Wednesdays, 8:30 – 11:20 a.m.
Instructor: John Horn
Fifteen-Week Open Academy (BFA) Course (45 Hours)*
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.5 Undergraduate Credits (See Below) 

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.

*Note: No class on March 5 (Spring Break).

Image: John Horn

Register by: January 2
Materials List
Open Academy 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!

Thursdays, 8:30 - 11:20 a.m. (includes option to add afternoons, 1 - 3:50 p.m., for full-day attendance -- see description)
Instructor: Al Gury
Fifteen-Week Open Academy (BFA) Course (45 – 90 Hours)
*Credit: Non-Credit or 1.5/3.0 Undergraduate Credits (See Below) 

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 have availability of models for painting and drawing in the classroom, using a variety of setups, lighting, etc., where the instructor will guide and critique projects. Strategies for referencing the visual material in the settings for the development of work with a personal point of view will be discussed. Included will be historical and contemporary perspectives on painting and drawing with the figure. To address the needs of the advanced student emphasis will be placed on independently directed work. Therefore, this class can serve as a bridge to figurative work being developed in the private studio as well as in the open studio classroom. Students may work in their studios, where the instructor may be invited to offer criticism regarding work in progress. The goal of this course is to support, strengthen and prepare the students for independent work as a studio artist.

Optional: This course is available for half-day for 1.5 undergraduate credits for $1,400. For the option of full-day (morning, 8:30 - 11:20 a.m. and afternoon, 1 - 3:50 p.m.), this course is available for $2,300 non-credit or $2,800 for 3.0 undergraduate credits. Select length and credit choice with tuition adjustment during checkout.

* Note: No class meeting on March 6 (Spring Break).

Image: Al Gury

Register by: January 2
Materials List
Open Academy 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!

Fridays, 8:30 a.m. – 3:50 p.m.
Instructor: Peter Van Dyck
Fifteen-Week Open Academy (BFA) Course (90 Hours)* 
Credit: Non-Credit or 3.0 Undergraduate Credits (See Below)

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.

This class is an opportunity for the student to develop three complex works of escalating ambition. As has often been said, “all art comes from other art” in the sense that art-making is a culture in continuous negotiation with present needs and precedent. Students will develop a small group of imaginative peers from the labyrinth of painting history to consult and debate in the development of their pieces. The resulting pictures may include the production of studies, copies, collages, and any other kind of visual fodder to develop ambitious compositions that will explore the overlapping terrains of abstraction and figuration. What is meant here is that Piero, de Stael, Gorky, Ingres, Cassatt, and Kerry James Marshall are fraternal and in solidarity about the demands of painting.

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

*Note: No class meetings on March 7 (Spring Break).

Image: Peter Van Dyck

Register by: January 2
Materials List  
Open Academy 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!

Tuesdays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Instructor: Douglas Martenson
Twelve-Week Course (36 Hours)*
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)  

Join PAFA’s celebrated figurative tradition, combining Eakins-influenced historical techniques with contemporary approaches.  Master the drawing elements of gesture, proportion, volume, anatomy, tone, and composition in charcoal and colored chalk on toned paper.   Progress to oil painting materials and techniques, expanding from limited colors to a full palette.  Ideal for all levels, with options to draw- or paint-only based on experience.  Note: Tuition includes $75 models fee.   

*Note: No Class on March 4. 

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $770 (including models fee). Select credit option with price adjustment when registering. 

Register by: January 10
Materials List
Winter/Spring 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Tuesdays, 1 – 4 p.m.
Instructor: Douglas Martenson
Twelve-Week Course (36 Hours)*
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)  

Explore the power and nuance of one of art’s most engaging subjects: the portrait. Investigate the structure, proportions, form, and anatomy of the human head through drawings and painted studies.  Progress to finished paintings and address issues of likeness, composition, space, texture, and aspects of the clothed figure. Learn to better see and understand color to mix it more successfully, a useful skill for painting all subject matter.  Designed students at all levels learning or pursuing work in oil, acrylic, or other media; students may draw-only if they wish. Note: Tuition includes $75 models fee.   

*Note: No Class on March 4. 

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $770 (including models fee). Select credit option with price adjustment when registering. 

Register by: January 10
Materials List
Winter/Spring 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Tuesdays, 6 – 9 p.m.
Instructor: Jill A. Rupinski
Ten-Week Course (30 Hours)*
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)

Expand the boundaries of traditional watercolor painting! Explore the wonderful range of effects that may be achieved by incorporating compatible water-soluble materials such as ink, watercolor pencils, and opaque pigments, as well as toned surfaces. Demonstrations and examples of masterworks will illustrate traditional and contemporary techniques, with a wealth of practical and technical advice provided. Observational study in PAFA’s still life studio may be supplemented by options to work from personal sketches, photo sources, recognized artworks, and memory or imagination. Students will be encouraged to experiment, explore, and develop their personal expression with water-media.  

*Note: No class on March 4. 

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $595. Select credit option with price adjustment when registering. 

Register by: January 10
Materials List
Winter/Spring 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies 

Wednesdays, 9 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Instructor: James Toogood
Ten-Week Condensed Course (45-Hour Equivalent)
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.5 Undergraduate Credits (See Below)  

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.   

Optional: This course is available for 1.5 undergraduate credits for $995. Select credit option with price adjustment when registering. 

Register by: January 10
Materials List
Winter/Spring 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Wednesdays, 6 – 9 p.m.
Instructor: Morgan Dummitt
Twelve-Week Course (36 Hours)*
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)

Modeling the figure in clay is the foundational skill of traditional sculpture. Working from a model, learn to sculpt in clay from initial gesture to surface finishing techniques. Topics of study will include proportion, composition, structure, and simplified sculptural form. Students will complete two sculptures in the course of the class. All work willbe fired after class. Beginners welcome. Note: Tuition includes a $75 models fee.

Student Learning Outcomes

• Gain a basic understanding of the osteology, myology, and anatomy of the figure

• Analyze and organize the various elements of the body into simplified sculptural forms

• Carry out best practices for modeling and maintaining water-based clay sculpture

• Understand best practices for creating ceramic sculpture

*Note: No class on March 5.

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $770, including models fee. Select credit option with price adjustment when registering.

Register by: January 10
Materials List
Winter/Spring 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies