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Your piece "Reverse Mourning" reminds me of Natalie Frank's work, if you aren't familiar with her I highly recommend checking her out.

If it is a diptych or triptych it should stand as one image. By bringing the two or three together you are creating one image so in turn it will only be counted as one image. No schools from my knowledge look down upon this.

Ask where recent grads are showing / working. Also, find out exactly how the program you may be entering is structured (conceptual > technical - vice versa). See if you can get access to a sample course list, to see what types of seminars are available to you. Also, this is a two way street, so it is important to find out what THEY can do for you...after all we are paying them, not the other way around. Best of luck!

It doesn't hurt to bring more work than that too. I've had multiple portfolio reviews where at the end I mention that I have more work if they are interested and 9 times out of 10 they'll look at it...so keep that in mind too, if you're pulling hair out trying to decide what to put in.

You should be fine asking a non-art person for a letter if your other two references can speak about your work/process. I got all three letters from previous professors and I think they probably overlapped each other in certain areas.

Check out RISD and MassArt

It seems to be more of a reinvention of the rule to me.

Make sure your work is cohesive and has an underlying theme/concept or technique that can tie it all together. Most schools are equally interested in how you make an image and what the image is about although some swing more one way or the other. If your weak in one of these areas don't hesitate to mention that it's something you'd like to evolve in the grad program. Know what you want to do, you may not know how quite yet but if you are focused on a direction and have something pretty interesting to say you shouldn't have a problem. best of luck!

I just started this semester at Kendall College of Art + Design in Michigan for the painting mfa program. so far so good, although it seems a bit more of a conceptual based program with everyone doing representational work, hah. maybe things will change in the future where more emphasis is put on paint handling. I live right outside of the downtown which is being compensated by my loan. There are two new students doing it with families and they're living 20-30 min. outside of the city. I hope to start a blog soon about my progression through the program, in which case I will give you the link. Best of luck!

Looks good so far! May help to talk less about your life and personal experiences and more about your process and what you're most interested in pursuing with your painting. I know it's hard to separate these, as the process is so personal. From what I've found though, schools are much more interested in your process and your reasons behind painting in the first place. There's so many painters out there doing so many incredible things...so make yourself stand out in your approach, process, and subject matter. If at all possible, try to talk about something that hasn't been done before! Best of luck! Also, really believe what you're writing about your work. Make sure it rings true to your feelings. I didn't get in to a school I interviewed at because i feel my verbal skills weren't up to their standards. Part of that had to do with me not feeling totally connected to my work. Almost like i was making work I thought these schools would be interested in more than i was actually interested in the work itself...if that makes sense. Just be true!

Those are all great schools for an academic painting track. MassArt has some figurative work but not as representational as yours. I've also found that most programs other than the strictly conceptual usually have at least one figurative painter every few years. sometimes it may be nice to be the only one doing what you're doing instead of an entire building full.

check out the New York Academy of Art. http://www.nyaa.edu

Depending on what area you would like to live in search realty companies or you can check on craigs list. Brooklyn will be much cheaper than Manhattan but you will have a 15 - 30 minute subway ride every day, which is something to take into consideration both financially and distance from studio. You can also try giving Parsons a call and speaking with someone in the graduate program or the international office and they may be able to offer some advice.

Great work. I have seen work with similar intent coming out of Cranbrook, Yale, Columbia, and WashU/Sam Fox. Check out SAIC too.

Check out the New York Academy of Art. They focus a lot on application and technique, although primarily figurative, I have seen other work come out of there.