Lowered grade on an art assignment?

This is coming from someone who been through your situation. I graduated from the Design Institute of San Diego so I have taken all the classes you will be going through. I advise not to go over your instructors head but to talk directly to him. Explain it to him just as you did here. Also, let him know that you feel as if he never gave you a constructive critic & that even though you apperciate the nice things he said about your drawing you want to improve your skills. I am sure your instructor will apperciate you taking the time to show that you really are trying to learn what he has to offer you in his class. Going over his head before speaking with him could throw up a red flag to him about you & make him think that you are just one of thoes students that when you don’t get the grade you feel you deserved you will run to admin. & complain. You do not want that & believe me they do talk amoungst themselves. One last thing don’t be suprise if after you talk to him he does not change your grade & don’t go in with that kind of attituide. But you may see as the semister progresses that you actually get more instruction from him & build a better repoor.

If you want to argue your grade, you have to write out, and list reasons why your painting is Excellent and deserves an A, as opposed to Good, and deserves a B. Just because you worked hard on the project is not enough.

You are in a Fundamentals of Design class. Use the lessons you are studying relating to good design technique, and good painting technique to describe why your picture adheres to the highest standards.

Before your painting was finished, the teacher said nice things about it. This means it was above average as you were working on it. If you can convince him that it is truly one of the best, he will probably change your grade. Art criticism is subjective. At the very least, if you calmly approach your teacher with your concerns, he may open up and explain where he sees opportunity for improvement. Your grade on this one picture is just a small part of your final grade for the class. The way you argue for your A will show the teacher you understand the lessons of Design Fundamentals important to the class.

Beginning painting technique has to do with applying paint, using texture, creating shading, and blending of colors. Show the teacher that the painting technique you used is secondary to other points in your picture. Draw out and highlight the stronger, more important points. Give the teacher clear reasons to change your grade. Going over his head doesn’t seem to be a wise option.

Remember you are working towards a degree in Fine Arts. You need to be able to take and address criticism of your art. This is not the only time you will disagree with what others think about your work. Good luck.

Giving out grades is one of the difficult parts of being an art teacher. I had to do it for 30+ years even to 1st graders! Try explaining to a mom why her daughter got a “B” in a fingerpainting project. (The school district required me to give grades). Instructors are influenced by (though all won’t admit it), originality and effort as well as technique. If I saw one photo of a dog in my photo classes, I saw a thousand. I’d grade dog photos lower just because I was tired of them. A “B” is not a bad grade. It shows room for improvement. I wouldn’t go over his head. By the way, instructors at colleges are not required to take any classes in teaching or education, just need a degree in what they are teaching. So that may explain your lack of feedback.

How can he tell you how to paint your picture.

You have to discover that for yourself.

The Degas of this world experimented and did some amazing things that were TOTALLY unacceptable to their PATRONS so they had to go back to what sold.

To be quite frank with you, to this day I don’t see what makes Grandma Moses so fansastic. Most 8 year olds draw like that.

I probably would have given her a D in college art!

Look at your work

It has to meet certain standards of the motif.

Go to the Art museum

I can sit there and stare at Renior and Van Gogh for hours.

Some of those old paintings look better than modern photographs because they GOT IT WIRED

I, however, couldn’t see what a kitchen table with table cloth and setting was ART in the modern Art wing!

That would have gotten a D from me.

I saw this film of Picasso doing his Steer (You know the Sizzler/Black Angus logo) in black paint on glass.

ONE fluid motion and while he’s doing it he’s looking up at the camera, cracking a smille and a giggle and just haveing a blast as you draws that steer without lifting his hand from the glass until he was finished.

So go look at what you do, compare it to other works in the same motif and ask yourself WHAT can I do to improve my work.

you need to manage your time better, which means you need to define time for friends and time for schoolwork, as well as work on assignments and study gradually, rather than cramming it all in the night before. I always figured that friday nights and saturday day/nights were reasonable for social activities, and during the school week and sundays were for work. Don’t be afraid to ask your teachers for help with studying. I found that not only are they helpful (hey, they’re the ones giving the tests..), but they like to see that you’re working hard and trying, which is kinda like sucking up to them in a way. But at least you get something out of it too. If you are determined to get into a good college and have a good GPA, remember that sometimes you’ll have to choose between social and academics, and keep in mind that there will be much more time for socializing in college.

One option is to put this in perspective. Is a B really so terrible? You’re taking a college course for a degree and therefore, you will receive grades. It’s just part of the bureaucracy. If he gave you an A, that would be saying that you didn’t need improvement… obviously, he feels you do need to improve. Ask him for specific feedback on how to improve your technique.

i think you should ask him for specific feedback on where you can improve. complaining to him or going over his head is only going to make him mad and make the class much worse for you. it’s only one grade out of many.

every art teacher has his own personal biases. things he believes makes good art. and you need to learn his so you can pass his class, and move on to something more interesting. splitting hairs over one grade is going to drive you insane. look at the big picture.

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