Your browser is not optimized for viewing this website.

More information »

Continuing Education at PAFA



CE Courses by Format/Length

Alla Prima Watercolor Still Life Workshop (In-Person)
Registration Unavailable

Alla Prima Watercolor Still Life Workshop (In-Person)

$195

with Keith Leitner

Calendar Next session starts Dec 2, 2023 at 9 am

Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. 
Instructor: Keith Leitner
Credit: Non-Credit Only

Embrace the beauty and versatility of watercolor through alla prima painting. Discussions and in-depth demonstrations will acquaint beginners and those with limited experience with the basic materials and techniques. Working from still-life subjects, students will be encouraged to engage with the medium to find their own personal means of expression.

Image: Keith Leitner.

Register by: November 27 

Materials List

Fall 2023 CE Policy Guide, including updated Withdrawal/Refund Policies

The Figure as a Point of Departure (Online)

$175

with Kassem Amoudi

Calendar Next available session starts Dec 8, 2023 at 10 am

Friday - Sunday, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.  
Instructor: Kassem Amoudi 
Credit: Non-Credit Only 

This workshop is not about the traditional way of painting the figure. If you are tired of getting lost in the details and traditional modes of representational painting, and you want to take a risk by exploring new ways of expressing the human form, this class is for you. Paint and draw the human figure in a looser and more expressionistic contemporary manner. Refine your painting skills to create a lively surface which will be considered a playground for intuitive creativity, technique, and skill. Expert instruction and advice from the instructor will push students to explore new possibilities and work more intuitively, allowing unplanned marks and passages to become artistic breakthroughs. Establish pictorial unity through visual metaphor and focal points and explore the power of using “active” and “quiet” areas. PowerPoint presentations and examples of contemporary ways of using the figure will enhance your understanding of the abstract qualities of space, line and color. Sessions will include live painting time, with critiques and advice from the instructor as he works one-on-one with each student. Open to all levels: You do not have to have extensive experience with painting the figure to make successful paintings. Note: Due to the emphasis on live instructor feedback and in-class painting, this Zoom class is not recorded.

Image: Kassem Amoudi.

Register by: December 1 

Materials List

Fall 2023 CE Policy Guide, including updated Withdrawal/Refund Policies

Information for PAFA CE Online Courses

Portrait in Pencil Workshop (In-Person)

$195

with RA Friedman

Calendar Next available session starts Dec 9, 2023 at 9 am

Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.  
Instructor: RA Friedman 
Credit: Non-Credit Only 

Using inexpensive materials, this hands-on workshop will introduce the concepts and methods needed to create a strong sense of dimension and likeness in your portrait drawings. Explore the proportions and planes of the head, neck and shoulders. Learn how to create astructural foundation and how to easily manage anatomy by breaking down forms into simplegeometric shapes. Instruction will address different strategies for creating a finished tonal portrait as well as tips and tricks that will help you draw like a pro!

Image: RA Friedman.

Register by: December 1 

Materials List

Fall 2023 CE Policy Guide, including updated Withdrawal/Refund Policies

Open Academy: Drawing Studio, DR 311 (In-Person)

$1,150

with Bruce Samuelson

Calendar Next available session starts Jan 16, 2024 at 8:30 am, runs for 15 weeks

Tuesdays, 8:30 - 11:20 a.m.
Instructor: Bruce Samuelson

Credit: Non-Credit or 1.5 Undergraduate Credits (see description)

NOTE: This is an Open Academy (PAFA BFA) course.  The full schedule of regular Continuing Education courses will be posted shortly.

PAFA’s Open Academy provides the opportunity for Continuing Education (CE) and non-matriculated students to enroll in select BFA courses for credit or non-credit.  Open Academy students enrolled in PAFA’s renowned studio arts courses learn technical skills, creative expression, and critical thinking from master artist-teachers while working amongst dedicated full-time students in PAFA's classrooms. 

The purpose of this course is to promote an individual way of seeing and working from the human figure and develop personal vision. This includes approaching the figure either as an end in itself or as a point of departure, and exploring an individual use of materials and techniques. Instruction for this course will be directed to the individual along with some group criticism and group discussion.

Optional: This course is available for 1.5 undergraduate credits for $1,400. Select credit option with price adjustment during registration.

Image: Bruce Samuelson.

Register by: January 11
Materials List
Open Academy Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Open Academy: Life Drawing, DR 200 (In-Person)

$2,300

with Al Gury

Calendar Next available session starts Jan 16, 2024 at 1 pm, runs for 15 weeks

Tuesdays, 8:30 a.m. - 3:50 p.m. 
Instructor: Al Gury  
Credit: Non-credit or 3.0 undergraduate credits (see description)

NOTE: This is an Open Academy (PAFA BFA) course.  The full schedule of regular Continuing Education courses will be posted shortly.

PAFA’s Open Academy provides the opportunity for Continuing Education (CE) and non-matriculated students to enroll in select BFA courses for credit or non-credit.  Open Academy students enrolled in PAFA’s renowned studio arts courses learn technical skills, creative expression, and critical thinking from master artist-teachers while working amongst dedicated full-time students in PAFA's classrooms.

Life Drawing will focus on developing skills and exploring the use of the figure with the following concepts: (1) structural and anatomical delineation of human form with line and tone. (2) The figure as an expressive end in itself. (3) Simple group compositions in interior as well as invented space. The class is open to various media & techniques.

Optional: This course is available for 3.0 undergraduate credits for $2,800. Select credit choice with tuition adjustment during checkout.  

Image: Al Gury.

Register by: January 11
Materials List
Open Academy Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Open Academy: Portrait Painting, Section 1, PT 220 (In-Person)

$1,150

with Renee Foulks

Calendar Next available session starts Jan 16, 2024 at 1 pm, runs for 15 weeks

Tuesdays, 1:00 - 3:50 p.m. 
Instructor: Renee Foulks

Credit: Non-Credit or 1.5 Undergraduate Credit (see description)

NOTE: This is an Open Academy (PAFA BFA) course.  The full schedule of regular Continuing Education courses will be posted shortly.

PAFA’s Open Academy provides the opportunity for Continuing Education (CE) and non-matriculated students to enroll in select BFA courses for credit or non-credit.  Open Academy students enrolled in PAFA’s renowned studio arts courses learn technical skills, creative expression, and critical thinking from master artist-teachers while working amongst dedicated full-time students in PAFA's classrooms. 

Students will learn the structure of the portrait, the history of historic and contemporary portraiture, methods and materials of portraiture and will be encouraged to develop a personal point of view in portrait painting. Issues of form, spatial concepts, color, visual and critical thinking will be addressed. Individual and group critiques will be conducted.

Optional: This course is available for 1.5 undergraduate credits for $1,400.  Select credit option with price adjustment during registration.

Image: Renee Foulks.

Register by: January 11
Materials List
Open Academy Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Open Academy: Landscape and Painting from the Collection, PT 218 (In-Person)

$2,300

with Douglas Martenson

Calendar Next available session starts Jan 17, 2024 at 8:30 am, runs for 15 weeks

Wednesdays, 8:30 - 3:50 p.m. 
Instructor: Doug Martenson
Credit: Non-Credit or 3.0 Undergraduate Credits (see description)

NOTE: This is an Open Academy (PAFA BFA) course.  The full schedule of regular Continuing Education courses will be posted shortly.

PAFA’s Open Academy provides the opportunity for Continuing Education (CE) and non-matriculated students to enroll in select BFA courses for credit or non-credit.  Open Academy students enrolled in PAFA’s renowned studio arts courses learn technical skills, creative expression, and critical thinking from master artist-teachers while working amongst dedicated full-time students in PAFA's classrooms.

For the first part of this class, students will work in PAFA's museum to paint master copies of landscapes in the collection. When the weather warms in March, the class will move to outside locations to put into practice the lessons learned from their master studies. Students may work in a variety of drawing and painting media from various locations in and around the city. Individualized instruction and group critiques will be given throughout the session. Van transportation available for outdoor locations.

Optional: This course is available for 3.0 undergraduate credits for $2,800. Select credit option with tuition adjustment during registration.

Image: Doug Martenson, Pines in a Field, oil on linen, 32 x 52.

Register by: January 11
Materials List
Open Academy Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Open Academy: Portrait Painting, Section 2, PT 220 (In-Person)

$2,300

with Al Gury

Calendar Next available session starts Jan 17, 2024 at 8:30 am, runs for 15 weeks

Wednesdays, 8:30 - 3:50 p.m. 
Instructor: Al Gury

Credit: Non-Credit or 3.0 Undergraduate Credits (see description)

NOTE: This is an Open Academy (PAFA BFA) course.  The full schedule of regular Continuing Education courses will be posted shortly.

PAFA’s Open Academy provides the opportunity for Continuing Education (CE) and non-matriculated students to enroll in select BFA courses for credit or non-credit.  Open Academy students enrolled in PAFA’s renowned studio arts courses learn technical skills, creative expression, and critical thinking from master artist-teachers while working amongst dedicated full-time students in PAFA's classrooms.

Students will learn the structure of the portrait, the history of historic and contemporary portraiture, methods and materials of portraiture and will be encouraged to develop a personal point of view in portrait painting. Issues of form, spatial concepts, color, visual and critical thinking will be addressed. Individual and group critiques will be conducted.

Optional: This course is available for 3.0 undergraduate credits for $2,800. Select credit option with price adjustment during registration.

Image: Al Gury.

Register by: January 11
Materials List
Open Academy Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies





Forgot password?
Staff Log In