Mondays, 8:30 - 11:30 a.m. (includes option to add afternoons, 1 - 4 p.m., for full-day attendance -- see description) 
Instructor: Peter Van Dyck  
Fifteen-Week Open Academy Course (45 - 90 Hours)  
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.5/3.0 Undergraduate Credits (See Below)   
Note: No class meetings on September 1 (Labor Day) and October 13 (Indigenous Peoples’ Day)

PAFA’s Open Academy provides the opportunity for Continuing Education (CE) and non-matriculated students to experience PAFA’s renowned certificate-level instruction on a course-by-course basis.  Earned credits are eligible for transfer to the one-year Foundation and Studio Residency Certificate Programs, for students considering an immersive fine arts education with additional benefits. (Up to 7.5 credits are eligible for transfer as equivalent courses or electives.)

The goal of this course is to strengthen and hone a student’s foundational skills of drawing through a series of one and two-day drawing projects. The major topics of concern will be gesture, design, perspective, structure, and space. Students will be encouraged to experiment with different media and to develop a personalized drawing practice. Subjects for this exploration will be the life model, anatomical models, the city, and the observable environment in general. The course includes field trips to the Wagner Free Institute of Science, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Reading Terminal and the Observation Deck at Liberty One. Limited van transportation to off-site locations available for full-day enrollment only.

Optional: This course is available for half-day for 1.5 undergraduate credits for $1,800. For the option of full-day (morning, 8:30 - 11:30 a.m. and afternoon, 1 - 4 p.m.), this course is available for $2,900 non-credit or $3,600 for 3.0 undergraduate credits. Select length and credit choice with tuition adjustment during checkout.

Image: Peter Van Dyck

Register by: August 22 
Materials List 
Open Academy Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Wednesdays, 1 – 4 p.m.
Instructor: John Horn  
Fifteen-Week Open Academy Course (45 Hours)  
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.5 Undergraduate Credits (See Below) 

PAFA’s Open Academy provides the opportunity for Continuing Education (CE) and non-matriculated students to experience PAFA’s renowned certificate-level instruction on a course-by-course basis.  Earned credits are eligible for transfer to the one-year Foundation and Studio Residency Certificate Programs, for students considering an immersive fine arts education with additional benefits. (Up to 7.5 credits are eligible for transfer as equivalent courses or electives.)

Studying from birds, mammals, and reptiles, domestic and wild; this course will focus on understanding the science and art of animals with reference to their structure, function, evolution, and classifications. This will act as a foundation in order to understand the movements, forms, and anatomy of a particular species. Perspective, space and composition in landscape and interiors will also be emphasized in relationship to the animals. Working from life, students will develop a good sense of concentration to see the repetition in movement and form as the basis for drawing. Trips to the Wagner Free Institute of Science, the Academy of Natural Sciences and the Philadelphia Zoo will provide the visual material.

Optional: This course is available for 1.5 undergraduate credits for $1,800. Select credit option with price adjustment during registration.

Image: Christian Schussele, (Studies of Animals: Horses, Cow, Dog), mid 19th century, Graphite on green-gray wove paper, 8 9/16 x 9 9/16 in. Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, John S. Phillips Collection, 1876.9.625 

Register by: August 26 
Materials List   
Open Academy Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Thursdays, 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.
Instructor: Al Gury  
Fifteen-Week Open Academy Course (45 Hours)  
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.5 Undergraduate Credits (See Below)  
Note: No class on November 27 (Thanksgiving Day)

PAFA’s Open Academy provides the opportunity for Continuing Education (CE) and non-matriculated students to experience PAFA’s renowned certificate-level instruction on a course-by-course basis.  Earned credits are eligible for transfer to the one-year Foundation and Studio Residency Certificate Programs, for students considering an immersive fine arts education with additional benefits. (Up to 7.5 credits are eligible for transfer as equivalent courses or electives.)

Figure Drawing will focus on developing skills and exploring the use of the figure with the following concepts: (1) structural and anatomical delineation of human form with line and tone. (2) The figure as an expressive end in itself. (3) Simple group compositions in interior as well as invented space. The class is open to various media & techniques. 

Optional: This course is available for 1.5 undergraduate credits for $1,800. Select credit option with price adjustment during registration.

