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Oil/Acrylic Painting
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Oil/Acrylic Painting: Abstracting the Real (In-Person)
with Frederic Kaplan
Fridays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Instructor: Frederic Kaplan
Credit: Non-credit or 1.0 undergraduate credit (see description)
Using oil or acrylic paints, exploit a wide range of techniques and artistic languages to transform everyday reality into expressive, symbolic, or personal statements. Base your paintings on unique studio still-life arrangements or use your own photographs as a starting point, and progress to working from a life model during the final weeks of the course. Topics discussed and demonstrated include using color as an emotive element, designing compositions to convey mood and movement, and employing energetic mark-making. For less experienced students, materials, color mixing, and basic techniques are also reviewed.
Course Objectives
The student will learn…
- Selection and use basic materials, including the characteristics of various commonly used colors, solvents, and mediums
- Execution of a variety of direct and indirect painting methods.
- Approaches to interpreting and modifying observed reality to achieve emotive, symbolic, and compositional goals
- Descriptive, emotive, and symbolic use of color, shape, and mark
- Basic color theory and color mixing
This course does not meet during Thanksgiving Break, November 23 - 26.
Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $695. Select credit option when registering.
Image: Fred Kaplan, A Curious Place, 2001, Oil on canvas, 32 x 48 in.
Register by: September 8
Fall 2023 CE Policy Guide, including updated Withdrawal/Refund Policies
Figure Painting: Alla Prima and the Limited Palette (In-Person)
with David Wilson
Saturdays, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Instructor: David Wilson
Credit: Non-Credit Only
Painting the human form from observation is one of the cornerstones of PAFA's long tradition of rigorous instruction. Working from the nude model in poses of varying lengths, investigate color mixing, proportion, and composition using oil paint as a medium. Focusing on alla prima painting techniques and a limited flesh-tone palette, learn to model the human form through gesture, shape, volume, and temperature – excellent for painted sketches and preparatory studies, foundations for extended work, or an introduction/refresher to figure painting. Intended for all skill levels, this course also offers the valuable opportunity for more advanced students to continue to hone their skills to deepen their understanding of the language of painting. Instruction will be geared toward oil, but students may draw-only, or use other appropriate media, in this class, if they wish. Note: Tuition includes a $35 models fee.
Image: David Wilson, 2016.
Register by: September 8
Fall 2023 CE Policy Guide, including updated Withdrawal/Refund Policies
The Portrait in Oil (In-Person)
with Roberto Osti
Tuesdays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Instructor: Roberto Osti
Credit: Non-credit or 1.0 undergraduate credit (see description)
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 $50 model fee.
Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $745 (including model fee). Select credit option when registering.
Image: Roberto Osti, Portrait of Max, limited palette, oil on board.
Register by: September 8
Fall 2023 CE Policy Guide, including updated Withdrawal/Refund Policies
The PAFA Atelier (In-Person)
with Peter Van Dyck
Wednesdays, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Instructor: Peter Van Dyck
Credit: Non-credit or 1.0 undergraduate credit (see description)
This combination of instructed class and open studio is designed for students interested in advancing their representational drawing and painting. Design and work on your own personal projects utilizing the cast collection, figure/portrait models, and still life or interior spaces, assisted by individual critiques and group instruction on topics of broad concern or interest. This course features intermediate-level instruction for students with prior drawing/painting experience. Note: Tuition includes a $80 model fee.
Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $1,180 (including model fee). Select credit option when registering.
Register by: September 8
Fall 2023 CE Policy Guide, including updated Withdrawal/Refund Policies
Plein Air Painting in Valley Forge, PA (Outdoor)
with Joseph Sweeney
Wednesdays, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Instructor: Joseph Sweeney
Credit: Non-credit or 1.0 undergraduate credit
Enjoy open-air painting in beautiful Valley Forge National Historical Park, the encampment site of George Washington’s Continental Army in 1777-1778 and now home to a painter’s delight of lush scenery and historic architecture! Located in Montgomery County, 35 minutes northwest of Center City Philadelphia, the park features great views of the Schuylkill River, Valley Creek, the Valley Forge Farm, Mt. Joy, Mt. Misery, and many valleys, cabins, and colonial houses, with ample parking and access to restrooms. Working from diverse landscape subject matter, students will learn essential plein air approaches, including color mixing to achieve a sense of light and air, capturing time of day, compositional fundamentals, and sound drawing and painting practices. Instruction is geared toward oil/acrylic painting and pastel drawing/painting. Note: Students are responsible for their own transportation.
Learning Objectives:
Students will --
- Learn the basics of working outdoors.
- Learn how to set up, use and care for a field easel.
- Learn how to transport wet paintings to and from home without damaging one’s car.
- Identify the working properties of different surfaces to paint on including linen, canvas, paper, wood, prepared panel, and masonite.
- Learn how to select paint colors and related materials for successful outdoor painting.
- Gain skills in drawing and proportion in the composition of a landscape.
- Become an expert in finding locations suitable for painting, including how to orient oneself to the sun and how to find shelter from wind and rain.
- Learn to assess the time of day and how much time is left before the sun continues its course across the sky.
- Make quick field sketches and bring them to full completion, to develop a sense of place.
- Learn to mix color to portray the season, atmosphere, and temperature.
Image: Joseph Sweeney, Valley Forge Park.
Register by: September 8
Fall 2023 CE Policy Guide, including updated Withdrawal/Refund Policies
Painting from Dreams and the Imagination (Online)
with Susan Sullivan
Tuesdays, 6 – 8 p.m. (Zoom, with posted Canvas content)
Instructor: Susan Sullivan
Credit: Non-credit only
Painting from source material within your own mind offers a fertile ground for personal, surreal, abstract, and whimsical work without being tied to observable subject matter. Develop your painting practice using your imagination as your subject and make your dreams into tangible artworks. Prompts will encourage you to play on your canvas, opening the door from the unknown to visually compelling compositions. Subject cues will include painting from poems or song lyrics, generating images from memories, documenting your dreams, and creating imagery from classmates’ combined sketches. Instruction is geared toward oil or acrylic painting, but drawing, collage, and students’ other preferred media is welcome and encouraged. Zoom meetings include prompts and discussion, live painting time together in a classroom-like atmosphere, and critiques and one-on-one guidance from the instructor. This class is great for artists wanting to incorporate a freeing sense of playfulness and abstraction into their work, those seeking a creative outlet for their thoughts and emotions, and anyone who loves making paintings that are weird, witty, and wonder-inspiring.
Image: Susan Sullivan, Dream, Oil on panel, 16 x 16 in.
Register by: September 15
Fall 2023 CE Policy Guide, including updated Withdrawal/Refund Policies
Painting over the Line (Online)
with Kassem Amoudi
Wednesdays, 1 – 4 p.m. (Zoom only)
Instructor: Kassem Amoudi
Credit: Non-credit or 1.0 undergraduate credit (see description)
Take your work to the next level under the guidance of artist/critic/mentor Kassem Amoudi in this live Zoom class. Expert instruction and advice will push you to explore new possibilities and work more intuitively, allowing unplanned marks and passages to become artistic breakthroughs. Paint from personal subject matter to find your own visual language, informed by examples from contemporary and modern art. Classes will include presentations/lectures focusing on how master artists through history have addressed color, harmony, focal points, space, mark making, paint application, and more, and how to apply these concepts to your own work. Weekly sessions focus heavily on live painting time in a classroom-like online environment, with critiques and advice from the instructor as he works one-on-one with each student to guide them in their personal style and goals. This course is excellent for students working with abstract or nonobjective imagery, seeking feedback from a critic/mentor and a focused community painting atmosphere. Painting experience recommended. Note: Due to the emphasis on live instructor feedback and in-class painting, this Zoom class is not recorded.
Image: Kassem Amoudi
Register by: September 22
Fall 2023 CE Policy Guide, including updated Withdrawal/Refund Policies
Foundations of Art 101 (Online)
with Al Gury
Sundays, 3 – 4 p.m. (Interactive asynchronous Canvas content supported by weekly Zoom meetings)
Instructor: Al Gury
Credit: Non-credit or 1.0 undergraduate credit (see description)
Al Gury, Professor of Painting and Drawing at PAFA, and noted author of Alla Prima, Color for Painters, and Foundations of Drawing, presents the foundational basics of art making.
This course is designed for individuals who are new to or just beginning to study art, or for those desiring a refresher in the basic elements, with a goal of imparting a solid and practical understanding of essential topics and practices. As a survey course, each week will focus on a specific topic and a project assignment. Topics will include the materials of drawing and painting, drawing shapes, measuring, forms, perspective, depth, use of line, understanding light and shade, and composition. Exercises will include the basics of charcoal and pencil drawing, use of pastel, color concepts, and how oil paints work. Subjects will include still lifes, interior spaces, portraits, and life drawing through the use of masterworks. Course content and assignments will be posted on Canvas, PAFA’s online learning platform. Weekly Zoom meetings will provide opportunities for Q&A, art history discussion and references, illustrations of key concepts, and explanations of the weekly project by the instructor.
This course does not meet during Thanksgiving Break, November 23 - 26.
Optional: This is a Condensed Course, available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $595. Select credit option when registering.
Image: Al Gury, Sunflowers, Oil on panel, 10 x 8 in.
Register by: September 22
Fall 2023 CE Policy Guide, including updated Withdrawal/Refund Policies