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Continuing Education at PAFA



CE Courses by Medium/Discipline

Color Matters (Online)

$250

with Kassem Amoudi

Calendar Current session started Oct 29, 2024 at 1 pm, runs for 6 weeks

Tuesdays, 1 - 4 p.m. (Live Zoom Only) 
Instructor: Kassem Amoudi 
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit Only

Elevate the role of color and learn how to incorporate it both strategically and intuitively into your paintings under the guidance of artist/critic/mentor Kassem Amoudi.  Examine concepts of temperature, value, saturation, and harmony/contrast through color relationships.  Explore color’s role in creating focal points, suggesting space, influencing mark, and promoting personal expression. Work from personal subject matter (objects, images, emotions, or ideas) to develop your personal style, informed by examples from contemporary and modern art. Zoom sessions feature open painting time, supported by critiques and advice from the instructor as he works one-on-one with each student to guide them toward their goals. This course is excellent for students seeking to promote their use of color in abstract/nonobjective imagery and anyone seeking knowledgeable feedback within a focused community painting environment.  Painting experience recommended. 

Image: Kassem Amoudi.

Register by: October 25 
Materials List
Fall 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Information for PAFA CE Online Courses

Drawing Fundamentals: Cast and Figure (In-Person)

$330

with Phyllis Laver

Calendar Current session started Oct 31, 2024 at 6 pm, runs for 6 weeks

Thursdays, 6 – 9 p.m.
Instructor: Phyllis Laver
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit Only

For students seeking to expand their beginning drawing skills or those new to working from the figure, this class will focus on applying drawing’s basic elements to the human form.  Starting from Antique and Classical sculpture from PAFA’s cast collection and progressing to work from the life model in short and long poses, work in charcoal and graphite to explore figure-based concepts of gesture, proportions, anatomy, and expression. Instruction will cover 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 in any discipline or for more advanced figure-based work.  Note: This part 2 course includes the use of nude models. Tuition includes a $35 models fee.  

This class is part 2 of an optional 2-part course!  See also Drawing Fundamentals: Line and Form for more foundational 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.  

*No classes during Thanksgiving Break, November 28 – December 1. 

Image: Doug Brown, Roberta, 2022, charcoal on paper, 20 x 26.5 in.

Register by: October 25 

Materials List

Fall 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Sculpture Explorations: Collage, Combines, and Assemblage Art (Online)

$250

with Colleen O'Donnell

Calendar Current session started Nov 1, 2024 at 10 am, runs for 6 weeks

Fridays 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. (Zoom with posted Canvas content) 
Instructor: Colleen O'Donnell
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit Only

NEW! Please note updated length, dates, and tuition price for this course!

Explore alternative ways of conceptualizing and creating mixed-media art. 2D and 3D techniques have been an essential part of modern art history, as evinced in the poetic artworks of Joseph Cornell, politically charged assemblages of Betye Saar, revealing works of Eileen Agaar, and whimsy of Robert Rauschenberg. Push your art-making process to a new level by combining 2D and 3D art into a contemporary expression of your own. Intrinsically engage awareness while drawing on design elements to reflect a point of view and a moment in time. Perfect for working from home: pull your art from found objects, day-to-day articles, momentos, and collected papers, cloth, and photos easily at hand for a more personal experience! Each week discover your unique expression while bringing new work into existence. 

Image: Mixed Media Explorations student work by Diana Myers.

Register by: October 25

Materials List 

Fall 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies 

Information for PAFA CE Online Courses

Figure Painting: The Extended Pose (In-Person)

$330

with David Wilson

Calendar Current session started Nov 2, 2024 at 10 am, runs for 6 weeks

Saturdays, 10 a.m. - 1p.m.*
Instructor: David Wilson
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit Only

Paint from a life model in poses of varying lengths to develop and refine your figure painting compositions. Extended poses will allow students to adjust and resolve issues of surface, color, and composition. Instruction will cover a variety of topics including glazing, broken color, surface texture, composition and design, the relationship of the figure to the environment, the creation of atmosphere and color harmony, disrupted realism, and open- versus closed-form painting. All levels welcome. Instruction will be geared toward oil, but students are welcome to draw-only, or use other appropriate media, if they wish. Note: Tuition includes a $35 models fee. 

*No classes during Thanksgiving Break, November 28 – December 1. 

Register by: October 25  
Materials List  
Fall 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Collage and Mixed Media (In-Person)

$295

with Anthony Ciambella

Calendar Current session started Nov 4, 2024 at 12:30 pm, runs for 6 weeks

Mondays, 12:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Instructor: Anthony Ciambella 
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit Only

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 wide 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.  

Register by: October 28 
Materials List  
Fall 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

The Painter's Palate: Food Painting in Oil and Acrylic (Online)

$250

with Susan Sullivan

Calendar Current session started Nov 5, 2024 at 6 pm, runs for 6 weeks

Tuesdays, 6 – 8 p.m. (Zoom with posted Canvas Content)
Instructor: Susan Sullivan
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit Only

Whet your appetite for painting by whipping up food studies in oil or acrylic! Alla prima still life painting is an excellent way to hone your color mixing and paint handling skills, and food subjects – whether bakery confections or lunchtime leftovers – are perfect for learning to capture form, light, color, and texture rapidly and expressively. Discussion and demonstration will cover tactics for setting up your composition, mixing color, and exploring paint application techniques for oil and acrylic. Examine food depictions from historical and contemporary artists for inspiration and admiration. Combine palette and palate to create compositional concoctions that are personal, whimsical, or visually delectable. Instruction is geared toward oil or acrylic painting, but students may work in their drawing/painting media of choice. All levels are welcome. 

Image: Susan Sullivan.

Register by: November 1 

Materials List  

Fall 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies 

Information for PAFA CE Online Courses 

Fast and Unfussed Oil Painting (In-Person)

$310

with Roger Chavez

Calendar Current session started Nov 6, 2024 at 9 am, runs for 6 weeks

Wednesdays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Instructor: Roger Chavez
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit Only

Cultivate fluid mark-making and bold approaches to subject matter through rapid and loose painting studies.  Tight and precise painting, especially in the early stages of an artwork, can sometimes lead to work that appears stiff and over-labored, or to locked-in compositions that are difficult to change or correct. Working from the still life, cityscapes, and the life model, utilize short, small painting exercises to learn new ways of starting paintings, keeping compositions open to adjustment, and both initiating and retaining a sense of freshness in your forms and brushstrokes. Instruction will address color mixing, painting materials and methodologies, and the importance of setting a viable learning environment for your painting practice.  Discover the beauty and freedom of loosening up your painting! Note: Tuition includes a $15 models fee.

Register by: November 1
Materials List
Fall 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

In-Depth Watercolor Extension, Section 2 (In-Person)

$220

with James Toogood

Calendar Next available session starts Nov 27, 2024 at 9 am, runs for 3 weeks

Wednesdays, 9 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Instructor: James Toogood 
Three-Week Course
Credit: Non-Credit Only 

Enrich your knowledge of painting with an in-depth look at watercolor! This newly-added bonus/extension class both offers students who completed the ten-week In-Depth Watercolor course the option of continuing their studies with James Toogood and provides new students the opportunity to try out this engaging, all-levels watercolor class in a short three-week format. Group and one-on-one instruction is designed to equip each participant with the knowledge and skills necessary to make accomplished, personally rewarding watercolor paintings. Note: This course does not include use of models. Students need not have completed the full-length In-Depth Watercolor class to participate in this extension.

Register by: November 22
Materials List
Fall 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies





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