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Open Academy: Observational Practices (DR 206, In-Person)
with John Horn
Fridays, 8:30 a.m. - 3:50 p.m.
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 goal of this course is to strengthen and hone a student’s foundational skills of drawing through a series of one and two-day drawing projects. The major topics of concern will be gesture, design, perspective, structure and space. Students will be encouraged to experiment with different media and to develop a personalized drawing practice. Subjects for this exploration will be the life model, anatomical models, the city and the observable environment in general. The course includes field trips to the Wagner Free Institute of Science, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Reading Terminal and the Observation Deck at Liberty One.
Optional: This course is also available for 3.0 credits for $2,800 (select add-on pricing during registration).
Please note: All students enrolling in on-campus courses must submit proof of full COVID-19 vaccination and one booster upon registration. Requests for exceptions for medical or religious reasons must be submitted with appropriate documentation and approved by PAFA’s head of security. PAFA reserves the right to refuse entry and withdraw enrollment for students who have not provided proof of vaccination and have not been approved for exemption. Withdrawals for noncompliance will result in fees. See Open Academy Policy Information for complete COVID safety requirements and policies.
Image: John Horn (detail)
Register by: January 6
Figure Drawing Foundations: Cast and Life (In-Person)
with Roberto Osti
Tuesdays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Develop your ability to render the human form through the joint time-honored methods of cast and life drawing with noted artist and author Roberto Osti. Learn the methods and technical skills traditionally associated with beautiful figure drawing, such as measuring, tonal rendering, anatomical structuring, and establishing the effects of light on the figure through graphite on white paper, charcoal and chalk on toned paper, reduction techniques, and the trois crayons technique. Half of the course will be devoted to study from PAFA’s historic cast collection of Antique and Renaissance sculpture: a traditional way to master sight-measuring and tonal development. The other half of course content will be devoted to drawing the figure from life, for the essential experience of learning how to capture the elegance, dynamism, and subtleties of the human form, art’s most enduring subject. Note: Course tuition includes a $25 model fee.
This course does not meet during Spring Break, March 6 – 12.
Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $700 (including model fee). Select credit option when registering.
Please note: All students enrolling in on-campus courses must submit proof of full COVID-19 vaccination and at least one additional booster upon registration. Registrations lacking vaccine documentation or approved medical exemption one week after submission are subject to withdrawal. Requests for medical or religious exemptions must be approved by PAFA’s head of security. Withdrawals for noncompliance will result in fees. See CE Policy Guide for complete COVID safety requirements and policies.
Image: Roberto Osti, Brutus Charcoal Copy, 2022
Register by: January 6
CE Policy Guide Winter/Spring 2023
CE Proof of Vaccination/Booster Form - SUBMISSION REQUIRED AT TIME OF REGISTRATION
The PAFA Atelier (In-Person)
with Peter Van Dyck
Wednesdays, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
This combination of instructed class and open studio is designed for students interested in advancing their representational drawing and painting. Design and work on your own personal projects utilizing the cast collection, figure/portrait models, and still life or interior spaces, assisted by individual critiques and group instruction on topics of broad concern or interest. This course features intermediate-level instruction for students with prior drawing/painting experience. Note: Tuition includes a $50 model fee.
Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $1,150 (including model fee). Select credit option when registering.
This course does not meet on March 22 & 29 but runs through PAFA’s Spring Break.
Please note: All students enrolling in on-campus courses must submit proof of full COVID-19 vaccination and at least one additional booster upon registration. Registrations lacking vaccine documentation or approved medical exemption one week after submission are subject to withdrawal. Requests for medical or religious exemptions must be approved by PAFA’s head of security. Withdrawals for noncompliance will result in fees. See CE Policy Guide for complete COVID safety requirements and policies.
Image: Peter Van Dyck, Couple Manayunk
Register by: January 6
CE Policy Guide Winter/Spring 2023
CE Proof of Vaccination/Booster Form - SUBMISSION REQUIRED AT TIME OF REGISTRATION
Open Academy: Life Drawing (DR 200, In-Person)
with Ron Wyffels
Thursdays, Half-Day 8:30 - 11:20 a.m. OR Full-Day 8:30 a.m. - 3:50 p.m.
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 Length/Credit Adjustments: Base-price listed covers Half-Day Mornings, non-credit. This course is also available for the following (select add-on pricing during registration):
- Half-Day Mornings, 1.5 undergraduate credits for $1,400
- Full-Day, non-credit for $2,300
- Full-Day, 3.0 undergraduate credits for $2,800.
Please note: All students enrolling in on-campus courses must submit proof of full COVID-19 vaccination and one booster upon registration. Requests for exceptions for medical or religious reasons must be submitted with appropriate documentation and approved by PAFA’s head of security. PAFA reserves the right to refuse entry and withdraw enrollment for students who have not provided proof of vaccination and have not been approved for exemption. Withdrawals for noncompliance will result in fees. See Open Academy Policy Information for complete COVID safety requirements and policies.
Image:Christian Schussele, [Figure study: female nude reclining, back view], n.d., Charcoal on green-gray wove paper, 13 13/16 x 21 in. irr. (35.09645 x 53.34 cm.) Accession #1876.9.572. John S. Phillips Collection.
Register by: January 6
Drawing Fundamentals (In-Person)
with Phyllis Laver
Thursdays, 12:30 – 3:30 p.m.
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 still life arrangements, PAFA’s renowned cast collection, interior spaces, and the human figure to master the drawing elements: shape, contour line, composition, light and shadow, texture and perspective. Instruction will guide students through sight-drawing and measuring techniques, use of materials, shading methods, and ways of defining form and space. This course is also excellent as a foundation for future study, including for painting and other disciplines.
This course does not meet during Spring Break, March 6 – 12. No class on April 6.
Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $675. Select credit option when registering.
Please note: All students enrolling in on-campus courses must submit proof of full COVID-19 vaccination and at least one additional booster upon registration. Registrations lacking vaccine documentation or approved medical exemption one week after submission are subject to withdrawal. Requests for medical or religious exemptions must be approved by PAFA’s head of security. Withdrawals for noncompliance will result in fees. See CE Policy Guide for complete COVID safety requirements and policies.
Image: Phyllis Laver, Mid-Day, 2010, 34 x 48 in.
Register by: January 6
CE Policy Guide Winter/Spring 2023
CE Proof of Vaccination/Booster Form - SUBMISSION REQUIRED AT TIME OF REGISTRATION
Practical Perspective (Online)
with Kate Samworth
Thursdays, 3 – 5 p.m.
Understanding the principles of one- and two-point perspective is essential to drawing and painting convincing forms in space. Master the fundamentals of this geometric system that was developed during the Renaissance and is used to this day. Instruction will break down sometimes-intimidating principles into basic concepts to provide practical methods for creating interior spaces, landscapes, and cityscapes, including elements of repeated patterns, arches, stairways, and more. Limited class size will allow time for one-on-one assistance. Great for illustrators and artists of any media requiring a strong drawing framework.
Image: John Notman, Sketch of the Interior of the North Gallery, Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, n.d. Ink and wash on paper, 7 1/16 x 9 1/2 in. Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Gift of Charles Coleman Sellers, 1973.26.2
Register by: January 6
Oil/Acrylic Painting: Abstracting the Real (In-Person)
with Frederic Kaplan
Saturdays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Using oil or acrylic paints, exploit a wide range of techniques and artistic languages to transform everyday reality into expressive, symbolic, or personal statements. Base your paintings on unique studio still-life arrangements or use your own photographs as a starting point. Topics discussed and demonstrated include using color as an emotive element, designing compositions to convey mood and movement, and employing energetic mark-making. For less experienced students, materials, color mixing, and basic techniques are also reviewed.
Course Objectives
The student will learn…
- How to select and use basic materials, including the characteristics of various commonly used colors, solvents, and mediums
- To execute a variety of direct and indirect painting methods.
- Approaches to interpreting and modifying observed reality to achieve emotive, symbolic, and compositional goals
- Descriptive, emotive, and symbolic use of color, shape, and mark
- Basic color theory and color mixing
Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $575. Select credit option when registering.
Please note: All students enrolling in on-campus courses must submit proof of full COVID-19 vaccination and at least one additional booster upon registration. Registrations lacking vaccine documentation or approved medical exemption one week after submission are subject to withdrawal. Requests for medical or religious exemptions must be approved by PAFA’s head of security. Withdrawals for noncompliance will result in fees. See CE Policy Guide for complete COVID safety requirements and policies.
Image: Frederic Kaplan.
Register by: January 6
CE Policy Guide Winter/Spring 2023
CE Proof of Vaccination/Booster Form - SUBMISSION REQUIRED AT TIME OF REGISTRATION
Alla Prima Landscape Painting (Online)
with Al Gury
Sundays, 3 - 4 p.m.
Al Gury, Chair of PAFA’s Painting Department and noted author of Color for Painters: A Guide to Traditions and Practice, presents this in-depth approach to the skills, materials, colors, history, and techniques of direct landscape painting. Working from photographs, masterworks, or available on-site images, learn concepts that will not only improve your landscape painting but also grow your confidence in your artistic practice. Video demonstrations, images, and written instructions on Canvas will be supplemented by critiques and weekly Zoom discussions. Oil painting will be the primary focus, but all media are welcome.
This course does not meet during Spring Break, March 6 – 12.
NOTE: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $575.
Register by: January 6
CE Policy Guide Winter/Spring 2023
Image: Al Gury.