Wednesdays, 1 – 4 p.m. 
Instructor: Frederic Kaplan 
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours) 
Credit: Non-Credit Only

The simple pencil is an economical medium readily accessible to students at all levels, including beginners. It can produce drawings that range from poetic delicacy to energetic and bold expressiveness. Working from still life arrangements, interiors, window views, and PAFA’s cast collection, students will explore a variety of approaches for using pencil to shade and model form convincingly and with beauty. Instruction will review basic drawing principles and observational skills such as evaluating shape, gauging proportions, and employing perspective effects like foreshortening. Previous drawing experience is recommended but not required.

Register by: July 2
Materials List
Summer 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Thursdays, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Instructor: Roberto Osti
Six-Week Condensed Course (36 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)

Paint portraits from a variety of models using the direct painting method. Examine the proportions and volumes of the head, as well as the placement, structure, and characteristics of the facial features, through preliminary drawings and demonstrations. Develop color using a limited palette to understand how to use chroma, temperature, value, tint, and tone. Instruction will address materials, composition, paint handling, and color mixing, blending, and theory. Homework assignments working from photos, Masterworks, or oneself/others will encourage students to learn to make personal aesthetic and technical choices and to practice concepts addressed in class. Open to all levels, this course is excellent for beginners as well as experienced students who want to review fundamental techniques or who simply enjoy painting portraits from life. Note: Course tuition includes a $75 model 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: Roberto Osti, Copy from William Paxton - Class Demonstration, oil on canvas.

Register by: July 3
Materials List
Summer 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

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

For anyone seeking to advance their portrait drawing skills to the next level, this course takes a deep look at the functional and expressive anatomy of the human head including the face, neck, and shoulders. Explore head variations and how the face changes over time. Experiment with creative questions such as handling light and composition. Content includes drawing from life and working in larger formats with a wider range of media. Instruction will lay the groundwork for creative explorations that lead to professional quality work.  Tuition includes a $25 models fee.

Note: For foundational or alternative study, see Portrait Drawing: Structure and Features. Students need not enroll in both sections, and Structure and Features is not required for Expression and Likeness.

Register by: July 3
Materials List
Summer 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Fridays, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Instructor: James Toogood
Six-Week Condensed Course (42 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: July 3
Materials List
Summer 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Saturdays, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. 
Instructor: David Wilson 
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours) 
Credit: Non-Credit Only

Paint from a life model in a multi-week-pose format 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.

For preparatory or alternative study, see also Figure Painting: Alla Prima and the Limited Palette with the same instructor.  Students enrolling in one class need not enroll in the other, and Alla Prima and the Limited Palette is not required for The Extended Pose.

Register by: July 3
Materials List
Summer 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. 
Instructor: Tony Rosati
One-Week Intensive Course (30 Hours) 
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)

Monotypes are an expressive and accessible entry into printmaking: draw or paint an image on a Plexiglas plate or other surface and then print it on paper or fabric to create a one-of-a-kind artwork. Instruction will cover both hand-printing and press techniques, as well as water- and oil-based colors. Tuition includes a $30 lab fee.

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $615, including lab fee. Select credit option with price adjustment when registering.

Register by: July 14
Materials List
Summer 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Instructor: Keith Leitner
Weekend Workshop
Credit: Non-Credit Only

Color temperature is the perceived warmth and coolness of a color. It’s a vital tool for any artist for creating contrast and focus, establishing relationships between light and shadow, suggesting space or distance, and generating mood and meaning. This two-day course will investigate color temperature through a series of still-life exercises that will encourage experimentation, enforce understanding of color’s relative nature, and help you promote temperature effects in your work. Examples from historic and contemporary artists will be discussed. Instruction will be conducted chiefly in watercolor, but painters of all media are welcome!

See work from instructor Keith Leitner's solo exhibition at Cerulean Arts Gallery, Philadelphia, April 9 - May 4, 2025!

Image: Keith Leitner

Register by: August 1
Materials List
Summer 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies