Lockers are available for CE students enrolled within the current semester. Lockers are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. In advance of your course start date, the CE office will send you an email with the locker number and combination. Please do not replace the assigned lock with a personal lock. Report any problems with the lock combination or items left in the locker to the CE office at continuinged@pafa.edu. 

Locker fees are non-refundable except in the event of CE-issued course cancellations.

Lockers are available for use only for the duration of the course(s) in which you are enrolled. Your locker reservation is available starting on your first day of class. Items cannot be stored in advance unless special accommodation is needed and arranged with permission through the CE office.

Lockers must be emptied promptly after your last day of class, even if you plan to enroll for the following semester. This is a Security requirement. Please plan accordingly for removal of items and transportation arrangements. PAFA is not responsible for items left after May 8, after which date they may be discarded.

After emptying your locker, please lock the door.

Lockers are available for CE students enrolled within the current semester. Lockers are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. In advance of your course start date, the CE office will send you an email with the locker number and combination. Please do not replace the assigned lock with a personal lock. Report any problems with the lock combination or items left in the locker to the CE office at continuinged@pafa.edu. 

Locker fees are non-refundable except in the event of CE-issued course cancellations.

Lockers are available for use only for the duration of the course(s) in which you are enrolled. Your locker reservation is available starting on your first day of class. Items cannot be stored in advance unless special accommodation is needed and arranged with permission through the CE office.

Lockers must be emptied promptly after your last day of class, even if you plan to enroll for the following semester. This is a Security requirement. Please plan accordingly for removal of items and transportation arrangements. PAFA is not responsible for items left after May 8, after which date they may be discarded.

After emptying your locker, please lock the door.

Lockers are available for CE students enrolled within the current semester. Lockers are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. In advance of your course start date, the CE office will send you an email with the locker number and combination. Please do not replace the assigned lock with a personal lock. Report any problems with the lock combination or items left in the locker to the CE office at continuinged@pafa.edu. 

Locker fees are non-refundable except in the event of CE-issued course cancellations.

Lockers are available for use only for the duration of the course(s) in which you are enrolled. Your locker reservation is available starting on your first day of class. Items cannot be stored in advance unless special accommodation is needed and arranged with permission through the CE office.

Lockers must be emptied promptly after your last day of class, even if you plan to enroll for the following semester. This is a Security requirement. Please plan accordingly for removal of items and transportation arrangements. PAFA is not responsible for items left after May 8, after which date they may be discarded.

After emptying your locker, please lock the door.

Tuesdays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. 
Instructor: John Horn 
Twelve-Week Course (36 Hours) 
Note: No class during Spring Break, March 2 - 8.

Strengthen and hone your foundational drawing skills through a series of one- and two-day projects. Topics of concern will be design, structure of space, perspective, and light and shade. Subjects will include interior space, single objects and still life arrangements, and the life model. All levels from beginner to advanced are welcome. Tuition includes a $25 models fee.

Image: John Horn

Register by: January 13 
Materials List  
Please review CE's Winter/Spring 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering.

Open Studio Access (15-Week Rental): Mondays - Fridays, 7 a.m. - 10 p.m.; Saturdays, 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.; Sundays, 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. 

Class Meetings/Trips/Critiques:  Select Wednesdays, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. or variable for critiques/trips.  See dates below.

Instructor/Lead Critic: Roger Chavez

Taking the leap to start or cultivate an art-making practice in a private studio space can be both exciting and daunting. Learn how to create work and stay motivated on your own terms in this unique combination studio-rental and instruction/critique course! Tuition for this fifteen-week program will confer an individual private studio space in PAFA’s Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building, as well as bi-monthly meetings (approximately every two weeks) for critiques, exploratory trips to museums/galleries, archives visits, and drawing sessions led by artist-instructor/critic Roger Chavez, accompanied by visiting critics for select weeks.

Studios for this program are approximately 9 x 16 feet (144 sq. ft.), white-walled, with easel and stool provided (students are responsible for additional furniture or equipment needs). Studios are individual, interior-building spaces (not located along PAFA’s windowed exterior walls) on classroom floors, with private, lockable doors.

This program is perfect for artists wanting to jumpstart or advance their personal practice, for students considering application to a studio-centered certificate or degree program, or for anyone lacking a home studio and seeking a space to pursue their work -- with the motivation and encouragement that come from being part of an artistic community! Participants will benefit from prior art-making experience and the ability to work independently.

Meeting Dates on Wednesdays, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. (may be subject to change for scheduling adjustments):

• January 28 - Intro/Orientation (attendance required)
• February 11 - TBA
• February 25 - Critique (Roger Chavez)
• March 11 - TBA
• March 25 - Critique (Visiting Critic 1, TBA)
• April 15 - TBA
• April 29 - Final Group Critique (Roger Chavez & Visiting Critic 2, TBA)

Notes:

• Registration requires an additional $200 studio deposit that is refundable upon satisfactory return of the studio to its original condition at the end of the program. Students must agree to and sign PAFA’s studio agreement form.
  
  
• No scholarships or membership/promotional discounts are available for this program. Membership discounts apply to regular CE courses only; special programs are not eligible for tuition deductions. 
  
  
• Students may work in their media of choice within PAFA's safety/clean-air guidelines (see materials list).  Access to print and sculpture shop facilities is not included in tuition:  Students must be enrolled in in-person CE printmaking or sculpture classes, or registered/approved for a PAFA Shop Membership, for access to the pertinent shop facilities and abide by shop rules and access hours.

Image: Instructor Roger Chavez in studio.

Registration Deadline: Rolling, on a space-available basis. Space is limited. Late registration available.

Materials List (PAFA-Approved Materials - Coming Soon) 

CE Winter/Spring 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies.  *Please note: A minimum 10% fee applies to cancellations any time after registration, including same day, to cover third-party processing charges.  Please check your schedule before registering.

By enrolling in the CE Taking the Leap Studio Rental Program, you agree to abide by PAFA's Procedures and Policies.

Tuesdays, 12:30 - 3:30 p.m. 
Instructor: Phyllis Laver 
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours) 

PAFA’s breathtaking Cast Hall is back for Spring 2026! Following renovations to PAFA's Historic Landmark Building, this unique resource is again available to offer enrolled students opportunities to work from copies of Greco-Roman and Renaissance sculpture, including the Winged Victory, the Venus de Milo, and the staggering life-size Michelangelo’s David, among other notable works. Students may also work from select casts on display in additional PAFA exhibition areas. Cast Drawing was one of the first courses established in the founding of the Academy and has remained a core part of PAFA’s fine arts curriculum for over 200 years. Become a part of this long and rich artistic tradition as you learn to draw accurately from observation, explore line and shape, describe form through light and shadow, and gain an appreciation for some of history’s most beautiful sculptural artworks. This course is an excellent introduction to drawing techniques and materials and is appropriate to all levels.

Read a History of PAFA’s Cast Hall by Faculty Member Al Gury here.

Image: Daniel Garber, [Cast drawing: female torso (4th century, Greece)] (detail), ca. 1899-1905, charcoal on cream paper, 24 1/4 x 18 3/4 in. Collection of the PAFA Museum. Accession # 1945.14.4. Gift of the artist.  

Register by: January 13 
Materials List  
Please review CE's Winter/Spring 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering.

Tuesdays, 6 - 9 p.m. 
Instructor: Phyllis Laver 
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours) 

If you’ve never drawn before, or your skills are a little rusty, then this class is for you! Learn to draw what you see with confidence. Work from simple forms, still life arrangements, and interior and exterior spaces to master the drawing elements: shape, contour line, composition, light and dark, texture and perspective. Instruction will guide students through sight-drawing and measuring techniques, use of materials, gauging value, and ways of defining form and space. This course is excellent as a foundation for future study, as a precursor to more advanced drawing study or to painting and other disciplines. Note: This part 1 course does not include work from models. 

This class is part 1 of an optional 2-part course! See also Drawing Fundamentals: Cast and Figure for continued instruction. Students are welcome to enroll in either or both parts; Line and Form is not required as a prerequisite to Cast and Figure but is recommended for students with little or no drawing experience. 

Image: Ellen R. Warren, Begonia, ca. 1880, pen and black ink on white wove paper, 2 x 3 1-4 in. Collection of PAFA.

Register by: January 13 
Materials List
Please review CE's Winter/Spring 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering.

Wednesdays, 9 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. 
Instructor: James Toogood 
Ten-Week Condensed Course (45 Hours) 

Enrich your knowledge of painting with an in-depth look at watercolor. Thoroughly investigate a wide range of watercolor materials and techniques from your choice of landscape, still life, portrait, and figure subjects. The course is designed to equip each participant with the knowledge and skills necessary to make accomplished, personally rewarding watercolor paintings. Open to watercolorists of all levels and to acrylic/oil painters looking to broaden their skills.

Learning Objectives

• Students will learn about color theory as applied to watercolor.
• Students will receive a comprehensive explanation of watercolor materials and tools, with particular focus will be paid to the properties of paint and pigments as they interact with the paintbrushes and paper.
• Through both discussions and demonstrations, first time participants and beginners will learn a variety of techniques that are fundamental to watercolor, presented in a systematic step by step method. Participants can expect to have regular individual instruction, given at their current skill level.
• Focus also will be paid on acquiring the skills needed to achieve a richness of color and a feeling of light.
• Participants will work from direct observations from the still life and model, or from their own source material. Those not taking the class for credit will have the option to work on landscape, still life, portrait and figure or abstraction, as they wish.
• Participants will be exposed to a variety of watercolor styles and encouraged to discover one’s own personal aesthetic.

Image: James Toogood

Register by: January 14 
Materials List  
Please review CE's Winter/Spring 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering.