Wednesdays, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. 
Instructor: James Toogood 
Six-Week Condensed Course (36 Hours) 

Enrich your knowledge of painting with an in-depth look at watercolor. Thoroughly investigate a wide range of watercolor materials and techniques while working from your choice of landscape, still life, abstraction, or personal source material. The course is designed to equip each participant with the knowledge and skills necessary to make accomplished, personally rewarding watercolor paintings. Open to watercolorists of all levels and to acrylic/oil painters looking to broaden their skills.

Learning Objectives

• Students will learn about color theory as applied to watercolor.
• Students will receive a comprehensive explanation of watercolor materials and tools, with particular focus will be paid to the properties of paint and pigments as they interact with the paintbrushes and paper.
• Through both discussions and demonstrations, first-time participants and beginners will learn a variety of techniques that are fundamental to watercolor, presented in a systematic step by step method.
• Participants with experience will receive individual instruction for their current skill level.
• Students will acquire the skills needed to achieve a richness of color and a feeling of light.
• Participants will be exposed to a variety of watercolor styles and encouraged to discover their own personal aesthetic.

Image: James Toogood

Register by: May 6 
Materials List 
Please review CE's Summer 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering.

Wednesdays, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. 
Instructor: Al Gury 
Six-Week Condensed Course (30 Hours) 

This in-person/on-campus studio class presents a structured approach to painting the figure in oils from life. Topics include drawing methods, gesture, figure structure, basic anatomy, palettes, and various paint application techniques for layering and alla prima approaches. Includes instructor demonstrations and generous individualized guidance/feedback.

Image: Al Gury

Register by: May 6 
Materials List 
Please review CE's Summer 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering.

Fridays, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. 
Instructor: Frederic Kaplan 
Six-Week Condensed Course (30 Hours) 
No class on June 19 

This painting-essentials course presents an in-depth and practical examination of the role of color in oil and acrylic painting. Instruction will explore mixing strategies and the effects of color choices and relationships upon depth, atmosphere, and luminosity. A variety of painting methods will be addressed, with a focus on how to exploit glazing, scumbling, and velatura layering techniques to achieve richer and more lively color. The still-life subject matter is appropriate for painters of all experience levels, although those with prior experience will benefit most from the color-emphasis in content.

Image: Frederic Kaplan

Register by: May 8 
Materials List 
Please review CE's Summer 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering.

Saturdays, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. 
Instructor: David Wilson 
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours) 
No class on May 23 

Painting the human form from observation is one of the cornerstones of PAFA's long tradition of rigorous instruction. Working from the nude model in poses of varying lengths, investigate color mixing, proportion, and composition using oil paint as a medium. Focusing on alla prima painting techniques and a limited flesh-tone palette, learn to model the human form through gesture, shape, volume, and temperature – excellent for painted sketches and preparatory studies, foundations for extended work, or an introduction/refresher to figure painting. Intended for all skill levels, this course also offers the valuable opportunity for more advanced students to continue to hone their skills to deepen their understanding of the language of painting.  Instruction will be geared toward oil, but students may draw-only, or use other appropriate media, if they wish. Note: Tuition includes a $35 models fee.

Image: David Wilson

Register by: May 15 
Materials List 
Please review CE's Summer 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering.

Sundays, 3 - 4 p.m. (Interactive asynchronous Canvas content supported by weekly Zoom meetings) 
Instructor: Al Gury 
Six-Week Condensed Course (30-Hour Equivalent) 
No class on May 24 

Explore the methods of some of the greatest painters in recent art history with Al Gury, noted professor and author of Alla Prima, Color for Painters, and Foundations of Drawing. Notable women artists including Frida Kahlo, Georgia O’Keeffe, Cecilia Beaux, Gwenn John, Jane Freilicher, Elaine de Kooning, and Vanessa Bell will provide the basis for weekly painting projects. Learn from, and gain an increased appreciation for, these masters through an examination of their materials, color palettes, working methods, and histories through visual examples, discussions, video demonstrations, and tailored painting projects that will be critiqued by the instructor for helpful feedback. Class meetings will be held on Zoom, and assignments and asynchronous class content will be posted on Canvas, PAFA’s online learning platform. Open to all levels of experience and all media: oil, acrylic, watercolor, and pastel.

Note: This course is a continuation of the Spring 2026 course, Methods of the Masters: Great Women Painters, but students need not have taken the first course to participate in this class.  This course will present new material to students who enrolled in the earlier class. 

Image: Coxcomb by Georgia O'Keeffe, Partial gift and bequest of Bernice McIIhenny Wintersteen at PAFA, Georgia O'Keeffe Museum / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Register by: May 11 
Materials List  
Please review CE's Summer 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering. 
Information for PAFA CE Online Courses

Sundays, 4:30 - 5:30 p.m. (Interactive asynchronous Canvas content supported by weekly Zoom meetings) 
Instructor: Al Gury 
Six-Week Condensed Course (30-Hour Equivalent)  
No class on May 24 

Explore the creative and expressive possibilities that can enhance your traditional and observational artwork. Each week the class on Zoom will begin with a traditional subject: still lifes, landscapes, portraits, interiors and figures and master works with a goal of exploring and bringing greater expression and creativity to the subject. Content will include Q&A about materials and processes that students might struggle with, the visual history of the creative diversity and variety of the subject in art history, color, style and compositional possibilities, richly informative materials posted in Canvas and video demos by the instructor. A weekly project will be assigned with a goal of incorporating creative possibilities in each subject with critiques on Canvas by the Instructor. Each class will be recorded for review and sent to students weekly. The class learning goal for students is an enriched toolbox of creative ideas, and possibilities for the artistic process. Open to all media.

Register by: May 11 
Materials List  
Please review CE's Summer 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering. 
Information for PAFA CE Online Courses

Mondays, 1 - 4 p.m. 
Instructor: Roger Chavez 
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)
No class on May 25 

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 $20 models fee.

Image: Roger Chavez

Register by: May 11 
Materials List 
Please review CE's Summer 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering.

Monday - Friday, 1 - 4 p.m.  
Instructor: Clay Tenhula
One-Week Intensive/Short Course (15 Hours) 

Discover the sculptural possibilities of handmade paper in this one-week intensive in PAFA's Brodsky Center Paper Studio. Learn fundamentals or build on previous papermaking knowledge as you begin by forming sheets with a mould and deckle, and then move beyond the flat page into casting, draping paper overarmatures, and investigating techniques for creating dimensional paper sculptures. Working with cotton, flax, and abaca fibers, explore how paper can fuction as both surface and structure. Students are encouraged to arrive with a project in mind; those with moulds from previous mould-making classes are welcome to bring them. All participants will gain the experience to continue to work with handmade paper as a sculptural medium. All levels welcome. 

Image: Clay Tenhula

Register by: May 11
Materials List
Please review CE's Summer 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering.