Friday - Sunday, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. (Zoom only) 
Instructor: Kassem Amoudi 
Credit: Non-Credit Only 

Register by December 18 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDSPRING2024 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. (Discount applies to CE regular adult Winter/Spring classes and workshops only. Open Academy classes, studio rental, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.)

Explore the painting techniques and color-layering processes behind the sophisticated genre of colorfield painting with artist/critic/mentor Kassem Amoudi in this live Zoom class. Masters including Jules Olitski, Morris Louis, Nicolas de Stael, and Richard Diebenkorn will be discussed. Sessions are comprised of live painting time in a community classroom-like atmosphere, with critiques and advice from the instructor as he works one-on-one with each student.  Group instruction includes a presentation of notable artworks and discussion about the defining characteristics of the genre. 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: February 23

Materials List 

Winter/Spring 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies
Information for PAFA CE Online Courses 

Wednesdays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. 
Instructor: Frederic Kaplan 
Credit: Non-Credit Only 

Register by December 18 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDSPRING2024 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. (Discount applies to CE regular adult Winter/Spring classes and workshops only. Open Academy classes, studio rental, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.) 

For students with some experience and training with acrylic paints, this course will increase the fascination and challenge of the medium by guiding you into a wide range of techniques and materials that will advance your skill level. Explore transparent and semi-opaque layering more deeply while investigating masking and blending techniques. Content will include color theory and compositional structure, as well as the introduction of a broad selection of acrylic paint types and additives. Subject matter includes still life arrangements, the human figure, and the expansive views of the city from the upper floors of PAFA. Previous acrylic painting experience required.  Tuition includes a $35 models fee.

Image: Fred Kaplan, Godel Escher Bach at Relativistic Velocity, 2019 Acrylic, oil and ink on canvas, 32 x 72 in. 

Register by: February 26

Materials List 

Winter/Spring 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Wednesdays, 6 - 9 p.m. (Zoom with posted Canvas content) 
Instructor: Susan Sullivan 
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (see description) 

Register by December 18 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDSPRING2024 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. (Discount applies to CE regular adult Winter/Spring classes and workshops only. Open Academy classes, studio rental, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.)

Are you intimidated by the idea of oil painting? This course will help the beginning painter gain confidence in a variety of techniques including direct and indirect painting; color mixing; using mediums, solvents and additives; and painting with a brush and palette knife. Subject matter will include still life, portrait, interior spaces, landscape, and a master copy. Zoom class times will be comprised of group lectures and demonstrations, as well as studio painting time where the instructor will work one-on-one to guide students toward successful compositions. Drawing experience required. 

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $595. Select credit option with price adjustment when registering. 

Image: Susan Sullivan, Pool Puddle.

Register by: February 23

Materials List 

Winter/Spring 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies
Information for PAFA CE Online Courses 

Thursdays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.  
Instructor: Keith Leitner 
Credit: Non-Credit Only 

Register by December 18 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDSPRING2024 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. (Discount applies to CE regular adult Winter/Spring classes and workshops only. Open Academy classes, studio rental, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.) 

Drawing is integral to all types of painting in the development of form and composition, but many beginning painters lack the fundamental drawing skills, or the understanding of how best to use them, to serve their painting goals.  This combination drawing and painting (all media) class will focus on how to use drawing to create a roadmap to develop your finished work. Observational, measuring, and compositional rendering tactics will be addressed with attention to using positive and negative space and breaking your composition down to basic components. Students then will be guided toward adapting their drawings to paintings in their choice of oil or water-based media. Historical examples will show how painters past and present have used drawing in the creation of their work. Various drawing media will be discussed; some painting experience recommended.     

Image: Keith Leitner. 

Register by: March 1

Materials List 

Winter/Spring 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies 

Thursdays, 6 - 8 p.m. (Zoom with posted Canvas content) 
Instructor: Michelle Oosterbaan 
Credit: Non-Credit Only 

Register by December 18 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDSPRING2024 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. (Discount applies to CE regular adult Winter/Spring classes and workshops only. Open Academy classes, studio rental, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.) 

Dogs, cats, and other pets have sneaked their way into master drawings and paintings throughout the centuries just as they insinuate themselves into our daily lives.  From cats stealing food in 17th century still life art, to Bonnard’s dachshunds perched at the table or curled beside the bath, to Sarah McEneaney’s pets as studio helpers in contemporary work, household animals have proven themselves to be important painterly subjects on their own or as a part of still lifes, portraits, domestic scenes, and other genres.  Learn to find inspiration in your own furry family members to make them a meaningful part of your painting practice.  Rather than a pet portrait or animal anatomy course, this class will utilize drawn and painted sketches from life, photo references, and compositional studies to explore ways of realistically and expressively depicting your animal, including them into other subjects as formal or personal elements, or even making them a part of abstract compositions. Line, gesture, movement, textural/optical effects, and compositional principles will be addressed. Content will include presentations and PowerPoint examples from historical and contemporary art, engaging homework assignments, and discussions about the meaning of animals in art and tactics for making them a special focus in your own work. Open to all drawing and painting media.

Image: Sarah McEneaney, Paint Print, 2002, Lithograph on paper, 11 x 15 in. Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Art by Women Collection, Gift of Linda Lee Alter. 2011.1.282e

Register by: March 1

Materials List 

Winter/Spring 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies
Information for PAFA CE Online Courses 

Saturdays, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. 
Instructor: David Wilson 
Credit: Non-Credit Only 

Register by December 18 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDSPRING2024 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. (Discount applies to CE regular adult Winter/Spring classes and workshops only. Open Academy classes, studio rental, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.) 

Paint from a life model in poses of varying lengths 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: March 1
Materials List  
Winter/Spring 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies 

Mondays, 12:30 – 3:30 p.m. 
Instructor: Roger Chavez 
Credit: Non-Credit Only 

Register by December 18 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDSPRING2024 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. (Discount applies to CE regular adult Winter/Spring classes and workshops only. Open Academy classes, studio rental, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.)

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, 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 

 Image: Roger Chavez. 

Register by: March 1
Materials List  
Winter/Spring 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies 

Saturday and Sunday, 12 - 4 p.m. (Zoom with posted Canvas content) 
Instructor: Susan Sullivan 
Credit: Non-Credit Only 

Register by December 18 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDSPRING2024 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. (Discount applies to CE regular adult Winter/Spring classes and workshops only. Open Academy classes, studio rental, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.)

This workshop will focus on painting the everyday things around you, emphasizing the role of the painter as observer or chronicler. Do you ever see strange or out of place items on the street? Do you have a favorite corner of your house? Or maybe there’s that single sock in your drawer... Visually rescue objects and scenes lost and overlooked in day-to-day life and see them anew as art subjects that can be unexpectedly beautiful, interesting, quirky, or emblematic of a particular time, place, or aspect of your life. Prompts and painting subject matter will include depicting household clutter, objects in disrepair or that have lost their mates, and thrifted and scavenged items. Discussion and demonstration will cover tactics for setting up your composition, mixing color, and exploring paint application techniques for oil and acrylic. All levels welcome – great for spurring your creativity in your home painting practice. 

Image: Susan Sullivan, Lonely Days. 

Register by: February 23

Materials List 

Winter/Spring 2024 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies
Information for PAFA CE Online Courses