finding their creative independence and personal voice.
Location: On Campus (Boston)
Format: In-person, Full Time
Length of Program: 4 years
Degree Awarded: Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting
Our Painting department offers a distinctive combination of intensive studio practice, individualized mentorship, and access to one of the country’s richest artistic communities. Students learn in collaborative cohorts of just 15 painters, each with a dedicated personal studio space, creating an environment that supports both close faculty engagement and creative independence. Through ongoing critique, technical instruction, and self-directed studio work, students develop the skills and confidence to establish their own artistic voice.
Located in the heart of Boston, the program extends beyond campus through regular faculty-led experiences at world-renowned institutions including the Museum of Fine Arts, the Institute of Contemporary Art, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and the Harvard Art Museums, giving students direct access to significant works of art and the broader cultural landscape that shapes contemporary practice.
Painting Studios in Kennedy 502.
Photos: Tony Luong
What You’ll Learn
As their studies begin, Painting majors focus on core techniques and skills. Heavy emphasis is placed on drawing, from both observation and imagination. Students work mainly with oil and acrylic painting in order to explore the main components of the language of painting, such as form, space and light articulation, composition, and color. Students also participate in frequent individual and group critiques to foster independent thinking, the construction of conceptual frameworks, and the ability to discuss and contextualize their practice in meaningful ways.
Working in close-knit cohorts, students learn through an intensive studio culture that encourages collaboration, experimentation, and artistic growth. Faculty mentorship and critique help students strengthen both technical abilities and conceptual thinking while developing confidence in their individual artistic practice.
As students progress, they are introduced to advanced techniques and processes—exploring mixed media, digital drawing, abstraction, and expanded painting, all while being encouraged to experiment and grow as individual artists. Seniors work on self-defined degree projects in painting and develop a command of both technical and conceptual elements of painting toward the articulation of meaning.
Courses & Requirements
Students begin with foundational study in drawing and painting, developing technical proficiency through observation, imagination, critique, and studio practice. Coursework emphasizes oil and acrylic painting, drawing, composition, color, form, space, and light.
As students advance through the program, coursework expands to include mixed media, digital drawing, abstraction, and expanded painting practices. Throughout the curriculum, students engage in individual and group critiques and develop increasing independence in their creative work.
Senior complete self-defined degree projects that synthesize technical skill, conceptual development, and personal artistic vision.
BFA Learning Outcomes
Students who complete the Painting BFA program are expected to be able to demonstrate the following learning outcomes.
- Understand perceptual, formal, and conceptual approaches to painting and printmaking;
- Demonstrate technical and material proficiency in drawing, painting, and printmaking;
- Strengthen visual analysis and verbal articulation skills in relation to artistic practice,
- Understand and appreciate diverse, historical, contemporary practices, and the artist’s role in society;
- Develop a unique body of work that reflects authentic perspectives;
- Comprehend the histories of Painting and Printmaking as technological/material/conceptual developments that are tied to geography, time, and larger ideologies;
- Develop strategies that encompass the role of investigation and experimentation in creative practice;
- Demonstrate best practices in the studio, including health and safety
- Acquire professional skills for sustainable studio practices beyond school.
Program Chair, Fine Arts 2D
Cecilia Vázquez
Graduate Program Director, MFA Studio Arts
Career Outcomes
Painting students gain professional experience through internships, exhibitions, and engagement with Boston’s vibrant arts community. These opportunities help students build professional networks, develop industry knowledge, and prepare for careers across the visual arts sector.
Career Paths
Graduates of MassArt’s Painting program pursue varied careers as professional independent artists, curators, educators, art dealers, and gallerists. They are equipped with the vision, knowledge, and skills to navigate the art world and make a meaningful impact on the field of painting and beyond.
Internships
Museum of Fine Arts Boston, MASS MoCA, Boston Center for the Arts, Copley Society of Art, Guild of Boston Artists, Abigail Ogilvy Gallery, Eliot School of Fine & Applied Arts, Windsor Conservation.
