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Continuing Education at PAFA



Our Classes

The Portrait in Oil

$515

with Roberto Osti

Calendar Current session started Sep 28, 2026 at 10 am, runs for 10 weeks

Mondays, 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM  
Instructor: Roberto Osti
 
Ten-Week Course (30 Hours)
 
No class on October 12 (Indigenous People’s Day) 

Paint portraits from a variety of models using the direct painting method. Examine the proportions and volumes of the head, as well as the placement, structure, and characteristics of the facial features, through preliminary drawings and demonstrations. Develop color using a limited palette to understand how to use chroma, temperature, value, tint, and tone. Instruction will address materials, composition, paint handling, and color mixing, blending, and theory. Homework assignments working from photos, Masterworks, or oneself/others will encourage students to learn to make personal aesthetic and technical choices and to practice concepts addressed in class. Open to all levels, this course is excellent for beginners as well as experienced students who want to review fundamental techniques or who simply enjoy painting portraits from life. Note: Course tuition includes a $65 model fee.

Registration Still Open!  
Materials List   
Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering.

Wood Studio

$480

with John Greig

Calendar Current session started Sep 30, 2026 at 5:30 pm, runs for 10 weeks

Wednesdays, 5:30 PM - 8:30 PM  
Instructor: John Greig  
Ten-Week Course (30 Hours)
 
No class on November 25  

This class will explore wood as a primary art-making medium, looking at its many types, techniques and uses. Students will develop a well-rounded foundation of wood-working skills including cutting, milling, laminating, joinery and safe use of wood-working tools. Contemporary, traditional and ancient art works made of wood will be presented for historical and contextual understanding. Students will be encouraged to find their own unique voice within the material while building skills. Tuition includes $30 materials fee.

Register by: September 23  
Materials List 
  
Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering.

Full Course

Introduction to Gouache Painting

$395

with Shushana Rucker

Calendar Current session started Oct 6, 2026 at 6 pm, runs for 8 weeks

Tuesdays, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM  
Instructor: Shushana Rucker  
Eight-Week Short Course (24 Hours)  

Learn the fundamentals of painting with gouache, the opaque watercolor paint. Painters of all levels will fall in love with it as a portable, fast-drying, and easy-to-clean-up alternative to oils – great for travel or limited working time and space. Explore color and painting techniques through still life subjects and personal photo references. Students will gain familiarity gouache’s unique characteristics to work on a variety of surfaces, master paint fluidity and control, accurately mix color and predict its effects, and promote its layering capabilities and surface qualities. Open to all levels; prior drawing experience is helpful for any painting course.

Registration Still Open!  
Materials List
  
Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering.

Woodcut Printmaking

$315

with Rebecca Gilbert

Calendar Current session started Oct 14, 2026 at 12:30 pm, runs for 6 weeks

Wednesdays, 12:30 PM - 3:30 PM  
Instructor: Rebecca Gilbert
 
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)  

Printing from a drawing carved into wood block is the oldest and most straightforward form of printmaking. Artists of all levels enjoy its potential for intricate detail and graphic impact. Learn the basics of relief printmaking, including carving techniques, care of tools, types of wood and paper, registration, and how to use mark-making to translate ideas into dynamic black and white images. Instruction will cover printing by hand and on an etching press, using oil-based inks. This course is most suitable for folks that have some experience with printmaking, but all levels are welcome. Tuition includes a $20 lab fee.

Registration Still Open!  
Materials List
   
Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering.

Papermaking: Sheetforming to Sculpture

$345

with Clay Tenhula

Calendar Current session started Oct 15, 2026 at 12:30 pm, runs for 6 weeks

Thursdays, 12:30 PM - 3:30 PM  
Instructor: Clay Tenhula  
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours) 

Discover the myriad of possibilities of handmade paper from sheetforming, to painterly pulp techniques, to sculptural forms in PAFA's Brodsky Center Paper Studio. Learn fundamentals or build on previous papermaking knowledge as you begin by forming sheets with a mould and deckle, and then move beyond into working with colored pulps and exploring 3D techniques such as casting and draping paper over armatures to create paper sculptures. Working with cotton, flax, and abaca fibers, experience how paper can fuction as both surface and structure.  All levels welcome. Tuition includes a $50 materials/lab fee. 

Image: Clay Tenhula

Register by: October 8  
Materials List  
Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering.

Full Course

Assemblage and Mixed Media Art (ONLINE)

$265

with Colleen O'Donnell

Calendar Next available session starts Oct 29, 2026 at 6 pm, runs for 6 weeks

Thursdays, 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM
Instructor: Colleen O'Donnell  
Six-Week Online Short Course (Zoom + Asynchronous Content; 18-Hour Equivalent)
 
No class on November 26 (Thanksgiving Break)  

Students in this online assemblage art course will master the foundational techniques of mixed-media construction from their home studios. Participants will develop a sharp eye for transforming everyday household or discarded objects into cohesive three-dimensional narratives, learning to evaluate items for both their structural integrity and their symbolic meaning. Beyond physical fabrication, students will cultivate critical thinking and visual literacy by actively participating in live Zoom critiques. By the conclusion of the workshop, learners will possess a portfolio of finished sculptures alongside the technical and creative problem-solving skills necessary to independently share, critique, and execute complex multi-material art projects.

Registration Still Open!  
Materials List
  
Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering.

Oil Painting: Portrait from the Masters (ONLINE)

$265

with Roberto Osti

Calendar Next available session starts Oct 30, 2026 at 10 am, runs for 6 weeks

Fridays, 10:00 AM - 12:30 PM  
Instructor: Roberto Osti  
Six-Week Online Short Course (Zoom + Asynchronous Content; 18-Hour Equivalent)
 
No class on November 13 and November 27 (Thanksgiving Break)   

Copying from masterworks is a time-honored form of artistic instruction and an excellent means of studying the art of portraiture in particular. Hone your oil painting skills using both alla prima (direct painting) techniques and indirect methods of building form and color through layers. Master painting references from artists such as Paxton, DeCosta, and Manet will be carefully selected to cover foundational paint-handling techniques, composition, color theory, and mixing flesh tones using a limited palette, as well as painterly methods for depicting the structure of the head, facial features, and hair. This class offers a fascinating way to internalize the techniques and aesthetic decisions of successful artists and incorporate them into your own artistic expression.

Registration Still Open!  
Materials List    
Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering.

Mixed Media Collage Workshop

$195

with Anthony Ciambella

Calendar Next available session starts Oct 31, 2026 at 9 am

Saturday and Sunday, 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM  
Instructor: Anthony Ciambella  
Weekend Workshop  

Mixed media art and collage offer a myriad of possibilities to combine papers, photographs, and 3D elements to make a statement, convey something personal, or create something textural, colorful, and beautiful. Develop rich and complex imagery finding inspiration from memory, literature, films, and other sources, while working in a variety of traditional and non-traditional materials. Sessions will discuss the characteristics of adhesives, paper and fabric cut-outs, wood, and plastics. Students will receive one-on-one instruction and participate in open discussions about their ideas and work. Topics include construction, storage and presentation strategies. Open to all levels.

Registration Still Open!  
Materials List   

Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering. 





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