Painting and Drawing

Painting and drawing is one of the oldest and most enduring of the visual arts disciplines, concerned with the direct engagement between the artist, materials, and subject that marks work on a flat surface, whether that surface is canvas, paper, board, or something more experimental. Despite the expansion of art practice into digital, installation, and conceptual modes, painting and drawing remain central to the visual arts for reasons that are not merely traditional: they are disciplines of attention, requiring the artist to look carefully, to translate observation and imagination into mark and form, and to develop a personal and rigorous relationship with material means. A degree in painting and drawing takes this practical engagement seriously while also situating it within the broader history and theory of visual art.

At the University of Chichester, you will study painting and drawing over three years of full-time study. Studio practice is central to the programme: you will develop your skills in drawing and painting through sustained practice, working with a range of media and approaches, and you will develop your own body of work and a distinctive artistic practice under the guidance of practising artist-educators. Critical and contextual studies support the studio work by deepening your understanding of the histories of painting and drawing, from the Western canon through to contemporary international practice, and engaging with the theoretical frameworks that help artists and critics think about what images do and mean.

You will develop the ability to reflect on and articulate your own practice, which is essential for the professional development of a working artist.

Graduates from painting and drawing programmes go on to a range of careers in and around the arts. Working as a practising artist is the aspiration of many students, and the degree provides the portfolio, the artistic development, and the professional formation needed to pursue that path. Art education at primary, secondary, and further education level is a significant route, typically requiring an additional teaching qualification.

Gallery and museum roles, arts administration, and community arts work draw on both the creative skills and the art historical knowledge developed in the degree. Illustration, set design, and roles in the broader creative and cultural industries are further options. Postgraduate study in fine art, including MFA programmes, supports those who want to develop their practice within an academic or research context.