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Continuing Education at PAFA



Perspective

in Courses by Subject

In-Depth Watercolor, Section 1

$675

with James Toogood

Calendar Current session started Sep 11, 2026 at 9 am, runs for 10 weeks

Fridays, 9:00 AM - 1:30 PM  
Instructor: James Toogood  
Ten-Week Condensed Course (45 Hours)
  
No class on November 27 (Thanksgiving Break)  

Enrich your knowledge of painting with an in-depth look at watercolor. Thoroughly investigate a wide range of watercolor materials and techniques while working from your choice of landscape, still life, abstraction, or personal source material. The course is designed to equip each participant with the knowledge and skills necessary to make accomplished, personally rewarding watercolor paintings. Open to watercolorists of all levels and to acrylic/oil painters looking to broaden their skills.

Register by: September 4  
Materials List  
Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering.

Full Course

In-Depth Watercolor, Section 2

$675

with James Toogood

Calendar Current session started Sep 16, 2026 at 9 am, runs for 10 weeks

Wednesdays, 9:00 AM - 1:30 PM  
Instructor: James Toogood  
Ten-Week Condensed Course (45 Hours)  

Enrich your knowledge of painting with an in-depth look at watercolor. Thoroughly investigate a wide range of watercolor materials and techniques while working from your choice of landscape, still life, abstraction, or personal source material. The course is designed to equip each participant with the knowledge and skills necessary to make accomplished, personally rewarding watercolor paintings. Open to watercolorists of all levels and to acrylic/oil painters looking to broaden their skills.

Learning Objectives

  • Students will learn about color theory as applied to watercolor.
  • Students will receive a comprehensive explanation of watercolor materials and tools, with particular focus will be paid to the properties of paint and pigments as they interact with the paintbrushes and paper.
  • Through both discussions and demonstrations, first-time participants and beginners will learn a variety of techniques that are fundamental to watercolor, presented in a systematic step by step method.
  • Participants with experience will receive individual instruction for their current skill level.
  • Students will acquire the skills needed to achieve a richness of color and a feeling of light.
  • Participants will be exposed to a variety of watercolor styles and encouraged to discover their own personal aesthetic.

Register by: September 9  
Materials List
   
Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering.

Full Course

Watercolor Workshop

$225

with James Toogood

Calendar Next available session starts Oct 3, 2026 at 9 am

Saturday and Sunday, 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM  
Instructor: James Toogood  
Weekend Workshop  

Interested in learning or improving your watercolor skills? All materials and techniques will be discussed, including the selection of papers, brushes, and pigments, as well as transparent and opaque painting methods. Students will work from still-life subjects and/or their own source material. All levels welcome.

Registration Still Open!  
Materials List   

Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering.

Introduction to Gouache Painting

$395

with Shushana Rucker

Calendar Next available session starts Oct 6, 2026 at 6 pm, runs for 8 weeks

Tuesdays, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM  
Instructor: Shushana Rucker  
Eight-Week Short Course (24 Hours)  

Learn the fundamentals of painting with gouache, the opaque watercolor paint. Painters of all levels will fall in love with it as a portable, fast-drying, and easy-to-clean-up alternative to oils – great for travel or limited working time and space. Explore color and painting techniques through still life subjects and personal photo references. Students will gain familiarity gouache’s unique characteristics to work on a variety of surfaces, master paint fluidity and control, accurately mix color and predict its effects, and promote its layering capabilities and surface qualities. Open to all levels; prior drawing experience is helpful for any painting course.

Registration Still Open!  
Materials List
  
Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering.

Introduction to Stone Lithography

$315

with Rae Helms

Calendar Next available session starts Oct 28, 2026 at 6 pm, runs for 6 weeks

Wednesdays, 6:00 PM - 9:00 PM  
Instructor: Rae Helms  
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)
 
No class on November 25  

This six-week class introduces students to stone lithography, the traditional printmaking method of creating fine art prints from drawings made on limestone blocks. Students will learn the basics of this fascinating process, including graining the limestone to prepare it for drawing, creating an image in oil-based lithographic crayons and ink, etching the stone by means of a chemical process, inking the stone, and operating PAFA’s litho press to print an edition of prints. Students will benefit not only from expert class instruction, but also from access to PAFA’s beautiful, light-filled printmaking facilities (including its selection of limestone blocks) and plenty of monitored lab hours for outside work for the entire length of the course! Note: Tuition includes a $20 lab fee.

Check out this informative illustrated explanation courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art!

Register by: October 21  
Materials List
   
Please review CE’s Fall 2026 Policy Guide, including Withdrawal/Refund Policies, prior to registering.





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