Fine Art Painting BA(Hons)

International equivalencies

We can help you meet our English language or academic entry requirements.

Why study with us?

• Our Fine Art Painting degree is one of the few courses in the UK that offers specialist study in the subject.

• Our inspiring and specialist course questions and redefines painting's role in a changing society.

• You will work daily in your own studio space at the university, receiving regular contact with expert staff through individual tutorials, lectures, seminars and workshops.

• Your learning is underpinned by your growing critical understanding of contemporary fine art practice. We encourage you to explore all aspects of painting, discovering how different media and processes impact on the ideas and content of your work.

• Visits to galleries and intern or volunteer work will enhance your understanding of professional practice.

• You will have many opportunities to exhibit your work at self-initiated exhibitions at the University and in local spaces, culminating in the Graduate Show in your final year.

• Your lecturers are established professional painters, guaranteeing that you receive guidance from tutors with specific, up-to-date knowledge of the medium. Likewise, technical provision, methods, materials and skills acquisition are all focused on painting and its unique requirements.

• We have strong links with local arts communities and there are opportunities to be involved with these. 

• We also have international links with the universities of Nagoya, Japan; Nova Scotia, Canada and Kansas, USA, all of which run exchange programmes available by competitive application.

• Two Fine Art Painting graduates per year have completed six-week residencies in Chongquing China, organised through the university. 

Work by Cameron Duke – graduated 2017

Work by Sooeon Jeong – graduated 2017

Year 1

First year tuition develops your ability to produce self-directed work. Studio practice units emphasise experimentation and risk-taking within a critical but supportive environment; workshops cover all technical essentials of painting; the Historical and Critical Studies programme discusses the contexts of art; and seminars introduce you to professional development. 

 Modules

• Fine Art Painting: Studio Practice 1
• Fine Art Painting: Studio Practice 2
• Methods and Materials 
• Engaging with Art: 1860–the Present

Year 2

In your second year you continue to produce self-directed work, but there is greater emphasis on its relationship to the worlds of cultural and political debate. The ‘interim show’ teaches you about the key issues of exhibiting publicly. The extension studies programme allows you to explore topics outside your usual learning range, while Historical and Critical Studies lectures are tailored to painting.

You may apply for overseas study placements in Japan and Korea.

Modules

• Studio Practice 3 and 4
• Practice in Context
• Options

Final year

In your final year you produce a body of work to professional standard, exhibiting it in the acclaimed, annual graduate shows; write a research essay to define and contextualise your practice; and receive professional development lectures on subjects ranging from self-employment to project management, networks and planning strategies.

Assessment for studio units is based on artwork and writings; historical and critical work is assessed through written work and presentations. You’ll receive written feedback on your progress. At these points you complete your own self-assessment matching the form used by your tutors. These encourage you to reflect on your development. 

Modules

• Fine Art Painting: Studio Practice 5
• Fine Art Historical and Critical Studies: Research Project
• Studio Practice 6

Facilities

A vital resource in all fine art disciplines at Brighton is the studio.

• Each student is given their own workspace.

• Many tools and equipment needed are provided and the workshop contains a wide range of power tools for woodworking while essential hand tools can be borrowed.

• Cameras and digital equipment can be borrowed from the photography unit and media centre.

• You must provide your own painting materials (paints, paper, canvas and wood supports) and basic equipment such as brushes, hammer, staple gun, drawing board, stanley knife, etc. As a student you are entitled to educational discounts on computers and software.

• In terms of regular expenditure your costs will depend on the scale and requirements of your work. Staff will advise you on where to get cheap materials and equipment. Some materials are provided at cost price (canvas and some paints) while a certain amount of painting media and glazes / varnishes are provided free.

• Expert technicians provide support for students as well as inductions into equipment and technologies.

• You are entitled to use any of the university but St Peters Library serves our arts and humanities courses.

• The Media Centre offers short-term loan of video and audio equipment for presentation and production, alongside video and audio editing and animation facilities. There is an on-site supplies shop.

• The Photographic Services Unit has a well-equipped dark room, a studio and camera loan facilities.

• All students are encouraged to use the Media Centre, which provides computer rooms (mainly Apple Mac hardware, but some PCs are also available) and training rooms. The computers have a good range of contemporary software providing you with access to digital image processing and manipulation, graphic layout and typography, animation, film and sound production and editing.

Staff profile

Chris's work spans painting, drawing, photography, animation and video, and has won numerous national awards. Since graduating from Brighton in 1981 his work has been exhibited widely both in the UK and abroad, winning prizes in numerous national art exhibitions. In 1993 he was shortlisted for the post of official war artist in the Bosnian conflict by the Imperial War Museum.  Throughout his career as an artist he has remained committed to realist painting as an ongoing and vital artistic practice. His work is represented in London by Mummery+Schnelle.

Find out about the rest of the Fine Art Painting staff: Alex Pollard, Nadine Feinson, Oliver Gosling, Tony Benn, Tom Hammick, Joseph Mark Wright and Robert Hersey.

'Washed Up’ by Chris Stevens, Oil on canvas 137 x 183cm

Location

Campus where this course is taught

Accommodation

Maps

Accommodation

University building

Grand Parade campus map