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Figure Painting: Developing Form and Finish (In-Person)
with David Wilson
Saturdays, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Instructor: David Wilson
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)
Note: No class on November 29
Paint from a life model in long, multi-class poses to develop and refine your figure painting compositions. Extended poses will allow students to adjust and resolve issues of surface, color, and composition. Instruction will cover a variety of topics including glazing, broken color, surface texture, composition and design, the relationship of the figure to the environment, the creation of atmosphere and color harmony, disrupted realism, and open- versus closed-form painting. All levels welcome. Instruction will be geared toward oil, but students are welcome to draw-only, or use other appropriate media, if they wish. Note: Tuition includes a $35 models fee.
Image: David Wilson
Register by: October 24
Materials List
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies
Painting + Printmaking (In-Person)
with Justine Ditto
Mondays, 12:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Instructor: Justine Ditto
Six-WeekShort Course (18 Hours)
Painting and printmaking go hand-in-hand, not only as adjacent mediums but in combination. This freeing and instructive course presents printmaking techniques as jumping off points to making mixed media work in spirit of experimentation and personal expression. Learn how to make monotypes, drypoints, and screenprints as a foundation for incorporating your choice of graphite, colored pencil, acrylic, watercolor, oil paint, and/or collage. Content includes technical advice from an artist-instructor ideally skilled in a variety of media as well as critiques to expand your creative boundaries. This class is perfect for painters/draftspeopleseeking to expand their processes, printmakers seeking to employ painterly and mixed media techniques, and anyone with love of color and experimentation. Open to all levels – no prior printmaking or painting experience required. Tuition includes a $20 materials fee.
Image: Justine Ditto
Registration still open!
Materials List
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies
Drawing Refresher (In-Person)
with Frederic Kaplan
Mondays, 6 – 9 p.m.
Instructor: Frederic Kaplan
Six-Week ShortCourse (18 Hours)
If you haven’t drawn in a while, this course will help to rebuild your skills in translating the 3D world to the 2D surface of your paper. Hone your ability to interpret and define proportions, shapes, and value structure while working from observation from city views, interiors, and still-life objects. Content will address shading techniques, principles of perspective, and line quality in charcoal or pencil. Students will learn to:
- Reduce complex forms to simpler elements
- Gauge proportions and shapes using sighting techniques and other methods
- Use light and shadow to model form three-dimensionally
- Employ shading techniques
- Practice fundamental perspective principles and methods
Image: Fred Kaplan
Register by: October 27
Materials List
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies
Fast and Unfussed Oil Painting (In-Person)
with Roger Chavez
Tuesdays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Instructor: Roger Chavez
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)
Cultivate fluid mark-making and bold approaches to subject matter through rapid and loose painting studies. Tight and precise painting, especially in the early stages of an artwork, can sometimes lead to work that appears stiff and over-labored, or to locked-in compositions that are difficult to change or correct. Working from the still life, cityscapes, and the life model, utilize short, small painting exercises to learn new ways of starting paintings, keeping compositions open to adjustment, and both initiating and retaining a sense of freshness in your forms and brushstrokes. Instruction will address color mixing, painting materials and methodologies, and the importance of cultivating viablemethods for growth in your painting practice. Discover the beauty and freedom of loosening up your painting! Note: Tuition includes a $15 models fee.
Image: Roger Chavez
Register by: October 28
Materials List
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies
Litho Light (In-Person)
with Kandice Fields Portalatin
Wednesdays, 12:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Instructor: Kandice Fields Portalatin
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)
Explore lithography through non-toxic, easy-to-learn paper plate and polyester plate processes in this excellent entry-point printmaking class. Students will work with toner-based drawings tolearn the fundamental principles of using grease and water resistance to produce prints.Instruction will cover drawing methods using toner or Sharpie, plate processing, hand-printing, and layering techniques. Students will come away with:
- The demystification of lithography through simple, approachable methods
- Experience using sustainable alternatives to traditional stone and metal plates
- Strengthened drawing/mark-making skills in a new medium
- A small edition of alternative litho prints
Tuition includes a $20 lab fee.
Image: Kandice Fields Portalatin, I pick up my life and take it with me (Quilted) (detail), lithograph, 11 x 14 in.
Register by: October 29
Materials List
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies
In-Depth Watercolor Extension Section 2/Wednesdays (In-Person)
with James Toogood
Wednesdays, 9 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Instructor: James Toogood
Three-Week Extension Course
Enrich your knowledge of painting with an in-depth look at watercolor! This newly-added bonus/extension class both offers students who completed the ten-week In-Depth Watercolor course the option of continuing their studies with James Toogood and provides new students the opportunity to try out this engaging, all-levels watercolor class in a short three-week format. Group and one-on-one instruction is designed to equip each participant with the knowledge and skills necessary to make accomplished, personally rewarding watercolor paintings. Note: This course does not include use of models. Students need not have completed the full-length In-Depth Watercolor class to participate in this extension.
Image: James Toogood
Register by: November 19
Materials List
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies
Advanced Portrait Drawing Workshop (In-Person)
with RA Friedman
Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Instructor: RA Friedman
Weekend Workshop
This intensive workshop is designed for those looking to push their portrait drawing abilities toward the professional level. Demonstrations and in-class exercises will open up how you see, think, and approach the creation of a likeness, avoiding common pitfalls. Explore subtleties of form and the relationships of lines, planes and tones, capturing the character and energy of the subject. Additionally, instruction will cover facial expressions and deep anatomy of the face, neck, and upper body. Drawing will be primarily in graphite pencil and stick. Introductory portrait drawing or equivalent recommended. Note: Tuition includes a $10 models fee.
Image: RA Friedman
Register by: December 1
Materials List
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies
Handmade Papermaking: Colored Paper Pulps (In-Person)
with Clay Tenhula
Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Instructor: Clay Tenhula
Weekend Workshop
Learn the traditional methods and materials of hand-papermaking in PAFA’s state-of-the-art Richard C. von Hess Papermaking Studio! In this workshop, students will learn techniques for incorporating colored paper pulps. Students will practice a range of techniques for using colored pulps in ways that combine the fluidity of painting and the layered possibilities of collage for a vibrant, expressive papermaking practice. Instruction will familiarize students with the rules and practices of the studio, introduce new students to the basics of handmade papermaking, and challenge those with papermaking experience to try new techniques or fibers. Students of all disciplines and levels are welcome. Tuition includes a $50 lab fee which covers all supplies. See materials list for clothing/studio considerations.
Note: This is Workshop 2 of 2 independent papermaking classes. Students can enroll in one or both workshops; the first class is not required for enrollment into the second.
Image: Clay Tenhula
Register by: December 1
Materials List
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies