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The Landscape Sketch DR 605LS (Outdoor, Spring Course)
with Roger Chavez
The oil sketch is a traditional way for painters to execute preparatory ideas and quickly capture initial impressions – perfect for plein air painting! Learn useful techniques for rapidly encapsulating color and form while working directly from observation. Select locations along the Schuylkill River will include beautiful Laurel Hill Cemetery and Bartram’s Garden.
Image: Landscape Sketch class in progress, Fall 2021. Photo by Roger Chavez.
Register by: April 12
Plein Air Drawing and Painting PT 612DP (Outdoor, Spring Course)
with Larry Francis
Capture the small town beauty Manayunk's hilly streets, rowhomes, and storefronts. Learn to create a convincing sense of space, light and time of day while depicting streetscapes, trees, water and sky. Color mixing and painting techniques for oils will be demonstrated, but all drawing/painting media are welcome. Located just 15 minutes outside of Philadelphia, Manayunk offers engaging urban and riverside neighborhood subjects with parking, shade, provisions and facilities available.
Register by: April 29
Power of Acrylics Intensive
with Frederic Kaplan
Monday - Friday, 9 am - 4 pm
Exploit the flexibility and power of acrylic paints to produce engaging and vibrant pictures. Acrylics are ideal for the oil painter who wants to expand their repertoire or switch to less toxic materials, as well for students new to painting. A range of techniques will be demonstrated, including alla prima, blending, masking, glazing, and the velatura. Lessons will be individualized for each student, making this course appropriate for all experience levels. Drawing experience is recommended.
Note: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $525.
Important: All students enrolling in on-campus courses must submit proof of full COVID-19 vaccination and booster (or documentation for a medical/religious exemption request) upon registration. Open the Agreement form during checkout to upload an image of your vaccination card or exemption documentation, or submit vaccine and booster documentation below. Onsite card display and card images emailed to the CE office cannot be accepted. Registration for any on-campus course is pending without vaccination documentation or exemption approval.
Register by: May 13
Acrylic in the City (Outdoor)
with Michelle Oosterbaan
Tuesdays, 10 am - 2 pm
Acrylic paint is the perfect medium for landscape painting in the open air! Explore acrylic’s vibrant color and versatile application and layering methods as you portray the beauty of Philadelphia’s parks in your own personal style. Learn techniques for choosing a composition, mixing color, and working efficiently outdoors as you complete a series of rapid sketches and at least one sustained painting. Fast-drying and easy to clean-up, acrylics will allow you to easily transport your finished work home to admire when you are done with each day’s painting!Open to all levels. Painting locations featuring shade, restrooms, and other amenities may include Clark Park in West Philly, Wissahickon Park in Mt. Airy, and Bartram's Garden in Southwest Philadelphia. Note: Students are responsible for their own transportation to painting locations.
Register by: May 13
Classical Design for Contemporary Artists (Online)
with Charles Muldowney
Tuesdays, 10 am - 1 pm
Design is the application of the formal elements of aesthetics to an artwork to enhance its strengths. This class will explain these formal elements of design: composition, space, value, light, color, line, texture and pattern. Course content will include art historical discussions using artists past and present to exemplify these design principles. The classes will also include demonstrations of the applications of each principle, and time to experiment and apply what you learned to your own work
Course Topics:
Composition – This class will discuss the arrangement of forms, rhythms, colors, values, and lines in a work to create an interesting image. Principles like the Golden Ratio and other concepts will be made simple. Students will be able to identify these elements in the work of classical and contemporary artists. The works of Hopper, Bartlett, Vermeer, Millet, Poussin, and others will be discussed.
Space – This class will investigate the creating of a sense of depth in a work using size, position of forms, value, saturation, edge and perspective.
Perspective - atmospheric perspective, linear perspective, intuitive perspective will be discussed and demonstrated. The class will look at the work of Alberti, Masaccio, Durer, Leonardo DaVinci, Giacometti and others.
Value and Light – This class will examine the creating of a range of dark and light in a work. High key and low-key value will be discussed and demonstrated. We will study how to manipulate the value to create a sense of illumination and drama. The class will look at work of Prud’hon, Lorrain, Rigaud, Hassam, Degas, Seurat, Rembrandt, Hopper, Caravaggio, Vermeer, and Whistler.
