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Landscape/Cityscape
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Open Academy: Observational Practices (DR 206, In-Person)
with John Horn
Fridays, 8:30 a.m. - 3:50 p.m.
PAFA’s Open Academy provides the opportunity for Continuing Education (CE) and non-matriculated students to enroll in select BFA courses for credit or non-credit. Open Academy students enrolled in PAFA’s renowned studio arts courses learn technical skills, creative expression, and critical thinking from master artist-teachers while working amongst dedicated full-time students in PAFA's classrooms.
The goal of this course is to strengthen and hone a student’s foundational skills of drawing through a series of one and two-day drawing projects. The major topics of concern will be gesture, design, perspective, structure and space. Students will be encouraged to experiment with different media and to develop a personalized drawing practice. Subjects for this exploration will be the life model, anatomical models, the city and the observable environment in general. The course includes field trips to the Wagner Free Institute of Science, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Reading Terminal and the Observation Deck at Liberty One.
Optional: This course is also available for 3.0 credits for $2,800 (select add-on pricing during registration).
Please note: All students enrolling in on-campus courses must submit proof of full COVID-19 vaccination and one booster upon registration. Requests for exceptions for medical or religious reasons must be submitted with appropriate documentation and approved by PAFA’s head of security. PAFA reserves the right to refuse entry and withdraw enrollment for students who have not provided proof of vaccination and have not been approved for exemption. Withdrawals for noncompliance will result in fees. See Open Academy Policy Information for complete COVID safety requirements and policies.
Image: John Horn (detail)
Register by: January 6
Alla Prima Landscape Painting (Online)
with Al Gury
Sundays, 3 - 4 p.m.
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, masterworks, or available on-site images, learn concepts that will not only improve your landscape painting but also grow your 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.
This course does not meet during Spring Break, March 6 – 12.
NOTE: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $575.
Register by: January 6
CE Policy Guide Winter/Spring 2023
Image: Al Gury.
The Pennsylvania Landscape Tradition (Online)
with Joseph Sweeney
Tuesdays, 10 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Keep your plein air skills warm during the colder months by joining Joe Sweeney, online inside his studio, to hone your landscape painting practice indoors! Work from instructor-provided reference photographs of the New Hope countryside, the area made famous by Daniel Garber, Edward Redfield, Fern Coppedge, and other masters of Pennsylvania Impressionism. Topics will include creating a strong composition, identifying what to leave in and what to leave out, color mixing, capturing the effects of light, painting techniques, and learning how to use photographs effectively to prepare for or supplement outdoor work. Instruction is geared toward oil/acrylic painting, but experienced watercolorists are welcome. Ideal for all levels, including beginning painters.
Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $575. Select credit option when registering.
Image: Joseph Sweeney, Farm on New Road, Pastel.
Register by: January 13
CE Policy Guide Winter/Spring 2023
Zoom Technical Requirements - SUBMISSION REQUIRED AT TIME OF REGISTRATION
In-Depth Watercolor, Section 1 (In-Person)
with James Toogood
Fridays, 9 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
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.
Optional: This course is available for 1.5 undergraduate credits for $995. Select credit option when registering.
Please note: All students enrolling in on-campus courses must submit proof of full COVID-19 vaccination and at least one additional booster upon registration. Registrations lacking vaccine documentation or approved medical exemption one week after submission are subject to withdrawal. Requests for medical or religious exemptions must be approved by PAFA’s head of security. Withdrawals for noncompliance will result in fees. See CE Policy Guide for complete COVID safety requirements and policies.
Image: James Toogood
Register by: January 20
CE Policy Guide Winter/Spring 2023
CE Proof of Vaccination/Booster Form - SUBMISSION REQUIRED AT TIME OF REGISTRATION
In-Depth Watercolor, Section 2 (In-Person)
with James Toogood
Wednesdays, 9 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
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.
Optional: This course is available for 1.5 undergraduate credits for $995. Select credit option when registering.
Please note: All students enrolling in on-campus courses must submit proof of full COVID-19 vaccination and at least one additional booster upon registration. Registrations lacking vaccine documentation or approved medical exemption one week after submission are subject to withdrawal. Requests for medical or religious exemptions must be approved by PAFA’s head of security. Withdrawals for noncompliance will result in fees. See CE Policy Guide for complete COVID safety requirements and policies.
Image: James Toogood
Register by: January 20
CE Policy Guide Winter/Spring 2023
CE Proof of Vaccination/Booster Form - SUBMISSION REQUIRED AT TIME OF REGISTRATION
Drawing: Representation to Abstraction (In-Person)
with Roger Chavez
Tuesdays, 12:30 - 3:30 p.m.
Develop your drawing abilities beyond the fundamental concepts to make personal, expressive, and complex work. Moving from representation to abstraction is the challenge most artists need to take their work to another level or simply just embrace a greater understanding of the visual language. Understanding the picture plane as essentially a flat space, that has and contains shape, can help the artist not only understand the constraints of translating three-dimensional subject matter onto a two-dimensional surface, but also learn its relationship to historical translations of space such as Renaissance, Cubist and Modern applications. Use these principles to build a strong and clear understanding of representation and abstraction, to realize how they are one in the same, and to employ these linked concepts in different approaches through work from still-life and interior subject matter.
Please note: All students enrolling in on-campus courses must submit proof of full COVID-19 vaccination and at least one additional booster upon registration. Registrations lacking vaccine documentation or approved medical exemption one week after submission are subject to withdrawal. Requests for medical or religious exemptions must be approved by PAFA’s head of security. Withdrawals for noncompliance will result in fees. See CE Policy Guide for complete COVID safety requirements and policies.
Image: Roger Chavez, City.
Register by: March 3
CE Policy Guide Winter/Spring 2023
CE Proof of Vaccination/Booster Form - SUBMISSION REQUIRED AT TIME OF REGISTRATION
Loosen Up! Oil Painting (In-Person)
with Roger Chavez
Thursdays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
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 and cityscapes, 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, making a practical setting for painting, and investigating new methodologies to apply to your paintings. Discover the beauty and freedom of loosening up your painting!
Learning Objectives:
- Learn how to effectively make use of short, fast, and small painting exercises
- Learn the importance and the effectiveness of setting a viable learning environment for painting
- Learn effective color mixing along with use of materials and techniques
Please note: All students enrolling in on-campus courses must submit proof of full COVID-19 vaccination and at least one additional booster upon registration. Registrations lacking vaccine documentation or approved medical exemption one week after submission are subject to withdrawal. Requests for medical or religious exemptions must be approved by PAFA’s head of security. Withdrawals for noncompliance will result in fees. See CE Policy Guide for complete COVID safety requirements and policies.
Image: Roger Chavez, Untitled - Still Life.
Register by: March 14
CE Policy Guide Winter/Spring 2023
CE Proof of Vaccination/Booster Form - SUBMISSION REQUIRED AT TIME OF REGISTRATION
Colored Pencil Landscape (Outdoor)
with Michelle Oosterbaan
Saturdays, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Capture the landscape in open air with the vibrancy and realism that can be achieved with colored pencil! Explore descriptive and expressive line quality, color relationships, cross-hatching and layering techniques, capturing light and volume, and the effects of working on different papers as you portray the beauty of Philadelphia’s parks in your own personal style. Learn methods for choosing a composition, mixing color through layering, and working efficiently outdoors as you complete both rapid sketches and sustained drawings. Working in dry media will allow you all the benefits of using color, but with the ease transporting lightweight and portable materials and no wet paintings! Drawing 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 drawing locations.
Image: Gustav Ketterer, House Across Our Street, n.d. Colored pencil and Chinese white on cream wove paper, 11 x 8 in. Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Bequest of Lillian H. Ketterer, 1971.14.2
Register by: April 7