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The Landscape Sketch DR 605LS (Outdoor, Spring Course)
with Roger Chavez
The oil sketch is a traditional way for painters to execute preparatory ideas and quickly capture initial impressions – perfect for plein air painting! Learn useful techniques for rapidly encapsulating color and form while working directly from observation. Select locations along the Schuylkill River will include beautiful Laurel Hill Cemetery and Bartram’s Garden.
Image: Landscape Sketch class in progress, Fall 2021. Photo by Roger Chavez.
Register by: April 12
Plein Air Drawing and Painting PT 612DP (Outdoor, Spring Course)
with Larry Francis
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.
Register by: April 29
Acrylic in the City (Outdoor)
with Michelle Oosterbaan
Tuesdays, 10 am - 2 pm
Acrylic paint is the perfect medium for landscape painting in the open air! Explore acrylic’s vibrant color and versatile application and layering methods as you portray the beauty of 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. Fast-drying and easy to clean-up, acrylics will allow you to easily transport your finished work home to admire when you are done with each day’s painting!Open to all levels. Painting locations featuring shade, restrooms, and other amenities may include Clark Park in West Philly, Wissahickon Park in Mt. Airy, and Bartram's Garden in Southwest Philadelphia. Note: Students are responsible for their own transportation to painting locations.
Register by: May 13
In-Depth Watercolor (Summer Session 1)
with James Toogood
Fridays, 9 am - 5 pm
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. 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, as well as from one’s own source materials.
- 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.
- The course is ultimately designed to equip participants with the knowledge and skills necessary to make accomplished, personally rewarding watercolor paintings.
NOTE: This course is available for 1.5 undergraduate credit for $750.
Half-Day Option: For greater flexibility, this course is available for half-days (non-credit only), 9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. or 1:30 - 5 p.m., for $325. Note that courses are designed for full-day attendance: information and demonstrations presented in one portion of the day may not be repeated in the other half. Students wishing to add the remaining portion can pay the balance by calling the CE office at 215-972-2029.
Important: All students enrolling in on-campus courses must submit proof of full COVID-19 vaccination and booster (or documentation for a medical/religious exemption request) upon registration. Open the Agreement form during checkout to upload an image of your vaccination card or exemption documentation, or submit vaccine and booster documentation below. Onsite card display and card images emailed to the CE office cannot be accepted. Registration for any on-campus course is pending without vaccination documentation or exemption approval.
Register by: May 13
Alla Prima Landscape Painting, Section 1 (Online)
with Al Gury
Sundays, 3 - 4 pm
Al Gury, Chair of PAFA’s Painting Department and noted author of Color for Painters: A Guide to Traditions and Practice, presents this in-depth approach to the skills, materials, colors, history, and techniques of direct landscape painting.
Working from photographs, master works, or available on-site images, learn concepts that will not only improve your landscape painting but also grow your in confidence in your artistic practice. Video demonstrations, images, and written instructions on Canvas will be supplemented by critiques and weekly Zoom discussions. Oil painting will be the primary focus, but all media are welcome.
NOTE: This is a Condensed Course, available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $525
Register by: May 13
Plein Air at Ardrossan Estate Workshop (Outdoor)
with Joseph Sweeney
Saturday & Sunday, 9 am - 12 pm
Paint on location at beautiful Fern Valley Farm, part of the Ardrossan Estate, the 850-acre family seat of the Montgomery/Scott/Wheeler extended family, made famous in the movie The Philadelphia Story with Kathryn Hepburn, Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart.
Built by Horace Trumbauer in 1911, the 50-room, 33,000-square-foot Georgian Revival manor home in Villanova has interior decorations by White, Allom & Co. (who worked on Buckingham Palace) and a treasure trove of art by Augustus John, Gilbert Stuart, John Singleton Copley, Thomas Sully, Sir John Lavery, and Charles Willson Peale. It is the last remaining gem of the old Main Line.
Landscape painting topics will include color mixing to achieve a sense of light and air, capturing time of day, compositional fundamentals, and sound painting practices. Painting outdoors can be a daunting experience for the newcomer. When learning the intricacies of this art it pays to learn from someone who has over 20 years' experience in the field. In this class, Joseph Sweeney will be your guide.
Register by: May 27
Portrait in the Park (Outdoor)
with RA Friedman
Sundays, 9 am - 12 pm
Enjoy plein air drawing of the clothed/costumed model in summer light and greenery. The class will center around line, light and form using monochromatic media. Experiment with a number of strategies for conceptualizing and building the drawing in order to capture what you see. Essential anatomy, drapery, and working with the features of the face will be covered. Drawing experience is helpful, but not required. Easy-to-access Philadelphia locations with restrooms and other amenities may include the Rose Garden, areas around the Philadelphia Art Museum, Lloyd Hall on Boathouse Row, and Fairmount Park. Note: Students are responsible for their own transportation. Tuition includes a $25 model fee.
Image: George Hitchcock by John McLure Hamilton, 1890-1900, watercolor, gouache and pencil on fine linen. Collection of PAFA.
Register by: May 27
IN 605JM Landscape Painting: Beyond the Photo with John MacDonald (Summer Master Class)
with John MacDonald
Monday - Friday, 9 am - 5 pm
Among representational artists, there has been an endless battle between those who paint from life and those who use photographic references. However, it’s a misguided argument: the source of the visual information we use to paint is irrelevant. The real issue lies not in painting from life or photos, but whether we’re simply copying what we see as opposed to using the information as a springboard for creating the paintings we want. In this 5-day workshop in PAFA's studio-classrooms, participants will work from photographic references of the landscape to learn to break down the information, analyze it, and use it to generate tonal sketches, change color palettes, and create paintings based on multiple images, memory, and imagination. Each day will include a lecture and demonstration followed by painting with one-on-one instruction.
Important: All students enrolling in on-campus courses must now submit not only proof of full vaccination upon registration (or documentation for a medical/religious exemption request), but also the COVID-19 booster by January 17, 2022, or as soon as they become eligible for the booster shot. Open the Agreement form during checkout to upload an image of your vaccination card or exemption documentation, or submit vaccine and booster updates below. Onsite card display and card images emailed to the CE office cannot be accepted. Proof of the full two-dose Pfizer/Moderna or single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccination must be submitted even if the booster shot has not yet been received. Students awaiting booster eligibility must promptly resubmit proof of vaccination after receiving the booster. Registration for any on-campus course is pending without vaccination documentation or exemption approval. See the CE Policy Guide below for complete COVID-19 safety requirements.
Update: Per Philadelphia's move into the All Clear COVID Response Level, mask wearing on PAFA's campus is optional for all faculty, staff, and students effective Monday, March 7. All members of the PAFA community are encouraged to choose whether to mask based on personal preference, informed by individual level of risk, and are asked to respect others' masking decisions. Please note that public mask recommendations are subject to change based on COVID case levels.
Image: John MacDonald, Summer Fields, oil on linen, 20 x 36 in.
Register by: May 6 (Note: Space is limited.)
A materials list and other course information will be supplied by the instructor in advance of the course.