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Outdoor Classes
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Plein Air in the Park (Lemon Hill - Outdoor)
with Keith Leitner
Sundays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Register by 5 p.m. on August 22 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDFALL2022 at checkout. PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. (Discount applies to CE adult Fall classes and workshops only. Pre-College Programs, Open Academy Courses, and Master Classes are ineligible.)
Capture the colors of fall en plein air through vibrant watercolor and pastel. Become comfortable and confident with the practice of working outdoors, using either or both mediums, at picturesque Lemon Hill and other select locations around the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Fairmount Park. Instruction will cover means of accurately and expressively depicting outdoor sites, pastel drawing and layering methods, watercolor painting techniques, mixed media applications, color mixing, and the history and capabilities of each medium. All levels welcome.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn to observe and depict landscape and cityscape en plein air with attendant materials and set up
- Learn color mixing and application of each medium
- Study of pigment history and development
- Learn about watercolor/pastel history via short discussions of painters and their motifs.
Register by: September 2
The Pennsylvania Landscape Tradition (New Hope, PA - Outdoor)
with Joseph Sweeney
Tuesdays, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Register by 5 p.m. on August 22 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDFALL2022 at checkout. PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. (Discount applies to CE adult Fall classes and workshops only. Pre-College Programs, Open Academy Courses, and Master Classes are ineligible.)
Learn the essentials of landscape painting in the New Hope/Lambertville countryside, the area made famous by Daniel Garber, Edward Redfield, Fern Coppedge, and other masters of Pennsylvania Impressionism. Locations will include Daniel Garber’s historic farmstead, Cuttalossa Farm! Veteran plein air artist Joe Sweeney will guide newcomers and artists of all levels through both the artistic concerns and practical matters of open air painting. Topics include 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.
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 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.
Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $575. Select credit option when registering.
Image: Joseph Sweeney, Farm on New Road, pastel (cropped).
Register by: September 2
Plein Air Painting in Cape May, NJ (Outdoor)
with Joseph Sweeney
Thursday – Sunday, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Register by 5 p.m. on August 22 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDFALL2022 at checkout. PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. (Discount applies to CE adult Fall classes and workshops only. Pre-College Programs, Open Academy Courses, and Master Classes are ineligible.)
Join Joe Sweeney for an outdoor, in-person, plein air painting retreat in beautiful Cape May, New Jersey! Experience small town hospitality while painting Cape May Point, the Cove with sweeping vistas, Cape May Lighthouse, and Sunset Beach. Instruction includes tips on choosing a prime location, reading the weather and light at a particular time of day, and setting up a landscape palette. Instruction is geared towards oil, acrylic and pastel, but experienced watercolorists are welcome. Health-safety measures, including social-distancing and masking where required, will be practiced. Note: Students are responsible for their own travel arrangements.
Image: Joseph Sweeney, Lifeguard, Grant Street, Cape May, NJ, acrylic.
Register by: September 16
Autumn in Acrylic Workshop (Outdoor)
with Michelle Oosterbaan
Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Register by 5 p.m. on August 22 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDFALL2022 at checkout. PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. (Discount applies to CE adult Fall classes and workshops only. Pre-College Programs, Open Academy Courses, and Master Classes are ineligible.)
Acrylic paint is the perfect medium for landscape painting in the open air! Explore acrylic’s vibrant color and versatile application and layering methods as you portray the beauty of autumn in Philadelphia’s Bartram Gardens. Learn techniques for choosing a composition, mixing color, and working efficiently outdoors as you complete works that capture the immediacy of the season’s color and light. Fast-drying and easy to clean-up, acrylics will allow you to easily transport your finished work home after each day’s painting. Open to all levels. Shade, restrooms, and other amenities available on site. Note: Students are responsible for their own transportation to painting locations.
Image: Helen Lloyd Horter, Autumn in Rockport, ca. 1934, Oil on canvas, 20 1/16 x 22 1/8 in. (51.0 x 56.2 cm.), Accession #1935.7, John Lambert Fund.
Rain dates: October 8 & 9
Register by: September 23