Courses Offered in Painting and Drawing:
Core Undergraduate Painting Sequence
Undergraduate Painting Electives
Core Undergraduate Drawing Sequence
Drawing Electives
General Electives in Painting and Drawing

Courses for Graduate Students of Painting
Graduate Core Sequence
General Graduate Courses

Concentration in Painting
The Department of Art and Visual Technology offers a B.F.A. and B.A. with a concentration in painting. Painting undergraduates undergo a four semester painting sequence, which begins with an introduction to the basic methods, materials, and techniques of painting, while building a student’s observational skills. As the sequence progresses, students become more self-directed and begin to develop a personal language and approach to painting. Painting students are exposed to and are encouraged to explore a wide variety of painting practices, rooted both in historical precedent and cutting edge contemporary issues. In that spirit, painting and drawing embraces AVT’s commitment to cross-disciplinary experimentation and encourages its students to explore other media.

Concentration in Drawing
AVT also offers a B.F.A. and B.A with a concentration in drawing. Drawing undergraduates undergo a four-semester sequence, which trains them not only in the materials and techniques of observational drawing but also to see drawing as the most immediate form of visual thinking. Students are encouraged to explore drawing as a vital language and investigate a variety of forms and traditions. Including contemporary drawing theories and practices.

AVT’s Graduate Program in Painting
George Mason University’s Department of Art and Visual Technology offers an MFA with a concentration in painting. The graduate painting program seeks to develop in students a self-directed studio practice, derived simultaneously from an earnest personal search and an engagement with contemporary painting discourses and practices.

Housed in a small community of individual studios, the graduate painting program offers an environment that fosters the deepening of a student’s individual practice in the context of shared experience and dialogue with peers. Daily studio practice is supplemented by courses in research, writing, and contemporary critical theory. Regular formal critiques with peers and faculty track student progress, while training them to articulate ideas relevant to the production of their work. Visiting artists, monthly trips to New York galleries, and suggested supplementary lectures at local venues contribute to the student’s ability to contextualize his or her own work and process within the larger conversation of contemporary studio practices.

AVT’s graduate program in painting operates on the assumption that painting occurs in a multiplicity of forms, engendered by a range of methods and approaches. In this spirit, students may seek out and develop a variety of techniques, methods, and materials relevant to a range of motives and objectives.

The MFA with a concentration in Painting is a 60 credit course of study, culminating in a Thesis Exhibition of the student’s work in George Mason’s Fine Arts Gallery.

Course Requirements for the
Master of Fine Arts degree with a
concentration in Painting:
AVT 632 Graduate Painting I ………….……..5
AVT 633 Graduate Painting II………….…….5
AVT 634 Advanced Graduate Painting ………5
AVT 500+ Studio Class…………………..…...5
AVT 500+ Studio Class…………………..…...5
AVT 599 Special Topics……………………..4
AVT 600 Research Methodologies……..……..3
AVT 620 Philosophy, Theory, and Criticism…3
AVT 610 Graduate Seminar…………………..1
AVT 610 Graduate Seminar…………………..1
AVT 610 Graduate Seminar…………………..1
AVT 610 Graduate Seminar…………………..1
AVT 670 Teaching Practicum………………..3
AVT 670 Teaching Practicum……………..…3
AVT 796 Directed Project…………………….9
AVT 798 Directed Reading…………………...3
AVT 799 Thesis…………………………….....3

Painting and Drawing Faculty
Kravitz, Walter
Painting
ekravitz@gmu.edu
703-993-4375

Crawford, Paula
Division Coordinator, Painting
Pcrawfo1@gmu.edu
703-993-8823

Frenn, Chawky
Painting
cfrenn@gmu.edu
703-993-2187

Karametou, Maria
Advising, Drawing
mkaramet@gmu.edu
703-993-8222