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Drawing
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Drawing Fundamentals (In-Person)
with Phyllis Laver
Tuesdays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Instructor: Phyllis Laver
Credit: Non-credit or 1.0 undergraduate credits (see description)
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, PAFA’s renowned cast collection, 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.
Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $695. Select credit option when registering.
Image: Phyllis Laver.
Register by: September 8
Fall 2023 CE Policy Guide, including updated Withdrawal/Refund Policies
The PAFA Atelier (In-Person)
with Peter Van Dyck
Wednesdays, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Instructor: Peter Van Dyck
Credit: Non-credit or 1.0 undergraduate credit (see description)
This combination of instructed class and open studio is designed for students interested in advancing their representational drawing and painting. Design and work on your own personal projects utilizing the cast collection, figure/portrait models, and still life or interior spaces, assisted by individual critiques and group instruction on topics of broad concern or interest. This course features intermediate-level instruction for students with prior drawing/painting experience. Note: Tuition includes a $80 model fee.
Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $1,180 (including model fee). Select credit option when registering.
Register by: September 8
Fall 2023 CE Policy Guide, including updated Withdrawal/Refund Policies
Drawing from the Antique (In-Person)
with Phyllis Laver
Tuesdays, 1 – 4 p.m.
Instructor: Phyllis Laver
Credit: Non-credit or 1.0 undergraduate credit (see description)
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 Michelangelo’s David, among other notable works. Cast Drawing, or Drawing from the Antique, 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: September 15
Fall 2023 CE Policy Guide, including updated Withdrawal/Refund Policies
Realistic Drawing Techniques (In-Person)
with Robert Waddington
Saturdays, 1 – 4 p.m.
Instructor: Robert Waddington
Credit: Non-credit or 1.0 undergraduate credit (see below)
This class is designed to provide an intense studio drawing experience with a strong emphasis on improving students’ grasp of a variety of drawing methods used to produce successful realistic drawings. Examine drawing materials’ use, origins, and historical significance. Learn to perceive form, depict accurate tonal values, and develop individual line character while working from PAFA’s historic cast collection of Antique and Renaissance sculpture, as well as from still life objects, students’ own items, and optionally medical-grade human skeletons for students interested in anatomical drawing. Linear (one-, two-, and three-point) perspective, aerial perspective, and the use of color as enhancement will be covered, as well as the purpose and practical use of preliminary and finished drawings as references for paintings.
Fundamental and advanced drawing techniques will be explained and supplemented by instructional handouts, demonstrations, and assignments, with the option for students to be supported in their own independent projects. The goal of this course is for students of all levels to gain confidence in their abilities and to see an immediate improvement in their drawings.
This course does not meet during Thanksgiving Break, November 23 - 26.
Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $595. Select credit option when registering.
Register by: September 22
Fall 2023 CE Policy Guide, including updated Withdrawal/Refund Policies
Foundations of Art 101 (Online)
with Al Gury
Sundays, 3 – 4 p.m. (Interactive asynchronous Canvas content supported by weekly Zoom meetings)
Instructor: Al Gury
Credit: Non-credit or 1.0 undergraduate credit (see description)
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.
This course does not meet during Thanksgiving Break, November 23 - 26.
Optional: This is a Condensed Course, available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $595. Select credit option when registering.
Image: Al Gury, Sunflowers, Oil on panel, 10 x 8 in.
Register by: September 22
Fall 2023 CE Policy Guide, including updated Withdrawal/Refund Policies
Composition in Drawing and Painting: Strategies for Building a Strong Design (Online)
with Al Gury
Sundays, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. (Interactive asynchronous Canvas content supported by weekly Zoom meetings)
Instructor: Al Gury
Credit: Non-credit or 1.0 undergraduate credit (see description)
An in-depth approach to understanding and using composition by 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. Composition, the arrangement of images, shapes, forms, colors, values to form visual balance and strength within the pictorial frame of an artwork, will be explored through projects using still life, interiors, portraits, and landscapes. Each class will contain explanations of the visual compositional strategies in both historic and contemporary art, and extensive tactics for problem-solving and solutions, as well as a weekly assignment and critique of personal work. Class meetings will be held on Zoom, and Canvas will be used for assignments and class content. All media and levels of experience are welcome.
This course does not meet during Thanksgiving Break, November 23 - 26.
Optional: This is a Condensed Course, available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $595. Select credit option when registering.
Image: Al Gury, Still Life with Landscape, 2022, 16 x 12 in.
Register by: September 22
Fall 2023 CE Policy Guide, including updated Withdrawal/Refund Policies
Painless Perspective Workshop (In-Person)
with Frederic Kaplan
Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Instructor: Frederic Kaplan
Credit: Non-Credit Only
Perspective is at the heart of good drawing. It allows us to transform the 3D world into a believable 2D image, and it need not be difficult to understand. With still life and interiors as subject matter, learn basic principles and simple methods presented in clear language and without the need for special tools or complex geometry. This workshop serves as a good foundation for further study in drawing. A modest amount of previous drawing experience is recommended.
Image: Elena Kingsbury, [Untitled], graphite on paper. Courtesy of the student.
Register by: September 29
Fall 2023 CE Policy Guide, including updated Withdrawal/Refund Policies
Abstract Drawing/Mixed Media: Color Harmony and Interaction (In-Person)
with Keith Leitner
Thursdays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Instructor: Keith Leitner
Credit: Non-credit only
Explore the vital and vibrant role of color in art making. More than a supporting member, color can be the lead actor in a drawing or painting. Instruction will examine the work of artists who relied heavily on color for their creative processes, including Helen Frankenthaler, Cy Twombly, and many more. Color theory will be explored as a means of understanding color’s application and meaning through exercises in drawing, watercolor painting, collage, and students’ choice of media. Internalize and personalize concepts to make color a subtle, surprising, or dazzling part of your own work.
This course does not meet during Thanksgiving Break, November 23 - 26.
Image: Keith Leitner, Saturation Dawn.
Register by: October 20
Fall 2023 CE Policy Guide, including updated Withdrawal/Refund Policies