Fridays, 9:00 AM - 1:30 PM  
Instructor: James Toogood  
Ten-Week Condensed Course (45 Hours)  
No class on November 27 (Thanksgiving Break)

Register by August 21 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDFALL2026 at checkout (and click “+” to calculate the deduction). PAFA members at the Dual-Plus/Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. Discount applies to CE regular adult Fall classes and workshops only. Remaining Summer classes, Studio rental programs, Open Academy (Certificate) courses, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.

Enrich your knowledge of painting with an in-depth look at watercolor. Thoroughly investigate a wide range of watercolor materials and techniques while working from your choice of landscape, still life, abstraction, or personal source material. 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.

Register by: September 4  
Materials List  
Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering.

Mondays, 12:30 PM - 3:30 PM  
Instructor: Richard Estell  
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)  
No class on October 12 (Indigenous People’s Day)

Register by August 21 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDFALL2026 at checkout (and click “+” to calculate the deduction). PAFA members at the Dual-Plus/Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. Discount applies to CE regular adult Fall classes and workshops only. Remaining Summer classes, Studio rental programs, Open Academy (Certificate) courses, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.

Explore the painting techniques of the masters who pioneered the 19th and 20th century American watercolor movement, including Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, Edward Hopper, and Charles Demuth. Characterized by bright color and bold handling that includes accents of opaque watercolor and loose washes, work in this tradition captures subject matter with dazzling light-filled effects. Practice these classic methods and learn to incorporate them into your own artwork to achieve a greater freedom of expression as well as adaptability and control in the way that you paint. Demonstrations and art historical discussions will be combined with short and more extensive still life and self-portrait exercises. This course is appropriate for beginning and intermediate levels.

Register by: September 8  
Materials List   
Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering.

Wednesdays, 9:00 AM - 1:30 PM  
Instructor: James Toogood  
Ten-Week Condensed Course (45 Hours)

Register by August 21 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDFALL2026 at checkout (and click “+” to calculate the deduction). PAFA members at the Dual-Plus/Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. Discount applies to CE regular adult Fall classes and workshops only. Remaining Summer classes, Studio rental programs, Open Academy (Certificate) courses, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.

Enrich your knowledge of painting with an in-depth look at watercolor. Thoroughly investigate a wide range of watercolor materials and techniques while working from your choice of landscape, still life, abstraction, or personal source material. 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 with experience will receive individual instruction for their current skill level.
• Students will acquire the skills needed to achieve a richness of color and a feeling of light.
• Participants will be exposed to a variety of watercolor styles and encouraged to discover their own personal aesthetic.

Register by: September 9  
Materials List   
Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering.

Sundays, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM  
Instructor: Michelle Oosterbaan  
Four-Week Short Course (16 Hours)  
Rain Date: October 18

Register by August 21 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDFALL2026 at checkout (and click “+” to calculate the deduction). PAFA members at the Dual-Plus/Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. Discount applies to CE regular adult Fall classes and workshops only. Remaining Summer classes, Studio rental programs, Open Academy (Certificate) courses, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.

Enjoy the expressive possibilities, portability, and vibrant color of traditional watercolor, watercolor pencils, or watercolor markers for open air landscape drawing and painting! Work with either drawing or water-based applications or combine them for luminous mixed-media studies as you portray the beauty of autumn in Philadelphia’s parks in your own personal style. Learn techniques for choosing a composition, mixing and layering color, and working efficiently outdoors as you complete a series of rapid sketches and at least one sustained drawing or painting. Open to all levels. Painting locations featuring shade, restrooms, and other amenities may include Wissahickon Valley Park, Glen Foerd Mansion, and Brandywine River locations. Note: Students are responsible for their own transportation to painting locations.

*Please reserve a rain date of October 18, should any session be postponed due to inclement weather.

Image: Michelle Oosterbaan

Register by: September 14  
Materials List - Coming Soon
Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering.

Tuesday - Friday, 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM  
Instructor: Joseph Sweeney  
Four-Day Workshop (16 Hours)

Register by August 21 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDFALL2026 at checkout (and click “+” to calculate the deduction). PAFA members at the Dual-Plus/Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. Discount applies to CE regular adult Fall classes and workshops only. Remaining Summer classes, Studio rental programs, Open Academy (Certificate) courses, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.

Join veteran plein air artist Joe Sweeney for a unique opportunity to paint inside one of the oldest rowing clubs in Philadelphia: the Bachelors Barge Club on Boathouse Row. Work from picturesque views of the Schuylkill River with the benefit of full access to the historic building with access to the dock, rain-/sun-sheltered porch, and amenities including restrooms. Experienced guidance will cover tactics for working efficiently outdoors, selecting a composition, color mixing, and capturing time of day and atmospheric effects. Instruction and demonstrations will be geared toward acrylic, oil, and pastel painting, but experienced watercolorists are welcome to participate. Note: Students are responsible for their own transportation to painting locations.

Learn more about the history of the Bachelors Barge Club at https://www.bachelorsbargeclub.org/history.

Image: Joseph Sweeney, Bachelors, acrylic on canvas panel.

Register by: September 15  
Materials List   
Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering.

Thursdays, 1:00 PM - 3:30 PM  
Instructor: Roberto Osti  
Six-Week Online Short Course (Zoom + Asynchronous Content; 18-Hour Equivalent)

Register by August 21 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDFALL2026 at checkout (and click “+” to calculate the deduction). PAFA members at the Dual-Plus/Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. Discount applies to CE regular adult Fall classes and workshops only. Remaining Summer classes, Studio rental programs, Open Academy (Certificate) courses, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.

The natural world is an infinite and fantastic source of inspiration for the artist, and the versatility and luminosity of watercolor make it the perfect technique for recording nature in a fresh and fun way. In this course, learn fundamental drawing techniques and essential watercolor techniques to create both quick field sketches and detailed, finished artworks. Subject matter will include flowers, plants, and animals. Reference images will be gathered through observational sketches and photography. An ideal course for those interested in both the fine arts and the Illustration field.

Register by: September 17  
Materials List   
Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering.

Saturday and Sunday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM  
Instructor: James Toogood  
Weekend Workshop 

Register by August 21 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDFALL2026 at checkout (and click “+” to calculate the deduction). PAFA members at the Dual-Plus/Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. Discount applies to CE regular adult Fall classes and workshops only. Remaining Summer classes, Studio rental programs, Open Academy (Certificate) courses, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.

Interested in learning or improving your watercolor skills? All materials and techniques will be discussed, including the selection of papers, brushes, and pigments, as well as transparent and opaque painting methods. Students will work from still-life subjects and/or their own source material. All levels welcome.

Register by: September 25  
Materials List   
Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering.

Tuesdays, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM  
Instructor: Shushana Rucker  
Eight-Week Short Course (24 Hours)

Register by August 21 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDFALL2026 at checkout (and click “+” to calculate the deduction). PAFA members at the Dual-Plus/Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. Discount applies to CE regular adult Fall classes and workshops only. Remaining Summer classes, Studio rental programs, Open Academy (Certificate) courses, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.

Learn the fundamentals of painting with gouache, the opaque watercolor paint. Painters of all levels will fall in love with it as a portable, fast-drying, and easy-to-clean-up alternative to oils – great for travel or limited working time and space. Explore color and painting techniques through still life subjects and personal photo references. Students will gain familiarity gouache’s unique characteristics to work on a variety of surfaces, master paint fluidity and control, accurately mix color and predict its effects, and promote its layering capabilities and surface qualities. Open to all levels; prior drawing experience is helpful for any painting course.

Register by: September 29  
Materials List  
Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering.