Tuesdays, 6 – 8:30 p.m. (Zoom with posted Canvas content)
Instructor: Susan Sullivan
Ten-Week Course (30-Hour Equivalent)
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)

Abstraction in art can look like a variety of different things, from the painterly glow of a Turner seascape to the flattened patterns of a Matisse interior to Pollock’s nonobjective drip technique. But how does one get from painting realistically what one can see in the real world to translating it into invented color and shape or to abandoning form altogether? Learn from master artists throughout modern art history by trying on their techniques to find your own personal style! Explore different paint application methods, color interactions, and compositional tactics as you take on a variety of subjects, including still life, interiors, landscape, and the figure or self-portrait…using the examples of Helen Frankenthaler, David Hockney, Mickalene Thomas, and other master artists to guide you. Each session will include lecture and artist examples, in-class painting time, and one-on-one feedback from the instructor. Whether you are seeking to drive your current work to a new direction or simply experiment with different ways of generating imagery, this is a great steppingstone to making abstraction – in whatever form it may take – personal, expressive, and satisfying. Open to all media and levels but drawing experience recommended.

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

Image: Susan Sullivan, B-52 (detail), oil on canvas.

Register by: May 22
Materials List

Summer 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies
Information for PAFA CE Online Courses

Wednesdays, 1 - 4 p.m.*
Instructor: Kassem Amoudi
Ten-Week Course (30 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)
Note: This previously online class is currently being offered in-person.

Learn to explore new possibilities and paint more intuitively under the guidance of artist/critic/mentor Kassem Amoudi! Work from personal subject matter (objects, images, emotions, or ideas) to find your own visual language, informed by examples from contemporary and modern art. Examine how to use concepts of color, harmony, focal point, space, and mark-making as powerful tools of personal expression. Open painting is heavily supported by critiques and advice from the instructor as he works one-on-one with each student to guide them in their personal style and goals. This course is excellent for students pursuing abstract or nonobjective imagery, seeking knowledgeable feedback and a focused community painting environment. Painting experience recommended. 

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

*Note: No class on June 19 for Juneteenth holiday.

Image: Kassem Amoudi.

Register by: May 24

Materials List

Summer 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Tuesdays, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. 
Instructor: John Horn
Six-Week Condensed Course (36 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)

Develop your ability to render the human form through the time-honored combination of anatomical study and life drawing.  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, using graphite on white paper, charcoal and chalk on toned paper, and reduction techniques. Through the instructor’s in-depth anatomical drawing demonstrations and work from the life model, learn the structural aspects of the human form: basic landmarks, essential volumes, and proportional relationships. Progress to the main muscle groups to identify their surface effects and aesthetic characteristics, and how they influence mass and movement. Learn to incorporate your knowledge of figure anatomy to capture the elegance, dynamism, and subtleties of the human form through drawing from the model in short and extended poses. This course is ideal for anyone interested in strengthening their figure drawing, painting, or sculpture skills, as well as for those interested in future medical illustration.  Note: Tuition includes a $50 models fee. 

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $745 (including models fee). Select credit option with price adjustment when registering. 

Image: John Horn.

Register by: June 24
Materials List
Summer 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies 

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

Without question, every oil painter benefits from color mixing instruction:  Understanding how to accurately see, mix, and adjust color not only allows you to achieve the results you want in your work but also enables you to avoid the pitfalls of wasting paint though inaccurate and poorly understood pigment mixing.  Explore key methods and principles for effective color mixing, using a limited palette to create prismatic hues and earth tone colors. Instruction will address the role of light in the visual perception of color, as well as subtractive and additive color systems. Work from varied still life arrangements to put your color comprehension into practice, and advance your painting skills for all subject matter.  

*Note: No class on August 7. 

Image: Roger Chavez

Register by: June 24 
Materials List
Summer 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies 

Wednesdays, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Instructor: Charles Muldowney
Five-Week Short Course (20 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit Only

Enjoy open-air painting in beautiful Valley Forge National Historical Park, the encampment site of George Washington’s Continental Army in 1777-1778 and now home to a painter’s delight of lush scenery and historic architecture!  Located in Montgomery County, 35 minutes northwest of Center City Philadelphia, the park features great views of the Schuylkill River, Valley Creek, the Valley Forge Farm, Mt. Joy, Mt. Misery, and many valleys, cabins, and colonial houses, with ample parking and access to restrooms.  Working from diverse landscape subject matter, students will learn the essential materials, tools, techniques, and strategies for painting on site.  Instruction will cover a variety of plein air approaches, including painting with a knife and brush, painting from an imprimatura,  Macchiaioli painting, and working from sketches to block in local color.  Note: Students are responsible for their own transportation.

Image: Charles Muldowney, Valley Forge Arch. 

Register by: June 24
Materials List
Summer 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Wednesdays, 1 – 4 p.m.* 
Instructor: Roger Chavez 
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit Only

Draw what you see competently and with confidence. Drawing is not only the basis for other creative endeavors like painting and sculpting, but also a powerful means of describing the world around you and expressing yourself. Instruction will address fundamental concepts including line, shape, perspective, value, and composition. Draw from still life objects, the life model, and more while learning the proper use of drawing materials, sight-measuring methods to accurately gauge proportions and space, shading techniques to develop three-dimensional form and contrast, and means of developing personal expression. Ideal for beginners and those in need of a refresher. Tuition includes a $10 models fee. 

*Note: No class on August 7. 

Image: Roger Chavez. 

Register by: June 24
Materials List  
Summer 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Wednesdays, 2 – 4:30 p.m. (Zoom with posted Canvas content)
Instructor: Roberto Osti 
Six-Week Short Course (18-Hour Equivalent)
Credit: Non-Credit Only

The natural world is an infinite and fantastic source of inspiration for the artist, and the versatility and luminosity of watercolor make it the perfect technique for recording nature in a fresh and fun way.  In this course, learn fundamental drawing techniques and essential watercolor techniques to create both quick field sketches and detailed, finished artworks. Subject matter will include flowers, plants, and animals. Reference images will be gathered through observational sketches and photography.  An ideal course for those interested in both the fine arts and the Illustration field. 

Image: Roberto Osti.

Register by: June 24
Materials List 
Summer 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies
Information for PAFA CE Online Courses 

Open studio access: 8 a.m. - 10 p.m. daily, six weeks, July 8 - August 16, with weekly instruction on Thursdays.

Weekly Meetings/Studio-Visits:  Thursdays, July 11 - August 15, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. (Guest instructor/critic, TBA, on August 8.)

Instructor/Lead Critic: Roger Chavez

Credit: Non-credit

Taking the leap to start or cultivate an art-making practice in a private studio space can be both exciting and daunting. Learn how to create work and stay motivated on your own terms in this new and unique combination studio-rental and classroom course! Tuition for this six-week program will confer an individual studio space in PAFA’s Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building, as well as weekly meetings for critique and instruction on a variety of artist’s concerns led by artist-instructor/critic Roger Chavez. Studios for this program are approximately 9 x 16 feet, white-walled, with easel and stool provided (students are responsible for additional furniture or equipment needs). Students have two studio options (select preference during registration): 

• Studios within a group space are located side-by-side within a private, key-secured corridor for an engaging community atmosphere. Each space is curtained (no individually locked doors), opening out to the corridor’s large east-facing windows for the benefit of abundant natural light.
  
  
• Interior studios spaces (not located along PAFA’s windowed exterior walls) offer increased privacy with individual lockable doors, without natural light.

Weekly meetings will feature both one-on-one in-studio critiques/discussions as well as group instruction on art topics designed to motivate and assist you in your work, including drawing sessions, assignment prompts, materials and techniques demonstrations, gallery visits, and critiques from guest critics. This class is perfect for artists of varying levels of experience wanting to jumpstart or advance their personal practice, for students considering application to a studio-centered certificate or degree program, or for anyone lacking a home studio and seeking a space to pursue their work -- with the motivation and encouragement that come from being part of an artistic community! Participants will benefit from some prior art-making experience and the ability to work independently.

Note: Registration requires a $200 studio deposit that is refundable upon satisfactory return of the studio to its original condition at the end of the program. Students must agree to and sign PAFA’s studio agreement form. Membership and early registration discounts cannot be applied to course tuition, but students are eligible to receive 10% off additional Summer CE courses to supplement their studio pursuits.

Image: CE Summer Studio/Critique Program, 2022. 

Registration Deadline: Rolling, on a space-available basis. Late registration (after first weekly meeting) available.

Materials List (Approved Materials) 

Summer CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies