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Continuing Education at PAFA

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CE Six-Week and Other Short Courses

in CE Courses by Format/Length

Figure Painting: Developing Form and Finish (In-Person)

$330

with David Wilson

Calendar Next available session starts Nov 1, 2025 at 10 am, runs for 6 weeks

Saturdays, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Instructor: David Wilson 
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit Only
Note: No class on November 29

Register by August 22 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDFALL2025 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. Discount applies to CE regular adult Fall classes and workshops only. Studio rental programs, Open Academy (BFA) courses, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.

Paint from a life model in long, multi-class poses 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. 

Image: David Wilson

Register by: October 24 
Materials List 
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Painting + Printmaking (In-Person)

$315

with Justine Ditto

Calendar Next available session starts Nov 3, 2025 at 12:30 pm, runs for 6 weeks

Mondays, 12:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Instructor: Justine Ditto
Six-WeekShort Course (18 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit Only

Register by August 22 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDFALL2025 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. Discount applies to CE regular adult Fall classes and workshops only. Studio rental programs, Open Academy (BFA) courses, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible. 

Painting and printmaking go hand-in-hand, not only as adjacent mediums but in combination. This freeing and instructive course presents printmaking techniques as jumping off points to making mixed media work in spirit of experimentation and personal expression. Learn how to make monotypes, drypoints, and screenprints as a foundation for incorporating your choice of graphite, colored pencil, acrylic, watercolor, oil paint, and/or collage. Content includes technical advice from an artist-instructor ideally skilled in a variety of media as well as critiques to expand your creative boundaries. This class is perfect for painters/draftspeopleseeking to expand their processes, printmakers seeking to employ painterly and mixed media techniques, and anyone with love of color and experimentation. Open to all levels – no prior printmaking or painting experience required. Tuition includes a $20 materials fee.

Image: Justine Ditto

Register by: September 4
Materials List 
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Animals in Watercolor (Online)

$265

with Michelle Oosterbaan

Calendar Next available session starts Nov 3, 2025 at 6 pm, runs for 6 weeks

Mondays, 6 – 8 p.m. (Zoom) with Asynchronous Canvas Content 
Instructor: Michelle Oosterbaan
Six-Week Course (18-Hour Equivalent)
Credit: Non-Credit Only

Register by August 22 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDFALL2025 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. Discount applies to CE regular adult Fall classes and workshops only. Studio rental programs, Open Academy (BFA) courses, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible. 

Dogs, cats, and other animals at home or in nature have been depicted in master drawings and paintings throughout the centuries — as portrait subjects themselves or as a part of landscapes, domestic scenes, still lifes, and other genres. Find inspiration in the creatures of the great outdoors or those curled up on your own couch to make animals a meaningful part of your painting practice. Utilize sketches and photo references to explore ways of realistically and expressively depicting domestic or wild animals, to capture facial features, posture/gesture, and textural effects of fur, feathers and whiskers while learning sound visual principles and techniques in water-media. Content will include examples from historical and contemporary art, engaging homework assignments, and discussions about the role of animals in art and tactics for making them a special focus in your own work. Instruction will focus on drawing and watercolor or gouache painting, but students are welcome to work in other media.

Image: Honoré Desmond Sharrer, Study for "Two Dogs in a Still Life" (detail), mid 20th century, casein or gouache on paper, 11 x 14 in. Collection of PAFA, gift of Adam Zagorin and the late Perez Zagorin. Copyright © artist or artist’s estate.

Register by: October 27 
Materials List 
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies  
Information for PAFA CE Online Courses

Drawing Refresher (In-Person)

$295

with Frederic Kaplan

Calendar Next available session starts Nov 3, 2025 at 6 pm, runs for 6 weeks

Mondays, 6 – 9 p.m. 
Instructor: Frederic Kaplan 
Six-Week ShortCourse (18 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit Only

Register by August 22 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDFALL2025 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. Discount applies to CE regular adult Fall classes and workshops only. Studio rental programs, Open Academy (BFA) courses, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible. 

If you haven’t drawn in a while, this course will help to rebuild your skills in translating the 3D world to the 2D surface of your paper. Hone your ability to interpret and define proportions, shapes, and value structure while working from observation from city views, interiors, and still-life objects. Content will address shading techniques, principles of perspective, and line quality in charcoal or pencil. Students will learn to:

  • Reduce complex forms to simpler elements
  • Gauge proportions and shapes using sighting techniques and other methods
  • Use light and shadow to model form three-dimensionally
  • Employ shading techniques
  • Practice fundamental perspective principles and methods

Image: Fred Kaplan

Register by: October 27 
Materials List 
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies 

Fast and Unfussed Oil Painting (In-Person)

$310

with Roger Chavez

Calendar Next available session starts Nov 4, 2025 at 9 am, runs for 6 weeks

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

Register by August 22 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDFALL2025 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. Discount applies to CE regular adult Fall classes and workshops only. Studio rental programs, Open Academy (BFA) courses, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.

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 cultivating viablemethods for growth in your painting practice. Discover the beauty and freedom of loosening up your painting! Note: Tuition includes a $15 models fee.

Image: Roger Chavez

Register by: October 28 
Materials List 
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

The Color of Light and Shadow in Acrylics (Online)

$295

with Frederic Kaplan

Calendar Next available session starts Nov 4, 2025 at 1 pm, runs for 6 weeks

Mondays, 1 – 2:30 p.m. (Zoom meetings supporting majority asynchronous content)
Instructor: Frederic Kaplan 
Six-Week Condense Course (30-Hour Equivalent) 
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)

Register by August 22 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDFALL2025 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. Discount applies to CE regular adult Fall classes and workshops only. Studio rental programs, Open Academy (BFA) courses, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible. 

Exploit the unique qualities of acrylics to create paintings infused with light and rich, transparent shadows. Through a combination of online videos and illustrated lessons plus live Zoom sessions, learn how to build your paintings in layers of radiant opaque and transparent colors. A variety of acrylic painting techniques will be addressed, including the tenebrism of Baroque master Caravaggio. A rich resource of information about the wide array of acrylic painting materials is also provided. This course is appropriate for students at all levels, including beginners, but drawing experience is recommended.

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

Image: Fred Kaplan

Register by: October 28 
Materials List 
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies  
Information for PAFA CE Online Courses

Litho Light (In-Person)

$315

with Kandice Fields Portalatin

Calendar Next available session starts Nov 5, 2025 at 12:30 pm, runs for 6 weeks

Wednesdays, 12:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Instructor: Kandice Fields Portalatin
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit Only

Register by August 22 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDFALL2025 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. Discount applies to CE regular adult Fall classes and workshops only. Studio rental programs, Open Academy (BFA) courses, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.

Explore lithography through non-toxic, easy-to-learn paper plate and polyester plate processes in this excellent entry-point printmaking class. Students will work with toner-based drawings tolearn the fundamental principles of using grease and water resistance to produce prints.Instruction will cover drawing methods using toner or Sharpie, plate processing, hand-printing, and layering techniques. Students will come away with: 

  • The demystification of lithography through simple, approachable methods 
  • Experience using sustainable alternatives to traditional stone and metal plates
  • Strengthened drawing/mark-making skills in a new medium
  • A small edition of alternative litho prints

Tuition includes a $20 lab fee.

Image: Kandice Fields Portalatin

Register by: September 26 
Materials List 
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies





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