Sundays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. 
Instructor: Larry Francis 
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours) 
Rain Date: May 31

Capture the small-town beauty Manayunk's hilly streets, rowhomes, and storefronts.  Learn to create a convincing sense of space, light and time of day while depicting streetscapes, trees, water and sky.  Color mixing and painting techniques for oils will be demonstrated, but all drawing/painting media are welcome.  Located just 15 minutes outside of Philadelphia, Manayunk offers engaging urban and riverside neighborhood subjects with parking, shade, provisions and facilities available. Note: Students are responsible for their own transportation to painting locations. 

Image: Larry Francis, Hill Town Paintings - View from Fleming, 2024, gouache on blue grey paper, 18 x 24 in.

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

Thursdays, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. 
Instructor: Michelle Oosterbaan 
Four-Week Short Course (16 Hours) 
Rain Date: May 21

Water-based paints such as watercolor,  gouache, and fluid acrylics are the perfect mediums for landscape painting in the open air! Work in your choice of these portable, fast-drying, and easy-to-clean-up alternatives to oils as you portray the beauty of spring in Philadelphia’s parks in your own personal style. Learn how to choose a composition and mix color for depth and expressive effects as you complete a series of rapid sketches and at least one sustained painting. Explore techniques for achieving transparency effects with stained gesso, working fat over lean, and rendering with ink over washes.  Open to all levels. Painting locations featuring shade, restrooms, and other amenities may include Northwestern Stables in Wissahickon Park in Mt. Airy, Washington Square Park near Independence Hall, Glen Foerd overlooking the Delaware River, and Bartram's Garden in Southwest Philadelphia. Note: Students are responsible for their own transportation to painting locations. 

Image: Michelle Oosterbaan

Register by: April 16 
Materials List

Please review CE's Winter/Spring 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering.

Saturday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Instructor: Shushana Rucker 
One-Day Weekend Workshop 

Discover the unique possibilities of drawing on Mylar in this immersive weekend workshop. Students will explore how the smooth, translucent surface of Mylar allows for even blending, soft moody values, and bold contrasts. Through guided demonstrations and hands-on exercises, participants will experiment with graphite, charcoal, and erasing techniques to create expressive drawings. Ideal for artists interested in expanding their drawing vocabulary, this workshop offers a focused introduction to using Mylar’s versatile and forgiving surface.

Image: Shushana Rucker, 30th Street, Graphite on Mylar, 6 x11 in.

Register by: March 13 
Materials List 
Please review CE's Winter/Spring 2026 Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies, prior to registering.

Thursdays, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. 
Instructor: Roberto Osti 
Six-Week Condensed Course (36 Hours) 
No class on June 11

Register by April 27 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDSUMMER2026 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Dual Plus or Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. Discount applies to CE regular adult Summer Session 1 and 2 classes and workshops only. Spring 2026 courses, Summer Studio-Critique/studio rental programs, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.

Many artists consider the head and face to be the most challenging yet rewarding parts of the human form to draw or paint. Gain confidence in your ability to render the portrait by drawing from both PAFA’s historic casts and models with noted artist and author Roberto Osti. Learn the fundamental structural, anatomical, and proportional elements necessary to create structurally-correct, accurate, and life-like portraits. Practice a variety of time-honored drawing techniques, including graphite and charcoal on white paper, charcoal and chalk on toned paper, reduction techniques, and more. Topics will include the basic proportions and volumes of head and neck, the muscles, correct positioning of the facial features, the planes of the head, the skull structure, measuring techniques, line drawing, and tonal rendering. This course is perfect for artists of all levels interested in mastering this fascinating subject. Note: Course tuition includes a $75 models fee.

Image: Roberto Osti, Portrait of Megan, colored pencil on toned paper. 

Register by: May 7 
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

Register by April 27 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDSUMMER2026 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Dual Plus or Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. Discount applies to CE regular adult Summer Session 1 and 2 classes and workshops only. Spring 2026 courses, Summer Studio-Critique/studio rental programs, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.

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

Register by April 27 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDSUMMER2026 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Dual Plus or Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. Discount applies to CE regular adult Summer Session 1 and 2 classes and workshops only. Spring 2026 courses, Summer Studio-Critique/studio rental programs, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.

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

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

Register by April 27 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDSUMMER2026 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Dual Plus or Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. Discount applies to CE regular adult Summer Session 1 and 2 classes and workshops only. Spring 2026 courses, Summer Studio-Critique/studio rental programs, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.

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.

Mondays, 5 - 8 p.m. (Primarily Zoom, with supplemental Canvas content) 
Instructor: Roberto Osti 
Six-Week Short Course (18-Hour Equivalent) 
No class on May 25

Register by April 27 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDSUMMER2026 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Dual Plus or Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. Discount applies to CE regular adult Summer Session 1 and 2 classes and workshops only. Spring 2026 courses, Summer Studio-Critique/studio rental programs, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.

Practice a variety of fundamental figure drawing approaches while working from photographic references. Media and techniques include graphite on white paper, charcoal on white paper, charcoal and chalk on toned paper, reduction methods, and the trois crayons technique. Proportions and methods of measuring will be emphasized. Students will gain confidence in their representation of the human form and handling of materials as they draw alongside the instructor during live Zoom sessions. The online structure allows for an optimal overhead view of the instructor’s demonstration drawings and a focused but conversational community environment as students engage with the instructor and complete in-class work together.

Image: Roberto Osti

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