在入门级，学生将学习绘画的基础知识，包括对材料和媒体的熟悉。在初步沉浸于涂料应用，构图组织，形式建模和富有表现力的涂料处理基础知识之后，鼓励学生使用这些技能来探索思想并自由尝试各种技术和过程。通过幻灯片讲座，讨论，演示，阅读和前往许多大都会画廊和博物馆的课堂旅行，探索材料，媒体，概念，思想和方法的使用，并通过绘画课程向学生介绍并鼓励他们探索更广泛的媒体包括油，丙烯酸，蛋彩画和水彩画，以及将绘画与版画，造纸，摄影，雕塑和多媒体联系起来的技术。在各种流派，历史时期和文化的艺术家作品中，对绘画的观念进行了分析，
At the introductory level, students are oriented to the fundamentals of painting, including a familiarity with materials and media. After an initial immersion into the basics of paint application, compositional organization, modeling of form, and expressive paint handling, students are encouraged to use these skills to explore ideas and freely experiment with a range of techniques and processes. The use of materials, media, concepts, ideas, and approaches are explored through slide lectures, discussions, demonstrations, readings, and class trips to many Metropolitan-area galleries and museums. Through Painting courses, students are introduced to and encouraged to explore in greater depth a wide variety of media, including oil, acrylic, tempera, and watercolor, as well as techniques that link painting to printmaking, papermaking, photography, sculpture and multimedia. Ideas about painting are analyzed within the context of artists' works from diverse genres, historical periods and cultures, with a particular emphasis on the contemporary art scene. Through an energetic atmosphere and individualized attention, students are encouraged to find their own personal voices as expressive artists.