Our visual arts program is a wonderful mix of digital art, photography, painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture and more.

You will find many of the pieces from our visual arts classes collected and shown throughout the year in the Main Street Gallery, a student- and faculty-operated space that shows off the wonderful talent in our community.

Visual Art Offerings at Northwest Academy

List of 9 items.

  • Advanced Studio Art

    Students explore modern and contemporary conceptual frameworks through a variety of means of visual expression typical of studio arts including drawing and painting, assemblage and sculpture, varieties of printmaking, and installation. 
  • Exploratory Visual Art

    Students in the Exploratory Visual Arts program will investigate a wide range of two- and three-dimensional techniques. Emphasis is placed on observational skills in 2-D work and painting. Form is explored in 3-D work. In printmaking, students will explore ways that the medium influences or changes our designs. In all things, students will develop focus and craftsmanship.
  • Preparatory Visual Art

    In our Preparatory Visual Art course, students explore 2D media. Students learn to create visually compelling images in this hands-on class. Abstract thinking and creative problem-solving skills will be honed through a variety of art-making techniques. There will also be opportunities to discover the possible connections between social activism and the visual arts.
  • Fundamental Visual Art

  • Exploratory Media Arts

    In Exploratory Media Arts, students dive into digital technology as it is applied to photography, Flash animations, and web design. Students learn basic Photoshop skills for image processing and image creation. A variety of software programs are used as students move from the still image to animations. We will learn basic HTML, CSS for creating web pages, which we will use for showing the work created in class.
  • Black & White Photography

    In Black & White Photography, students learn how to use black & white darkroom techniques to create fine art prints. Students go beyond the traditional photographic process to incorporate alternative processes and hand-built or manipulated cameras into our toolbox. Themes and methods from contemporary and historical photography will be explored through slide lectures and photographer studies. 
  • Digital Art

    Digital Art students explore various software tools in the Adobe Creative Suite. Students start off using Photoshop for image creation and manipulation. Next, the class works on developing their graphic design skills, where they design posters for the theatre department. Later in the year, students explore the moving image, creating animations and motion graphics. The class will end the year with web design, where students learn basic HTML5 and CSS3.
  • Drawing

    Drawing is the foundation for students pursuing any art form. Students will learn fundamental drawing skills, beginning with lessons designed to develop the student's ability to draw from sight. As students progress, they will be introduced to other concepts related to design and composition, such as perception of value and the use of value in compositions, understanding and using color, and linear perspective. 
  • Printmaking and Painting

    This class offers students an introduction to basic painting and printmaking techniques. Painting techniques cover both historical and contemporary approaches/ideas about painting. The class provides various entry points for curious students to begin their personal explorations of the medium. Likewise, printmaking gives students a working knowledge of common techniques including relief, intaglio, monotype, and screen/stencil printing.