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Alla Prima Portrait Painting and Drawing (Online)
with Al Gury
Sundays, 3 - 4 p.m.*
Al Gury, Professor of Painting and Drawing at PAFA and noted author of Alla Prima, Color for Painters, and Foundations of Drawing, presents this in-depth approach to the skills, materials, colors, history, and techniques of alla prima portrait painting and drawing. Working from photographs, masterworks, or available models, learn concepts that will not only improve your portrait painting and drawing, but also grow your confidence in your artistic practice. Video demonstrations, images, and written instructions on the online learning platform Canvas will be supplemented by critiques and weekly discussions. Oil painting will be the primary focus, but all media are welcome as well as all levels of experience. Class meetings will be held on Zoom, and Canvas will be used for assignments and class content.
Optional: This is a Condensed Course, available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $595. Select credit option when registering.
* No class on May 28 for Memorial Day Weekend.
Image: Al Gury, PJ, oil on panel, 14 x 11 in.
Register by: Registration Still Open! Recordings are available for online courses.
Color for Painters (Online)
with Al Gury
Sundays, 4:30 - 5:30 p.m.*
An in-depth approach to understanding and using color in art from Al Gury, Professor of Painting and Drawing at PAFA and noted author of Alla Prima, Color for Painters, and Foundations of Drawing. Explore color’s history, palettes, mixing processes, and techniques for still life, portrait, interior spaces,and landscape through weekly lectures, video demos, discussions and assignments with a goal of improving the student’s use of color in their work. Regular feedback and critiques from the instructor will be provided each week. Class meetings will be held on Zoom, and the online learning platform Canvas will be used for assignments and class content. Oil paint will be a primary topic, but all media are welcome and will be discussed. Open to all levels of experience.
Optional: This is a Condensed Course, available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $595. Select credit option when registering.
* No class on May 28 for Memorial Day Weekend.
Image: Al Gury, Still Life with Crazy Quilt, 2022, 20 x 16 in.
Register by: Registration Still Open! Recordings are available for online courses.
Confident Acrylics (Online)
with Charles Muldowney
Tuesdays, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Discover and explore the characteristics of acrylics so that you can paint with confidence! Acrylic paint can imitate oil paint and watercolor paint, yet it has its own exceptional assets and characteristics not available with these other media. Its vibrant color, versatility, and layering capabilities make it the preferred medium of artists like David Hockney, Robert Motherwell, Mark Rothko, Bridget Riley, Helen Frankenthaler and Murray Dessner. Work from still life, self-portrait, window-view, and photographic subjects to practice a variety of application techniques, use of materials, and color mixing principles. Presentations, demonstrations, exercises, and projects will promote familiarity and experimentation with this accessible medium. Learn:
- Acrylic painting with traditional application methods, such as direct and indirect painting, wet-on-wet, grisaille, camaieu, glazing, velatura, dry brush, and stipple approaches
- Impasto techniques of working with thick paint using a pallet knife and other tools
- How to use oil over acrylic paint
- Use of the historic Zorn and Apelles palettes
- Essential color and design principles
- Experimental practices, including alcohol resist, wax resist, rollers, spreaders, scrapers, mixed media, and spattering
Image: Charles Muldowney.
Register by: Registration Still Open! Recordings are available for online courses.
Mixed Media Explorations: 2D, 3D, and Beyond (Online)
with Colleen O'Donnell
Tuesdays, 1 - 3 p.m.
Explore alternative ways of conceptualizing and creating mixed media art that erases the divide between flat and sculptural work. Two- and three-dimensional techniques have been an important part of modern art history, from the whimsy of Robert Rauschenberg to the politically-charged Jasper Johns and the revealing works of Kiki Smith. Learn how to combine 2D and 3D elements such as paper, photos/imagery, found objects, mementos, and drawn/painted subjects to create a contemporary expression of your own. Intrinsically engage the unconscious while drawing on elements of design to reflect a point of view and a moment in time through this powerful art form.
Image: Patti Rosenberg.
Register by: Registration Still Open! Recordings are available for online courses.
Painting Over the Line, Summer 1 (Online)
with Kassem Amoudi
Wednesdays, 1 – 4 p.m.
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. Painting experience recommended. Kassem will begin each class with a slide presentation/lecture 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.
Image: Kassem Amoudi.
Register by: Registration Still Open!
The Art of Natural History (Online)
with Kate Samworth
Wednesdays, 3 - 5 p.m.
Examine the social, scientific, religious, political, and economic factors that influenced centuries of cataloging the natural world, from ancient Greece to the Enlightenment. In this course, which combines art history with hands-on studio practice, students will learn to identify and imitate the traditional printmaking techniques that are integral to natural history illustration through a series of demonstrations in mixed media. Two-hour hands-on sessions will meet weekly, accompanying one-hour recorded presentations on art history that will be available for viewing at the student’s convenience. Each week will highlight a different topic in science including botany, ornithology, zoology, anatomy, entomology, cabinets of curiosity, marine life, and geometry in nature. Note: For intermediate-level students; prior still life drawing experience required.
Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $595. Select credit option when registering.
Image: Kate Samworth, Pollinators.
Register by: Registration Still Open! Recordings are available for online courses.
Watercolor Landscape (Online)
with Roberto Osti
Thursdays, 2 - 5 p.m.
Learn to paint watercolor landscapes while working indoors from photographic references – excellent for painters wishing to learn painting techniques to apply to their own photographed places or outdoor work, those with limited access or mobility for traditional plein air practice, and anyone interested in learning essential watercolor techniques. Provided subject matter will represent a variety of terrain and light effects, and instruction will address the rendering of trees, grass, sky, and water. Students will practice fundamental watercolor techniques such as washes, gradations, textural effects, wet-on-wet, wet-on-dry, dry brush, and more as they paint in real-time with the instructor. The online structure allows for a helpful overhead view of the instructor’s work in progress and a focused but conversational community environment as students engage with the instructor and complete in-class work together.
Image: Roberto Osti, Maine Coast, watercolor.
Register by: Registration Still Open! Recordings are available for online courses.
Editorial Illustration (Online)
with James Heimer
Thursdays, 6 – 9 p.m.
Explore image making as a means of communication. This is an intermediate class geared toward artists who wish to express narrative themes in their work as well as graphic designers interested in a pictorial approach to visual communication. Students will learn to analyze current news and opinion writing to create imagery with a message. Concept development methods including written brainstorming, thumbnails, and preliminary sketches will be introduced. Techniques combining traditional and digital media will be explored. This is an ideal opportunity for newcomers to digital media and will bridge the gap between the page and screen.
This course will utilize the online learning platform Canvas, and includes video demonstrations, lectures, and assignments. Weekly group discussions and individual critiques will be conducted via Zoom. Access to a scanner and Adobe Photoshop or other raster graphics software is required for the completion of assignments.
Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $595. Select credit option when registering.
Image: James Heimer.
Register by: May 26