Open studio access: 8 a.m. - 10 p.m. daily, 15 weeks, September 9 - December 20, with weekly instruction on Thursdays. (No access during Thanksgiving Break, November 28 - December 1.)

Weekly Meetings/Studio-Visits:  Thursdays, September 12 - December 12, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. (No class on November 28 or December 19.)

Instructor/Lead Critic: Roger Chavez

Credit: Non-credit or 1.0 undergraduate credits (see description)

Taking the leap to start or cultivate an art-making practice in a private studio space can be both exciting and daunting. Learn how to create work and stay motivated on your own terms in this new and unique combination studio-rental and classroom course! Tuition for this fifteen-week/full-semester program will confer an individual studio space in PAFA’s Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building, as well as weekly meetings for critique and instruction on a variety of artist’s concerns led by artist-instructor/critic Roger Chavez. Studios for this program are approximately 9 x 16 feet (144 sq. ft.), white-walled, with easel and stool provided (students are responsible for additional furniture or equipment needs). Students have two studio options (select preference during registration): 

• Studios within a group space are located side-by-side within a private, key-secured corridor for an engaging community atmosphere. Each space is curtained (no individually locked doors), opening out to the corridor’s large east-facing windows for the benefit of abundant natural light.
  
  
• Interior studios spaces (not located along PAFA’s windowed exterior walls) offer increased privacy with individual lockable doors, without natural light. FULL -- This option no longer available.

Weekly meetings will feature both one-on-one in-studio critiques/discussions as well as group instruction on art topics designed to motivate and assist you in your work, including drawing sessions from models, assignment prompts, materials and techniques demonstrations, museum visits, and critiques from guest critics. This class is perfect for artists of varying levels of experience wanting to jumpstart or advance their personal practice, for students considering application to a studio-centered certificate or degree program, or for anyone lacking a home studio and seeking a space to pursue their work -- with the motivation and encouragement that come from being part of an artistic community! Participants will benefit from some prior art-making experience and the ability to work independently.

Note: Registration requires an additional $200 studio deposit that is refundable upon satisfactory return of the studio to its original condition at the end of the program. Students must agree to and sign PAFA’s studio agreement form. Membership and early registration discounts cannot be applied to course tuition, but students are eligible to receive 10% off additional Fall CE courses to supplement their studio pursuits.

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $2,450. Select credit option with price adjustment when registering.

Image: Instructor Roger Chavez in studio.

See Also:  Experienced studio artists intersted in a studio program with feedback but without the benefit of weekly guidance may be interested in CE Studio Rental: Advanced Studio with Critique, which offers self-guided studio time with monthly critiques with one of PAFA's esteemed faculty critics for periodic feedback and expert advice.

Registration Deadline: Rolling, on a space-available basis. Late registration (after first weekly meeting) available.

Materials List (PAFA-Approved Materials) 

Fall CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Thursdays, 6 – 9 p.m.
Instructor: Phyllis Laver
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit Only

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 simple forms, still life arrangements, and interior and exterior spaces to master the drawing elements: shape, contour line, composition, light and dark, texture and perspective. Instruction will guide students through sight-drawing and measuring techniques, use of materials, gauging value, and ways of defining form and space. This course is excellent as a foundation for future study, as a precursor to more advanced drawing study or to painting and other disciplines.  Note: This part 1 course does not include work from models. 

This class is part 1 of an optional 2-part course!  See also Drawing Fundamentals: Cast and Figure for continued instruction. Students are welcome to enroll in either or both parts; Line and Form is not required as a prerequisite to Cast and Figure but is recommended for students with little or no drawing experience. 

*No class on October 3 for Rosh Hashanah.

Image: Ellen R. Warren, Begonia, ca. 1880, pen and black ink on white wove paper, 2 x 3 1/4 in. Collection of PAFA.

Register by: September 6 
Materials List
Fall 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies 

Fridays, 9 – 1:30 p.m.
Instructor: James Toogood 
Ten-Week Condensed Course (45 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.5 Undergraduate Credits (See Below)

Enrich your knowledge of painting with an in-depth look at watercolor. Thoroughly investigate a wide range of watercolor materials and techniques from your choice of landscape, still life, portrait, and figure subjects. 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 can expect to have regular individual instruction, given at their current skill level.  
• Focus also will be paid on acquiring the skills needed to achieve a richness of color and a feeling of light.  
• Participants will work from direct observations from the still life and model, or from their own source material.  
• Those not taking the class for credit will have the option to work on landscape, still life, portrait and figure or abstraction, as they wish.  
• Participants will be exposed to a variety of watercolor styles and encouraged to discover one’s own personal aesthetic.  