Color – This class will examine how color works and principles of color in art to create mood, space and harmony. Artists studied: Van Gogh, Matisse, Piper, Diebenkorn, Rothko and others.
Line – This class will explore the use of line in creating planes, volume, mass, and space. Line weight, gesture, accent and passage will also be discussed. The class will look at the work of Van Gogh, Klee, Rembrandt, Kline and others.
Texture and Pattern – this class will look at creating a rich visually interesting surface that provides contrast, variety, and decoration. Artists studied: Escher, Close, Mondrian, Pollock, Klimt, Essaydi and Fish.
Learning Objectives:
- Students will recognize and apply the seven basic elements of classical design.
- Students will become familiar with several important art historical figures, and their influence on design.
- Students will experiment with a variety of techniques and materials to gain an understanding of how mark making influences design.
- Students will develop and discuss concepts and image development in the form of structured critique.
- Students will gain confidence in their ability to create interesting design within their own artwork.
Register by: May 13
Art Journaling: From the Garden
with Dressler Smith
Tuesdays, 1 - 4 pm
Using the spring and summer seasons as a starting point, learn how to commit your life’s memories to book form though engaging prompts and practical tips. Art journaling allows you to document your feelings and life events in a meaningful and creative format through a calming, personally expressive practice. Fuse words with imagery though drawing, watercolor pencil, and more to organize your thoughts and preserve your experiences. No drawing experience is necessary.
Important: All students enrolling in on-campus courses must submit proof of full COVID-19 vaccination and booster (or documentation for a medical/religious exemption request) upon registration. Open the Agreement form during checkout to upload an image of your vaccination card or exemption documentation, or submit vaccine and booster documentation below. Onsite card display and card images emailed to the CE office cannot be accepted. Registration for any on-campus course is pending without vaccination documentation or exemption approval.
Register by: May 13
Abstraction: Investigation and Experimentation in Painting
with Keith Leitner
Tuesdays, 6 - 9 pm
Immerse yourself in the creative process in this exploration of painting techniques and personal expression. Explore the back-and-forth conversation you have with your materials and mark-making to create paintings that engage and even surprise you as they develop depth and visual resonance. Learn to hone your critical eye and personal intuition as you use color, mark, space, and texture as the means to encapsulate your unique artistic voice. Class discussions will be focused upon in-depth investigations of master painters, and on informing and encouraging your practice, in order to help you make the paintings you want to make. Note: This previously online class now meets in-person.
Learning Objectives:
- Students will obtain a grounding in the history of modernist painting.
- Students will learn to compose compositions through editing, making and interaction with material.
- Students will learn color mixing and color relationships.
- Students will be challenged in their thinking towards painting.
Important: All students enrolling in on-campus courses must submit proof of full COVID-19 vaccination and booster (or documentation for a medical/religious exemption request) upon registration. Open the Agreement form during checkout to upload an image of your vaccination card or exemption documentation, or submit vaccine and booster documentation below. Onsite card display and card images emailed to the CE office cannot be accepted. Registration for any on-campus course is pending without vaccination documentation or exemption approval.
Register by: May 13
Portrait Drawing from 2D and Life
with Alicia Mino
Wednesdays, 9 am - 5 pm
Draw one of art’s most compelling and moving subjects: the portrait. Learn to create realistic and expressive renderings from both photographs and live models, in order to explore a range of approaches for your personal practice. Use charcoal and graphite drawing techniques to suggest light and volume, and discover how to incorporate contrast and detail to create interest. Instruction will cover basic anatomy, including skull bone structure and musculature, as well as how to determine the movement and direction of the head. Useful information for all levels.
Learning Objectives:
- Students will learn notions of basic anatomy, including skull bone structure and muscle structure
- Students will learn how to settle movement and direction of the head
- Students will learn how to create volume with charcoal and graphite techniques
- Students will learn how to make their portraits interesting by adding details and contrast to their pieces.
NOTE: This course is available for 1.5 undergraduate credits for $750.
Important: All students enrolling in on-campus courses must submit proof of full COVID-19 vaccination and booster (or documentation for a medical/religious exemption request) upon registration. Open the Agreement form during checkout to upload an image of your vaccination card or exemption documentation, or submit vaccine and booster documentation below. Onsite card display and card images emailed to the CE office cannot be accepted. Registration for any on-campus course is pending without vaccination documentation or exemption approval.
Register by: May 13