Jason Brockert

Senior Critic - Illustration
Image
RISD faculty member Jason Brockert
BFA, Rhode Island School of Design

Jason Brockert was born in 1971 as a native of Holliston, Massachusetts. His youth was mostly spent exploring the woods behind and around his house accompanied by his dog. He saw his rural town turn suburb in the short span of a decade from 1980-90 and that transformation in part fuels his current paintings. From those woods to the suburbs and after a brief stint at architecture school, he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1994. During his time at RISD he was a member of the European Honors Program in Rome which was a defining time in his painting career.

Jason returned to Providence in 1997 and still makes his home there where he works as both painter and painting faculty at RISD. He exhibits his work in galleries across New England and is represented in many collections in the US and Europe. His work has been featured at such galleries as the CoSo gallery in Boston, the Wheeler Gallery in Providence, and the Central Gallery in Connecticut, among others. He has been awarded a Rhode Island State council of the art fellowship and has been a summer fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA.

Courses

Fall 2023 Courses

ILLUS 2024-01 - PAINTING I: COLOR PERCEPTION AND EXPRESSION
Level Undergraduate
Unit Illustration
Subject Illustration
Period Fall 2023
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

ILLUS 2024-01

PAINTING I: COLOR PERCEPTION AND EXPRESSION

Level Undergraduate
Unit Illustration
Subject Illustration
Period Fall 2023
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2023-09-06 to 2023-12-13
Times: F | 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM Instructor(s): Jason Brockert Location(s): Illustration Studies Building, Room 502 Enrolled / Capacity: 15 Status: Closed

SECTION DESCRIPTION

Students will gain an understanding of basic color characteristics and relationships through observational painting and color mixing exercises. Perceptual phenomena of space and light are directly connected with principles of color organization on the palette, color mixing procedures and adjustment of color interaction in compositions according to properties of hue, value and chromatic intensity. The associative properties of color rooted both in the natural world and in cultural precedent are explored in relation to expressive priorities. Students learn the use of the physical properties of the medium, gaining sensitivity to qualities of volume and depth, the textural character of the artwork and the sense of artistic facture. Painterly precedent from the history of art and contemporary practice will be studied for inspiration and technical insight. The primary medium for the course is oil paint, and students will be introduced to the complex layering and manipulations the medium makes possible. Water-based media such as casein or gouache will play a supporting role as vehicles for color studies and exercises in abstract color theory. The semester ends with an extended project allowing the combination of observed and invented elements and emphasizing compositional color adjustment in connection with the artist's expressive priorities.

Open to Sophomore Illustration Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Illustration

Wintersession 2024 Courses

ILLUS 2032-101 - INTRODUCTION TO OIL PAINTING
Level Undergraduate
Unit Illustration
Subject Illustration
Period Wintersession 2024
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

ILLUS 2032-101

INTRODUCTION TO OIL PAINTING

Level Undergraduate
Unit Illustration
Subject Illustration
Period Wintersession 2024
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2024-01-04 to 2024-02-07
Times: WTHF | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM | 01/31/2024 - 02/02/2024; THF | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM | 01/25/2024 - 01/26/2024; WTHF | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM | 01/17/2024 - 01/19/2024; THF | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM | 01/11/2024 - 01/12/2024; THF | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM | 01/04/2024 - 01/05/2024 Instructor(s): Jason Brockert Location(s): Illustration Studies Building, Room 502 Enrolled / Capacity: 17 Status: Closed

SECTION DESCRIPTION

Oil painting is one of the richest, most powerfully expressive mediums that exist. It offers a vast diversity of approaches and provides the most flexibility of all the painting materials. To take advantage of that variety, certain technical knowledge is essential. This class is geared as a thorough introduction to the newer oil painter. Our early class focus will be on understanding materials through a variety of life study exercises. Focus on color and composition will promote effectively orchestrated images. Our ultimate goal will be to make powerful images that marry appropriate approaches to oil painting with personal vision. The class emphasis will balance the technical mastery of materials with the clarity of effective visual communication.

Elective

Spring 2024 Courses

ILLUS 2004-01 - VISUAL STRATEGIES
Level Undergraduate
Unit Illustration
Subject Illustration
Period Spring 2024
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

ILLUS 2004-01

VISUAL STRATEGIES

Level Undergraduate
Unit Illustration
Subject Illustration
Period Spring 2024
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2024-02-15 to 2024-05-24
Times: TH | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM Instructor(s): Jason Brockert Location(s): Illustration Studies Building, Room 407 Enrolled / Capacity: 15 Status: Closed

SECTION DESCRIPTION

Building on the skills and sensibilities developed in ILLUS 2000: Visual Thinking, this course will address a range of strategic considerations important for the articulation of ideas. While emphasis will remain on methods for encouraging conceptual aptitude and innovation, there will be greater focus on specific forms of communication. Practical issues such as the nature of audience and the context for interpretation will be matters of concern, as will vehicles for communication and the handling of media. The basic aim of this course is to enable the student to discover a creative identity and develop an itinerary for upper-class study; its larger goal is to wed communicative purpose to artistic voice.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Preference is given to Sophomore Illustration Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Illustration

ILLUS 2028-03 - PAINTING II: OBSERVATION AND IMAGINATION
Level Undergraduate
Unit Illustration
Subject Illustration
Period Spring 2024
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start date
End date

ILLUS 2028-03

PAINTING II: OBSERVATION AND IMAGINATION

Level Undergraduate
Unit Illustration
Subject Illustration
Period Spring 2024
Credits 3
Format Studio
Mode In-Person
Start and End 2024-02-15 to 2024-05-24
Times: F | 1:10 PM - 6:10 PM Instructor(s): Jason Brockert Location(s): Illustration Studies Building, Room 505 Enrolled / Capacity: 15 Status: Closed

SECTION DESCRIPTION

This course will continue the study of color organization and use of the oil medium begun in the fall semester, with increased emphasis on compositional structure and adjustment. Assignments will feature imaginative or hybrid compositions, combining observed and invented components. Using principles of color, directional light and spatial structure to solidify atmospheric unity, we will explore the implication and construction of narrative. Work in class will solidify the student's ability to evoke volume, space and light. We will examine the breadth of creative choice in representational color use to illuminate the expressive qualities of various options. Students will study the role for color in directing the viewer's navigation of a composite subject, or imbuing a simple image with depth and complexity. Color design is introduced as an abstract structure that underlies figurative imagery, providing an important expressive subtext. Quick compositional studies in casein or gouache of a work in progress will be used to focus atmospheric and spatial effect. The historical development of color use in painting and cultural associations of style will be explored in slide lectures and experimentation. A capstone assignment will tie the principles of color and composition to a large narrative painting combining diverse imagery from reference and imagination, and emphasizing clarity and subtlety of structure in service of personally determined content.

Majors are pre-registered for this course by the department. Preference is given to Sophomore Illustration Students.

Major Requirement | BFA Illustration

Image
RISD faculty member Jason Brockert
BFA, Rhode Island School of Design