Time: Semester 1, 2026 (not summer/winter break!) This subject was a lot but it's honestly super fun! The zoom classes were really supportive and I found each module to be extremely interesting. I think Semester 1 pacing may be better than winter/summer break, but at the same time you have to be able to juggle this with your other subjects. I do biomed and it was quite a lot towards peak assessment period (after week 4), but the painting was seriously such a nice break from the science-y stuff. Having said that, make sure you get your final projects done as soon as you can and keep your visual diary updated. It's not fun trying to cram during SWOTVAC when you already have exams to study for, and for me even just doing my 1 final project during then was tough. I had Ann as a demonstrator and she's really sweet. She makes sure you put in a bit more work so that you can have a really good visual diary/folio in the end that can get a high score. On that note, this subject rewards extra work/exploration for you to get a H1. It's not the only thing of course, but if you can try to do some paint analysis of work with techniques relevant to the syllabus or even do some more A5 paintings, they would love that. But most importantly keep your visual diary organised such that it shows your progression through the subject. You don't want the diary to be jumbled and the main point of this subject is to show your improvement in your painting skills. Thats why its fine if you're not that good at painting, you'll find the improvement come over time and thats what matters :)

5 stars for the content and my enjoyment of all the tasks, but 1 star for the limited time given in the summer intensive and the ridiculous anxiety and sleep-deprivation that was required. You don't need any experience with painting do do well - my mark was above 90 and I've never painted before - as long as you document everything and do all the assigned tasks. The issue is the time - between the prep tasks, the research, the painting itself, and the annotations and reflections, there genuinely aren't enough hours in the day to keep up. Everything is due very quickly after classes finish (compared to other intensive subjects) and boy oh boy do you need *every* minute of that time. Throughout the entire subject I was getting up early, staying up super late, and not doing anything else (not working, barely taking care of myself) because I was spending every moment on the work - and actually spending ALL my time on the work, not even any procrastination or slow productivity because there was just too much to do! It's definitely a subject you can do really well on if you put in the time (and make sure to document EVERYTHING), but if you're doing the intensive of the subject and have any other commitments (work/family etc.) god help you. I've taken other intensives before, this was nothing like them - they really needed to push back the final due date by a couple weeks

I loved this subject, scored a 97 in it during the winter term. Even though it was online, there was ample opportunity to receive feedback from the tutors. The zoom lectures/tutorials were really great to watch live demonstrations of certain painting techniques and methods. You don't have to be a good painter or artist for this subject. I remember seeing my peers artworks during the zoom classes and felt deflated when comparing it to my own work. However, after receiving my score for the subject, I realised it isn't about how good your work is compared to others. You just have to show improvement in your folio+ visual diary from start to finish; how you have learnt the techniques and most of all - shown experimentation in your visual diary. Even though you may not be a fantastic painter like myself, that isn't the key for success in this subject. The key is to be thorough, reflective and experimental in your visual diary!

Bad learning experience.Not a wam booster. Don't take it online unless you are good at painting. Taking this subject face-to-face is a better choice.