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Continuing Education at PAFA

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CE Six-Week and Other Short/Condensed Courses

in Courses by Format/Length

Watercolor Plunge

$295

with Tony Rosati

Calendar Current session started May 19, 2026 at 10 am, runs for 6 weeks

Tuesdays, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. 
Instructor: Tony Rosati 
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours) 

Take the plunge to learn the fundamentals of watercolor through this beginner-friendly class designed for those with little or no painting experience! Acquire a thorough grounding in basic watercolor materials and techniques, including papers, brushes and pigments, as well as transparent and opaque painting methods. Gain the confidence to further your skills and enjoyment in the medium, in future studies or personal expression.

Image: Tony Rosati

Registration still open!  
Materials List 
Please review CE's Summer 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering.

Portrait Drawing and Anatomy

$615

with Jill A. Rupinski

Calendar Current session started May 21, 2026 at 9 am, runs for 6 weeks

Thursdays, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. 
Instructor: Jill A. Rupinski 
Six-Week Condensed Course (36 Hours)  
*Note: This course has been updated with adjusted information and dates.  

Develop a solid background in drawing the human head and features. Learn first the structure of the head – planar structure, axial relationships, proportions and foreshortening – and progress to anatomy and the features. Work with a variety of materials including graphite, charcoal, and chalk (conté crayon and pencil).  Extended poses will promote strengthening of observational abilities and drawing techniques toward achieving both a likeness and aesthetic effect.  Historical and contemporary examples of master portrait drawings will provide inspiration and insight.  All levels are welcome.  Note: Course tuition includes a $75 models fee.

Image: Jill A. Rupinski, David (detail), pastel on toned paper. 

Registration still open!  
Materials List  
Please review CE's Summer 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering.

Portrait Drawing: An Introduction

$315

with RA Friedman

Calendar Current session started May 21, 2026 at 6 pm, runs for 6 weeks

Thursdays, 6 - 9 p.m.  
Instructor: RA Friedman 
Six-Week Short Course 

Whether you are a fine artist, illustrator, comic book creator, or simply enjoy drawing people, this fascinating course will prompt you to expand how you envision the human head and face. Learn methods of working that lead to accuracy and animated likeness. Starting with geometric solids in space, instruction will focus largely on structure and form as you understand volumes and ways of defining the foundation of the head. The course also examines the construction of facial features and how to handle light and shade. Students will work from a variety of references including three sessions with a live model. Tuition includes a $20 models fee.

Image: RA Friedman

Registration still open!  
Materials List
Please review CE's Summer 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering.

The Complete Terracotta Portrait

$615

with Morgan Dummitt

Calendar Current session started May 26, 2026 at 9 am, runs for 6 weeks

Tuesdays, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. 
Instructor: Morgan Dummitt 
Six-Week Condensed Course (36 Hours) 

Modeling the portrait in clay is a foundational skill of traditional sculpture. Working from a model, learn to create a portrait from composition to completed sculpture. Focus will include simple structural forms, proportion, anatomy, and technical best practices for clay sculpture. Work will be fired at the end of class. All levels welcome. Tuition includes a $75 models fee. 

Student Learning Outcomes

  • Gain a basic understanding of the osteology, myology, and morphology of the head
  • Analyze and organize the various forms of the head and neck into simplified sculptural forms
  • Understand various techniques for creating a “likeness” of the sitter
  • Carry out best practices for modeling and maintaining water-based clay sculpture. 

Image: Morgan Dummitt

Registration still open!  
Materials List 
Please review CE's Summer 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering.

Wood Studio

$395

with John Greig

Calendar Current session started Jun 3, 2026 at 5:30 pm, runs for 8 weeks

Wednesdays, 5:30 - 8:30 p.m.  
Instructor: John Greig 
Eight-Week Short Course 

This class will explore wood as a primary art-making medium, looking at its many types, techniques and uses. Students will develop a well-rounded foundation of wood-working skills including cutting, milling, laminating, joinery and safe use of wood-working tools. Contemporary, traditional and ancient art works made of wood will be presented for historical and contextual understanding. Students will be encouraged to find their own unique voice within the material while building skills. Tuition includes $30 materials fee.

Image: John Greig

Register by: May 27 
Materials List
Please review CE's Summer 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering.

Assemblage and Mixed Media Art (ONLINE)

$265

with Colleen O'Donnell

Calendar Next available session starts Jun 9, 2026 at 3 pm, runs for 6 weeks

Tuesdays, 3 - 5 p.m. (Zoom with supplemental Canvas content) Instructor: Colleen O'Donnell 
Six-Week Short Course (18-Hour Equivalent) 

From the poetic artworks of Joseph Cornell to politically charged assemblages of Betye Saar, assemblage is a powerful means of artistic expression, engaging the unconscious while drawing on elements of design, whimsy, and chance to reflect a point of view and a moment in time. In this class, learn to transform everyday items, found objects, elements of nature, or memorabilia into three-dimensional sculpture and collage. Be guided through a different topic each week, delving into your own responses and ideas to create dramatic, humorous, emotional, and satirical works of art.

Register by: Registration Still Open!  
Materials List  
Please review CE's Summer 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering. 
Information for PAFA CE Online Courses

Etching, Monoprints, and Monotypes

$315

with Tony Rosati

Calendar Next available session starts Jun 30, 2026 at 10 am, runs for 6 weeks

Tuesdays, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. 
Instructor: Tony Rosati 
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours) 

Experience masterful instruction in PAFA’s spacious print facilities as you explore an array of basic intaglio and monotype printing techniques including monoprint, drypoint, etching, aquatint, collograph and polymer plate methods. Image embellishments will include embossing, chine collé, collage, paper plates and mixed media techniques. All levels welcome; experienced students may continue independent work. Note: Tuition includes $20 lab fee.

Image: Tony Rosati

Register by: June 23  
Materials List 
Please review CE's Summer 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering.

Fast and Unfussed Figure Painting

$515

with Roger Chavez

Calendar Next available session starts Jul 7, 2026 at 9 am, runs for 6 weeks

Tuesdays, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. 
Instructor: Roger Chavez 
Six-Week Condensed Course (30 Hours) 

Energize and open up your approach to figure painting through rapid, loose oil painting studies from the life model. Learn tactics to avoid the tendency toward tightness and over-attention to detail too early in the process that can lead to work that lacks liveliness in gesture or mark and is difficult to adjust or correct. Through short, small-scale painting exercises from the model in one-day poses, learn new ways of approaching life painting with an emphasis on keeping compositions fluid, capturing the gesture and character of the subject before getting locked into its contours, and both initiating and retaining a sense of freshness in your color and brushstrokes. Instruction will address color mixing, painting materials and methodologies, and the importance of cultivating sustainable methods for growth in your painting practice. Note: Tuition includes a $65 models fee.

Image: Roger Chavez

Register by: June 30
Materials List
Please review CE's Summer 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering.





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