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Oil/Acrylic Painting
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Oil Painting: The Realistic Still Life (In-Person)
with Frederic Kaplan
Wednesdays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Instructor: Frederic Kaplan
Ten-Week Course (30-Hours)
Execute richly-hued paintings compelling in their realism using the unique arrangements in PAFA’s dedicated still-life studio as subject. Learn the fundamental vocabulary and techniques of representational oil painting: create a tonal underpainting, model form with opaque paint applications, generate depth and luminosity with transparent glazes and velaturas, and suggest texture with semi-drybrush scumbling. Content will address materials, color, effects of light, illusionistic space, and painterly treatments. This course is appropriate forbeginners, and is excellent for experienced painters seeking to develop pictures with a more believable sense of realism. Drawing experience strongly recommended.
Image: Fred Kaplan
Late registration available through October 21
Materials List
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies
Painting over the Line (In-Person)
with Kassem Amoudi
Wednesdays, 12:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Instructor: Kassem Amoudi
Ten-Week Course (30 Hours)
Learn to explore new possibilities and paint more intuitively under the guidance of artist/critic/mentor KassemAmoudi. Work from personal subject matter (objects, images, emotions, or ideas) to find your own visual language, informed by examples from contemporary and modern art. Examine how to use concepts of color, harmony, focal point, space, and mark-making as powerful tools of personal expression. Instruction is geared toward open painting time supported by critiques and advice from the instructor as he works one-on-one with students to guide them in their personal style and goals. This course is excellent for students pursuing abstract or nonobjective imagery, seeking knowledgeable feedback and a focused community painting environment. Painting experience recommended.
Image: Kassem Amoudi
Late registration available through October 21
Materials List
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies
Composition Through Color in Drawing and Painting (Online)
with Al Gury
Sundays, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. (Interactive asynchronous Canvas content supported by weekly Zoom meetings)
Instructor: Al Gury
Six-Week Condensed Course (30-Hour Equivalent)
Explore how to use color as an organizing force in your drawings and paintings with Al Gury, Professor of Painting and Drawing at PAFA, and noted author of Alla Prima, Color for Painters, and Foundations of Drawing. This class presents practical skills and strategies for making strong compositions using color in the selection of hues, arrangement of marks/shapes, range values, and use of temperature to establish visual balance, space, and visual focus within the pictorial frame of an artwork. Projects will utilizelandscape, portrait, still life, and abstraction to examine color’s impact on design. Classes will contain explanations of the visual compositional strategies in both historic and contemporary art, instructor demonstrations, and tactics for problem-solving, as well as weekly assignments and critiques of personal work.Content will address techniques in oil, acrylic, watercolor, and pastel, with a focus on color applications. Class meetings will be held on Zoom, and assignments and asynchronous class content will be posted on Canvas, PAFA’s online learning platform.Beginning and advanced studentswelcome.
Image: Al Gury
Register by: September 26
Materials List
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies
Information for PAFA CE Online Courses
Figure Painting: Developing Form and Finish (In-Person)
with David Wilson
Saturdays, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Instructor: David Wilson
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)
Note: No class on November 29
Paint from a life model in long, multi-class poses 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.
Image: David Wilson
Register by: October 24
Materials List
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies
Painting + Printmaking (In-Person)
with Justine Ditto
Mondays, 12:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Instructor: Justine Ditto
Six-WeekShort Course (18 Hours)
Painting and printmaking go hand-in-hand, not only as adjacent mediums but in combination. This freeing and instructive course presents printmaking techniques as jumping off points to making mixed media work in spirit of experimentation and personal expression. Learn how to make monotypes, drypoints, and screenprints as a foundation for incorporating your choice of graphite, colored pencil, acrylic, watercolor, oil paint, and/or collage. Content includes technical advice from an artist-instructor ideally skilled in a variety of media as well as critiques to expand your creative boundaries. This class is perfect for painters/draftspeopleseeking to expand their processes, printmakers seeking to employ painterly and mixed media techniques, and anyone with love of color and experimentation. Open to all levels – no prior printmaking or painting experience required. Tuition includes a $20 materials fee.
Image: Justine Ditto
Register by: September 4
Materials List
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies
The Color of Light and Shadow in Acrylics (Online)
with Frederic Kaplan
Mondays, 1 – 2:30 p.m. (Zoom meetings supporting majority asynchronous content)
Instructor: Frederic Kaplan
Six-Week Condensed Course (30-Hour Equivalent)
Exploit the unique qualities of acrylics to create paintings infused with light and rich, transparent shadows. Through a combination of online videos and illustrated lessons plus live Zoom sessions, learn how to build your paintings in layers of radiant opaque and transparent colors. A variety of acrylic painting techniques will be addressed, including the tenebrism of Baroque master Caravaggio. A rich resource of information about the wide array of acrylic painting materials is also provided. This course is appropriate for students at all levels, including beginners, but drawing experience is recommended.
Image: Fred Kaplan
Register by: October 28
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies
Fast and Unfussed Oil Painting (In-Person)
with Roger Chavez
Tuesdays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Instructor: Roger Chavez
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)
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, cityscapes, and the life model, 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, painting materials and methodologies, and the importance of cultivating viablemethods for growth in your painting practice. Discover the beauty and freedom of loosening up your painting! Note: Tuition includes a $15 models fee.
Image: Roger Chavez
Register by: October 28
Materials List
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies
Painting Metal and Glass Workshop (In-Person)
with Frederic Kaplan
Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.
Instructor: Frederic Kaplan
Weekend Workshop
Highly reflective and transparent/translucent surfaces, such as metal and glass, can be a challenge for oil painters to represent accurately: distortions, abrupt shifts in value, and color influences by surrounding objects can make it difficult for the artist to discern what they are actually seeing or how to capture these effects. Through straightforward demonstrations, learn logical step-by-step approaches for painting each of these challenging subjects, and follow up with hands-on practice working from glass- and metal-themed still life arrangements. Prior drawing and painting experience strongly recommended. Note: This workshop is designed for oil painters, but acrylic painters are also welcome.
Image: Frederic Kaplan
Register by: October 31
Materials List
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies