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Drawing in PAFA's Historic Cast Hall Intensive (In-Person)
with Phyllis Laver
Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
PAFA’s breathtaking Cast Hall is a unique resource for artists, containing copies of Greco-Roman and Renaissance sculpture, including the Winged Victory, the Venus de Milo, and the staggering life-size copy of Michelangelo’s David, among other notable works. Cast Drawing was one of the first courses established in the founding of the Academy and has remained a core part of PAFA’s fine arts curriculum for over 200 years. Become a part of this long and rich artistic tradition as you learn to draw accurately from observation, explore line and form, and gain an appreciation for some of history’s most beautiful sculptural artworks. This course is an excellent introduction to drawing techniques and materials and is appropriate to all levels. Read a History of PAFA’s Cast Hall by Faculty Member Al Gury here.
Learning Objectives:
- Students will learn to articulate 3-dimensional form with active gestural line.
- Students will translate form into cross-contour models.
- Students will develop skill in drawing form with light.
- Students will manipulate composition to alter visual impact.
- Students will acquire knowledge of diverse artists and their ways of working.
Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $595. Select credit option when registering.
Image: Daniel Garber, Reclining Male Figure [Cast drawing: Michelangelo's "Day"], 1904, Charcoal on buff laid paper, 18 5/8 x 24 3/8 in., Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Gift of the artist, 1945.14.5
Register by: June 2
The Pennsylvania Landscape Tradition Intensive (Outdoor)
with Joseph Sweeney
Tuesday - Friday, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.*
Learn the essentials of landscape painting in the New Hope/Lambertville countryside, the area made famous by Daniel Garber, Edward Redfield, Fern Coppedge, and other masters of Pennsylvania Impressionism. Locations will include Daniel Garber’s historic farmstead, Cuttalossa Farm! Veteran plein air artist Joe Sweeney will guide newcomers and artists of all levels through both the artistic concerns and practical matters of open air painting. Topics include color mixing to achieve a sense of light and air, capturing time of day, compositional fundamentals, and sound drawing and painting practices. Instruction is geared toward oil/acrylic painting and pastel drawing/painting.
Learning Objectives:
Students will --
- Learn the basics of working outdoors.
- Learn how to set up, use and care for a field easel.
- Learn how to transport wet paintings to and from home without damaging one’s car.
- Identify the working properties of different surfaces to paint on including linen, canvas, paper, wood, prepared panel, and masonite.
- Learn how to select paint colors and related materials for successful outdoor painting.
- Gain skills in drawing and proportion in the composition of a landscape.
- Become expert in finding locations suitable for painting, including how to orient oneself to the sun and how to find shelter from wind and rain.
- Learn to assess the time of day and how much time is left before the sun continues its course across the sky.
- Make quick field sketches and bring them to full completion, to develop a sense of place.
- Learn to mix color to portray the season, atmosphere, and temperature.
* No class on Monday, June 19, for Juneteenth holiday.
Image: Joseph Sweeney.
Register by: June 9
Botanical Drawing and Painting Intensive (In-Person)
with Linda Gist
Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Explore flowers and other natural forms, beginning with line and value drawing and progressing to full-color rendering in watercolor and mixed media. Topics will include sighting techniques, line quality, tone and value, creation of depth, composition, texture, and basic color. All levels welcome. Tuition includes a $10 materials fee for floral subjects, provided.
Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $605 (including materials fee). Select credit option when registering.
Image: Linda Gist, Cleome Hassleriana, 2008, 16 x 19 in.
Register by: June 16
The Portrait in Chalk and Pastel Intensive (In-Person)
with Jill A. Rupinski
Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Drawing with colored chalk and pastel is a time-honored method for capturing skin tones and allowing great flexibility in establishing the form. Learn the process of using colored chalk and building a structured drawing based on historical methods that are still relevant today. You will be guided in employing a limited to expanded range of color in a step-by step process. Topics including anatomy, proportions, and features, as well as historic and contemporary uses of the medium, will be addressed through presentation, lecture, and demonstration. Tuition includes a $50 models fee.
Learning Objectives:
- Students will learn to use the materials and techniques of traditional chalk and soft pastel.
- Students will learn the history and legacy of chalk and pastel drawing.
- Students will learn the safe use of these materials.
- Students will learn the proper supports and grounds for various chalk and pastels techniques and how to prepare a ground.
- Students will explore the complexities of texture, gradation, layering and fixing of chalk and pastel drawings.
- Students will learn how to frame, protect, and store chalk and pastel drawings.
Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $645 (including materials fee). Select credit option when registering.
Image: Jill Rupinski.
Register by: June 16
Plein Air Painting in Valley Forge, PA, Intensive (Outdoor)
with Joseph Sweeney
Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
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 essential plein air approaches, including color mixing to achieve a sense of light and air, capturing time of day, compositional fundamentals, and sound drawing and painting practices. Instruction is geared toward oil/acrylic painting and pastel drawing/painting. Note: Students are responsible for their own transportation.
Learning Objectives:
Students will --
- Learn the basics of working outdoors.
- Learn how to set up, use and care for a field easel.
- Learn how to transport wet paintings to and from home without damaging one’s car.
- Identify the working properties of different surfaces to paint on including linen, canvas, paper, wood, prepared panel, and masonite.
- Learn how to select paint colors and related materials for successful outdoor painting.
- Gain skills in drawing and proportion in the composition of a landscape.
- Become expert in finding locations suitable for painting, including how to orient oneself to the sun and how to find shelter from wind and rain.
- Learn to assess the time of day and how much time is left before the sun continues its course across the sky.
- Make quick field sketches and bring them to full completion, to develop a sense of place.
- Learn to mix color to portray the season, atmosphere, and temperature.
Image: Joseph Sweeney, Valley Forge Park.
Register by: June 30