Image: Al Gury

Register by: August 27 
Materials List
Open Academy Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Thursdays, 12:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Instructor: John Horn 
Twelve-Week Course (36 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)

This course will be dedicated to full- and multi-session poses focusing on the structural and aesthetic characteristics of drawing from the model. Classes will begin with brief lectures covering spatial organization, volume, proportional relationships, and anatomy. The rest of each session will focus on drawingthe life model in a variety of standing, seated, and reclining poses, with attention to measuring techniques and rendering the figure through light and shade. Examples of drawings from the Old Masters,and discussions about their approaches, will supplement instruction.Students of all levels are welcome; those with less experience can make several studies during a long pose while experienced students can develop a single drawing. Note: Tuition includes a $75 models fee.

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $770, including models fee. Select credit option with price adjustment when registering.

Image: John Horn

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

Sundays, 3 – 4 p.m. (Interactive asynchronous Canvas content supported by weekly Zoom meetings)
Instructor: Al Gury 
Ten-Week Course (30-Hour Equivalent)
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)
Note: No class on November 30

Al Gury, Professor of Painting and Drawing at PAFA, and noted author of Alla Prima, Color for Painters, and Foundations of Drawing, presents the foundational basics of art making. This course is designed for individuals who are new to or just beginning to study art, or for those desiring a refresher in the basic elements, with a goal of imparting a solid and practical understanding of essential topics and practices. As a survey course, each week will focus on a specific topic and a project assignment. Topics will include the materials of drawing and painting, drawing shapes, measuring, forms, perspective, depth, use of line, understanding light and shade, and composition. Exercises will include the basics of charcoal and pencil drawing, use of pastel, color concepts, and how oil paints work. Subjects will include still lifes, interior spaces, portraits, and life drawing through the use of masterworks. Course content and assignments will be posted on Canvas, PAFA’s online learning platform. Weekly Zoom meetings will provide opportunities for Q&A, art history discussion and references, illustrations of key concepts, and explanations of the weekly project by the instructor.

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

Image: Al Gury

Register by: September 26

Materials List 
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies  
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)
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below) 

Explore how to use color as an organizing force in your drawings and paintings with Al Gury, Professor of Painting and Drawing at PAFA, and noted author of Alla Prima, Color for Painters, and Foundations of Drawing. This class presents practical skills and strategies for making strong compositions using color in the selection of hues, arrangement of marks/shapes, range values, and use of temperature to establish visual balance, space, and visual focus within the pictorial frame of an artwork. Projects will utilizelandscape, portrait, still life, and abstraction to examine color’s impact on design. Classes will contain explanations of the visual compositional strategies in both historic and contemporary art, instructor demonstrations, and tactics for problem-solving, as well as weekly assignments and critiques of personal work.Content will address techniques in oil, acrylic, watercolor, and pastel, with a focus on color applications. Class meetings will be held on Zoom, and assignments and asynchronous class content will be posted on Canvas, PAFA’s online learning platform.Beginning and advanced studentswelcome.

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

Image: Al Gury

Register by: September 26 
Materials List
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies  
Information for PAFA CE Online Courses

Tuesdays, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Instructor: Phyllis Laver 
Ten-Week Course (30 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)

If you’ve never drawn before, or your skills are a little rusty, then this class is for you. Learn to draw what you see with confidence. Work from still life arrangements, selections from PAFA’s casts and statuary, interior spaces, and the human figure to master the drawing elements: shape, contour line, composition, light and shadow, texture and perspective. Instruction will guide students through sight-drawing and measuring techniques, use of materials, shading methods, and ways of defining form and space. This course is also excellent as a foundation for future study, including for painting and other disciplines.  Note: Tuition includes a $25 models fee. 

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $620, including lab fee. Select credit option with price adjustment when registering.

Image: Phyllis Laver

Register by: September 30 
Materials List 
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Tuesdays, 12:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Instructor: Phyllis Laver 
Ten-Week Course (30 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)

Develop your ability to render the portrait through the time-honored methods of drawing from both the cast and life. Learn techniques of observational drawing such as measuring, recognizing proportions and anatomical landmarks, and establishing the effects of light and shadowwhile working in a variety of dry drawing media. Part of the portrait study will be devoted to working from selections from PAFA’s historic cast collection of Antique and Renaissance sculpture to master sighting techniques and tonal gradations. The rest of the class will focus on drawing from the model, both clothed and unclothed, to capture the subtleties and vitality of the head and figure, for both traditional and extended portrait representations.Throughout the semester, the work of varied artists will be introduced and discussed.  Note: This portrait course includes the use of nude models. Course tuition includes a $50 model fee.

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $645, including lab fee. Select credit option with price adjustment when registering.

Image: Phyllis Laver

Register by: September 30 
Materials List 
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies