ARTT320 | PlanetTerp

Information	Review
Jason Kass ARTT320 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/09/2025	Professor Kass is overall very nice. As someone who hadn't really ever made a painting before taking this class, they were very accommodating of people's varying skill and experiences levels and made the class's studio a comfortable atmosphere to learn painting in. The first half of the semester was more structured and had us doing different activities that let you explore the different material properties of paint, and then the second half of the semester is just open exploration where you can paint whatever you want. If you have trouble thinking of what to make, he was pretty good about checking in with you and offering prompting questions or suggestions. They also provided a lot of the necessary materials during the first few weeks of class so you had a comfortable amount of time to buy your own paints and canvases after you had a chance to learn what kind of brands you liked best. In terms of assignments, there were some weekly homework assignments where you had to research and write about (or make a small painting displaying) different painting techniques or contemporary artists' styles. Your attendance and effort in the class is also graded as 4 different "studio practice" grades, and in place of a midterm and final exam you have to submit a midway progress check and final portfolio, where you basically just show photos of what you've made in class and write about what you've learned. His grading is pretty lenient, and as long as you show up to class and do the work, you should get an A. My one criticism is that he used ChatGPT to help generate a couple of our assignment handouts. For the assignment descriptions of the midway and final portfolios, as well as for a list of painting idea prompts he posted on ELMs, they were credited at the end as "Created in collaboration with ChatGPT". I get that teaching and professional creative work can get busy, but it still came off as kind of lazy and ignorant, and it sets a bad standard for a class that's supposed to be about learning a creative medium.
Julia Kwon ARTT320 Expecting an A userterp 03/25/2025	curriculum & lecture: students had to complete 4 oil paintings throughout the semester; still life (16x20"), impasto (9x12"), portrait (18x24"), and essentially a photoshop of images (18x24"). generally, professor kwon expects you to paint exactly what your reference photo entails (you have to submit both the painting and the ref). the materials of the class was expensive (over $100 for blick oil paints), but you don't have to buy everything she recommends; i would suggest buying the primary colors and see what you need based on your refs. she took one day to go over the supplies and the basic techniques (e.g., underpaintings, impasto), which i found to be incredibly unhelpful because i saw that several students in the course took it for fun and wanted to learn how to paint, yet none of this is considered—don't take this class if you want to learn, take it if you want to practice. she also doesn't really have any suggestions on the compositions or anything fundamental, which some people struggled with, but she will give you the feedback if you explicitly asks (she walks around during the 2.5 hrs like once or twice to check in with everyone). outside of art, she's a really friendly person to talk to but i don't think i personally gained much out of her feedbacks besides more frustration. we also get some classes for critiques, where everyone does a gallery walk of their half completed artworks and provide feedback, which was super helpful. overall, i was able to come out of the class with 1 piece that i'm proud of. grading: luckily, i had some experience with oils but her expectations for me was ridiculous. many students i've seen scored really well (A range) so maybe she's more lenient with them but i found that she would always place me in the B range despite my continuous efforts to ask her for her feedback so i can work on improving myself. she expects all of the paintings to be hyper-realistic, with the colors being completely accurate (i had to paint a body of water and she criticized it like crazy, but didn't have specific recommendations because she "couldn't put her finger on it"). i don't know if she ever gives out 100% so don't expect that. also, absence is not tolerated, your attendance impacts your grade for the piece as that's how she gauges whether you put effort in it or not. she basically tweaks out every time someone is late, needs to leave early, or is absent. other than that, she also grades homework (per art piece), two exams, and attendance.
Julia Kwon ARTT320 Expecting an A Anonymous 12/25/2023	Pretty good class. The rubrics for assignments are very thorough, and she is always there to answer questions. I definitely improved as a painter in that class. But she expects a lot of effort in projects, so this definitely isn't the easiest art elective if you have a busy schedule. Also, critiques are very long, and she will call on you multiple times.
Patrick Craig ARTT320 Expecting an A Anonymous 01/10/2023	Professor Craig is knowledgeable, caring, and encouraging. He will help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, give feedback that will make your artwork better, and also give meaningful life advice. I highly recommend taking him for any course he teaches because he is passionate about art. He is also very understanding about your personal issues. The review from 2010 is very out of context. You will have a great time making friends in his class. He plays awesome Spotify music, and even let us watch the Soccer world cup on the projector! I am looking forward to taking ARTT428 with him!
Brandon Donahue ARTT320 Expecting an A+ Anonymous 05/18/2022	Donahue is an incredible art teacher. He doesn't focus on classic painting or traditional styles and allows students to paint what they want, how they want. He manages to teach versatile skills that can be translated across media and genre, I feel like I learned a lot from his class and enjoyed every minute of it. He also was super relaxed about missed classes or late work.
Emily Conover ARTT320 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/16/2022	the best professor at umd. super kind and really encourages creative thought. will take your ability with art to the next level with her constructive feedback and encouragement. taking her for my third semester in a row next fall
Emily Conover ARTT320 Expecting an A Anonymous 05/21/2010	I'm assuming that a "1" rating is good, because that's what Prof. Conover deserves. She is kind and funny and really provides helpful information to students. She is a gem of a person and a great professor!

Jason Kass
ARTT320

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
05/09/2025

Professor Kass is overall very nice. As someone who hadn't really ever made a painting before taking this class, they were very accommodating of people's varying skill and experiences levels and made the class's studio a comfortable atmosphere to learn painting in. The first half of the semester was more structured and had us doing different activities that let you explore the different material properties of paint, and then the second half of the semester is just open exploration where you can paint whatever you want. If you have trouble thinking of what to make, he was pretty good about checking in with you and offering prompting questions or suggestions. They also provided a lot of the necessary materials during the first few weeks of class so you had a comfortable amount of time to buy your own paints and canvases after you had a chance to learn what kind of brands you liked best. In terms of assignments, there were some weekly homework assignments where you had to research and write about (or make a small painting displaying) different painting techniques or contemporary artists' styles. Your attendance and effort in the class is also graded as 4 different "studio practice" grades, and in place of a midterm and final exam you have to submit a midway progress check and final portfolio, where you basically just show photos of what you've made in class and write about what you've learned. His grading is pretty lenient, and as long as you show up to class and do the work, you should get an A. My one criticism is that he used ChatGPT to help generate a couple of our assignment handouts. For the assignment descriptions of the midway and final portfolios, as well as for a list of painting idea prompts he posted on ELMs, they were credited at the end as "Created in collaboration with ChatGPT". I get that teaching and professional creative work can get busy, but it still came off as kind of lazy and ignorant, and it sets a bad standard for a class that's supposed to be about learning a creative medium.

Julia Kwon
ARTT320

Expecting an A
userterp
03/25/2025

curriculum & lecture: students had to complete 4 oil paintings throughout the semester; still life (16x20"), impasto (9x12"), portrait (18x24"), and essentially a photoshop of images (18x24"). generally, professor kwon expects you to paint exactly what your reference photo entails (you have to submit both the painting and the ref). the materials of the class was expensive (over $100 for blick oil paints), but you don't have to buy everything she recommends; i would suggest buying the primary colors and see what you need based on your refs. she took one day to go over the supplies and the basic techniques (e.g., underpaintings, impasto), which i found to be incredibly unhelpful because i saw that several students in the course took it for fun and wanted to learn how to paint, yet none of this is considered—don't take this class if you want to learn, take it if you want to practice. she also doesn't really have any suggestions on the compositions or anything fundamental, which some people struggled with, but she will give you the feedback if you explicitly asks (she walks around during the 2.5 hrs like once or twice to check in with everyone). outside of art, she's a really friendly person to talk to but i don't think i personally gained much out of her feedbacks besides more frustration. we also get some classes for critiques, where everyone does a gallery walk of their half completed artworks and provide feedback, which was super helpful. overall, i was able to come out of the class with 1 piece that i'm proud of. grading: luckily, i had some experience with oils but her expectations for me was ridiculous. many students i've seen scored really well (A range) so maybe she's more lenient with them but i found that she would always place me in the B range despite my continuous efforts to ask her for her feedback so i can work on improving myself. she expects all of the paintings to be hyper-realistic, with the colors being completely accurate (i had to paint a body of water and she criticized it like crazy, but didn't have specific recommendations because she "couldn't put her finger on it"). i don't know if she ever gives out 100% so don't expect that. also, absence is not tolerated, your attendance impacts your grade for the piece as that's how she gauges whether you put effort in it or not. she basically tweaks out every time someone is late, needs to leave early, or is absent. other than that, she also grades homework (per art piece), two exams, and attendance.

Julia Kwon
ARTT320

Expecting an A
Anonymous
12/25/2023

Pretty good class. The rubrics for assignments are very thorough, and she is always there to answer questions. I definitely improved as a painter in that class. But she expects a lot of effort in projects, so this definitely isn't the easiest art elective if you have a busy schedule. Also, critiques are very long, and she will call on you multiple times.

Patrick Craig
ARTT320

Expecting an A
Anonymous
01/10/2023

Professor Craig is knowledgeable, caring, and encouraging. He will help you identify your strengths and weaknesses, give feedback that will make your artwork better, and also give meaningful life advice. I highly recommend taking him for any course he teaches because he is passionate about art. He is also very understanding about your personal issues. The review from 2010 is very out of context. You will have a great time making friends in his class. He plays awesome Spotify music, and even let us watch the Soccer world cup on the projector! I am looking forward to taking ARTT428 with him!

Brandon Donahue
ARTT320

Expecting an A+
Anonymous
05/18/2022

Donahue is an incredible art teacher. He doesn't focus on classic painting or traditional styles and allows students to paint what they want, how they want. He manages to teach versatile skills that can be translated across media and genre, I feel like I learned a lot from his class and enjoyed every minute of it. He also was super relaxed about missed classes or late work.

Emily Conover
ARTT320

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/16/2022

the best professor at umd. super kind and really encourages creative thought. will take your ability with art to the next level with her constructive feedback and encouragement. taking her for my third semester in a row next fall

Emily Conover
ARTT320

Expecting an A
Anonymous
05/21/2010

I'm assuming that a "1" rating is good, because that's what Prof. Conover deserves. She is kind and funny and really provides helpful information to students. She is a gem of a person and a great professor!

Reviews for ARTT320