Foundation Art................

Question

Basically I was wondering what the first few days are like at a foundation art and design course? How much money you spend on art materials per week? And what the number of days and hours you normally spend in the art studio per week?

If it helps I'll be going to leeds college of art and design just in case anyone else has been there and done foundation art.

Thanks in advance :)

Answer 1

You can always phone the college and find out what they provide. Some colleges provide easels for the students to use, and paper, and basic materials. I would, however, recommend getting yourself a strong box like one of those big toolboxes that you can lock with a padlock or similar. It often happens that people 'borrow' brushes and similar when you're not there, and forget to put them back. Put your name on everything, especially any studies you might leave to dry - it has been known for students to steal work in order to use it in a portfolio to get into another college.

If you can order materials and have them delivered at a reduced rate, I would do this.

I've also known people to find amazing things in skips. One guy in my year found a whole unused set of inks, which would normally have set him back about €30.

You'll also find that you'll soon be on first-name basis at your local DIY shop - if you buy solvents like turpentine there, it's a lot cheaper than getting the same stuff in tiny bottles in art supply shops for twice the price. One thing I would suggest - use turps for thinning your oil paint, get lots of glass jars with metal lids (solvents break down plastic alarmingly quickly) and use white spirits to clean your brushes.

Answer 2

at my last college nothing was supplied!

i had to buy all my own paints easels pads everything. it was rediculas

Answer 3

I wasn't at Leeds, and courses may vary greatly, but I can give you my experience:

We were given assignments to work on over the summer before the course began, and on the first day, we pinned up the work we had done around the classroom for the other students to view (it's likely people will be wandering around commenting on your art as you work very often, so it's good to become accustomed to that sort of thing). The first day was quite informal, with explanations of what the classes would be, people milling about and meeting one another, and so on. The second day, classes began. These included illustration, 3D work (wood, clay etc), life drawing, and others... you will be doing a LOT of life drawing.

As for art materials, it really depends on the mediums you most like to work in - if you use a lot of oil paints for example, that could get expensive. My college gave us a list of items we would need and I spent quite a lot buying those at the start (how much exactly, I don't recall), but there wasn't much I needed on an ongoing basis, so it was more a case of buying something very occasionally than a weekly sum. We were supplied with paper and easels, though I'm not sure if this is common to all colleges. As for number of hours, some days were longer than others - less hours than at school, but not significantly.

Good luck with your course!