Optional: This course is available for 1.5 undergraduate credits for $995. Select credit option with price adjustment when registering. 

Register by: September 6 

Materials List 

Fall 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies 

Saturdays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. 
Instructor: Steve Nocella
Twelve-Week Course (36 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)

Explore the possibilities of stone carving by using traditional and nontraditional methods. All processes from rough carving to polishing will be covered, and various tools and techniques will be demonstrated. Open to all levels.  Note: Tuition includes $30 lab fee.  

Learning Objectives  

• Develop proficiency in basic tool use including manual carving, pneumatic carving, sawing, grinding, and sanding.  
• Learn the methods of stone carving beginning with "roughing out" a form and finishing with sanding and polishing.  
• Develop a perceptual ability for spatial relationships of the elements that constitute a sculpture or a three-dimensional image.  
• Learn to use creative and critical thinking in the process of carving sculpture.  
• Gain an appreciation for the influence and informing effect that medium and process have on image making.  
• Acquire an introductory understanding of the history of stone carving and the capacity to conceptualize context for the student's sculpture. 

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $725 (including lab fee). Select credit option with price adjustment when registering. 

Image: Joseph McGrath, Pointing to Princton, Alabaster.

Register by: September 6 
Materials List 
Fall 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies 

Saturdays, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.*
Instructor: Michelle Oosterbaan
Six-Week Short Course (24 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit Only

Water-based acrylic and gouache (opaque watercolor) paints are the perfect mediums for landscape painting in the open air! Painters of all levels will fall in love with these portable, fast-drying, and easy-to-clean-up alternatives to oils. Explore either or both materials’ vibrant color and versatile application and layering methods as you portray the beauty of autumn in Philadelphia’s parks in your own personal style. Learn techniques for choosing a composition, mixing color, and working efficiently outdoors as you complete a series of rapid sketches and at least one sustained painting. Open to all levels. Painting locations featuring shade, restrooms, and other amenities may include 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. 

*Please reserve a rain date of October 26, should any session be postponed due to inclement weather. 

Image: Michelle Oosterbaan.

Register by: September 6 
Materials List 
Fall 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

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

Join PAFA’s celebrated figurative tradition, combining Eakins-influenced historical techniques with contemporary approaches.  Master the drawing elements of gesture, proportion, volume, anatomy, tone, and composition in charcoal and colored chalk on toned paper.   Progress to oil painting materials and techniques, expanding from limited colors to a full palette.  Ideal for all levels, with options to draw- or paint-only based on experience.  Note: Tuition includes $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: Douglas Martenson.

Register by: September 6 

Materials List 

Fall 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies 

Tuesdays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. 
Instructor: Tony Rosati
Twelve-Week Course (36 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)

Experience masterful instruction in PAFA’s spacious print facilities as you explore an array of basic intaglio and monotype printing techniques including monoprint, drypoint, etching, aquatint, collograph and polymer plate methods. Image embellishments will include embossing, chine collé, collage, paper plates and mixed media techniques. All levels welcome; experienced students may continue independent work. Note: Tuition includes $30 lab fee.  

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $725 (including lab fee). Select credit option with price adjustment when registering.  

Register by: September 6 

Materials List 

Fall 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies 

Tuesdays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.        
Instructor: Douglas Martenson
Twelve-Week Course (36 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)

Explore the power and nuance of one of art’s most engaging subjects: the portrait. Investigate the structure, proportions, form, and anatomy of the human head through drawings and painted studies.  Progress to finished paintings and address issues of likeness, composition, space, texture, and aspects of the clothed figure. Learn to better see and understand color to mix it more successfully, a useful skill for painting all subject matter.  Designed for students at all levels learning or pursuing work in oil, acrylic, or other media. Note: Tuition includes $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.

Register by: September 6

Materials List 

Fall 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies