Martin Smick
Martin Smick is a Providence-based artist who has been living and working in Rhode Island since 2007 and has been teaching in RISD’s Painting department since 2013. He has exhibited nationally, was a fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, MA and was a resident at the Cité International des Arts in Paris, France. He holds a BFA from Washington University in St. Louis and an MFA from RISD. He maintains a studio in Pawtucket and lives in Providence.
Courses
Fall 2024 Courses
PAINT 4505-01
FUNDAMENTALS: PAINTING METHODS AND MATERIALS
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This course will provide the foundation for the creation of an archival painting practice for both traditional and contemporary painting methods. Topics covered will include tools, preparation process for both canvas and wood panels, sizes and grounds, drying oils, varnishes and resins, pigments, solvents, painting procedures, and the care of finished paintings. A historical overview of traditional methods and materials including egg tempera and oil paint will be covered, in addition to modern alkyd resins and acrylics. RISD's Environmental Health & Safety practices that pertain to painting practice and painting studio safety will be an integral part of this course. A short research paper is required to supplement studio work.
Major Requirement | BFA Painting
PAINT 4505-02
FUNDAMENTALS: PAINTING METHODS AND MATERIALS
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This course will provide the foundation for the creation of an archival painting practice for both traditional and contemporary painting methods. Topics covered will include tools, preparation process for both canvas and wood panels, sizes and grounds, drying oils, varnishes and resins, pigments, solvents, painting procedures, and the care of finished paintings. A historical overview of traditional methods and materials including egg tempera and oil paint will be covered, in addition to modern alkyd resins and acrylics. RISD's Environmental Health & Safety practices that pertain to painting practice and painting studio safety will be an integral part of this course. A short research paper is required to supplement studio work.
Major Requirement | BFA Painting
PAINT 4505-04
FUNDAMENTALS: PAINTING METHODS AND MATERIALS
SECTION DESCRIPTION
This course will provide the foundation for the creation of an archival painting practice for both traditional and contemporary painting methods. Topics covered will include tools, preparation process for both canvas and wood panels, sizes and grounds, drying oils, varnishes and resins, pigments, solvents, painting procedures, and the care of finished paintings. A historical overview of traditional methods and materials including egg tempera and oil paint will be covered, in addition to modern alkyd resins and acrylics. RISD's Environmental Health & Safety practices that pertain to painting practice and painting studio safety will be an integral part of this course. A short research paper is required to supplement studio work.
Major Requirement | BFA Painting
Wintersession 2025 Courses
PAINT 4222-101
PRIMARY SOURCES ILLUMINATING THE OCEAN DEEP AT THE NEW BEDFORD WHALING MUSEUM
SECTION DESCRIPTION
Museums are stewards of history; the present moment is radically testing the role museums play as storytellers while also challenging how and for whom historical narratives are told. The colonial history of this region was profoundly shaped by an industry built on the systematic hunting and harvesting of whales, driving entire species to the brink of extinction. Located just 35 miles east of Providence, the New Bedford Whaling Museum tells this story and offers a challenging look into the great sacrifices made in order for American industry and culture to thrive. Through several visits to the New Bedford Whaling Museum this course asks students to reflect upon and interpret a wide range of interrelated subjects, objects, and their shared histories and relationships to both humans, whales, and the environment. From folk art to nautical culture, from colonial economies to subsistence hunting, and from natural history to curatorial practice, through research, students illuminate the stories the ocean has to tell us about ourselves so that our recognition of the past may help guide us towards a more sustainable future. With enhanced access to museum archives students address these topics with research-based projects employing a range of fine art media with specific attention to contextualizing within different modes of museum display. The New Bedford Whaling museum boasts a rich collection of unique and unusual artifacts, issuing a cautionary tale, and asking visitors to contemplate the tenuous line between the pursuit of profit and the destruction of that which is most sacred.
Elective