Saturday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. (Rain Date: May 10)*
Instructor: Frederic Kaplan
Weekend Workshop
Credit: Non-Credit Only

NOTE: This class has been rescheduled to its rain date, May 10, due to inclement weather forecasted on its originally scheduled date, May 3.  Registration remains OPEN.

Capture the active life of the city and its rich architecture. This is an excellent workshop for anyone who wants to learn to sketch on the bus or train, in cafés and public parks, or while traveling abroad. Topics include perspective, gauging proportions by eye, gesture figure drawing, and methods for simplifying form. All levels welcome.     

Learning Objectives 

Students will learn: 

• Gesture figure drawing methods 

• Basic perspective as applied to architecture 

• Simplification of complex subjects   

*Rain Date: May 10. Please reserve the rain date in your schedule when registering – no refunds for withdrawals less than one week prior to the original workshop date, including for students unable to attend the postponed date. See policy guide, below.   

Image: Cynthia Heininger [CE Student], Logan Square.

Registration still open!

Materials List

Winter/Spring 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Saturdays, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.
Instructor: David Wilson
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit Only
No class on May 24 (Memorial Day Weekend)

Painting the human form from observation is one of the cornerstones of PAFA's long tradition of rigorous instruction. Working from the nude model in poses of varying lengths, investigate color mixing, proportion, and composition using oil paint as a medium. Focusing on alla prima painting techniques and a limited flesh-tone palette, learn to model the human form through gesture, shape, volume, and temperature – excellent for painted sketches and preparatory studies, foundations for extended work, or an introduction/refresher to figure painting. Intended for all skill levels, this course also offers the valuable opportunity for more advanced students to continue to hone their skills to deepen their understanding of the language of painting.  Instruction will be geared toward oil, but students may draw-only, or use other appropriate media, if they wish. Note: Tuition includes a $35 models fee.

For continued or alternative study, see also Figure Painting: The Extended Pose with the same instructor.  Students enrolling in one class need not enroll in the other, and Alla Prima and the Limited Palette is not required for The Extended Pose.

Register by: May 9 
Materials List 
Summer 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Saturdays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Instructor: Steve Nocella
Ten-Week Course (30 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)
No class on July 5 (Independence Day Weekend)

Explore the possibilities of stone carving by using traditional and nontraditional methods. All processes from rough carving to polishing will be covered, and various tools and techniques will be demonstrated. Open to all levels. Note: Tuition includes $30 lab fee.

Learning Objectives

• Develop proficiency in basic tool use including manual carving, pneumatic carving, sawing, grinding, and sanding.

• Learn the methods of stone carving beginning with "roughing out" a form and finishing with sanding and polishing.

• Develop a perceptual ability for spatial relationships of the elements that constitute a sculpture or a three-dimensional image.

• Learn to use creative and critical thinking in the process of carving sculpture.

• Gain an appreciation for the influence and informing effect that medium and process have on image making.

• Acquire an introductory understanding of the history of stone carving and the capacity to conceptualize context for the student's sculpture.

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $625 (including lab fee). Select credit option with price adjustment when registering.

Register by: May 24
Materials List
Summer 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Saturdays, 1 – 4 p.m.
Instructor: Steve Nocella
Ten-Week Course (30 Hours)
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)
No class on July 5 (Independence Day Weekend)

This ten-week course teaches the basic skills needed for making metal sculpture. Learn fundamental methods of cutting, bending and welding metal such as sawing, heating, and MIG welding. Students will be encouraged to explore the medium with directness and spontaneity to gain a knowledge and understanding of its complexion. Open to all levels. Note: Tuition includes a $65 lab fee.

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $660 (including lab fee). Select credit option with price adjustment when registering.

Register by: May 24
Materials List
Summer 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Instructor: James Toogood
Weekend Workshop
Credit: Non-Credit Only

Interested in learning or improving your watercolor painting 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.

Register by: May 30 
Materials List 
Summer CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Instructor: Colleen O'Donnell
Weekend Workshop
Credit: Non-Credit Only

Learn the techniques and tools of figure sculpture through demonstration and hands-on sculpting from the model. Explore anatomy, proportion, gesture, and design through the versatility of clay. Personal expression will be emphasized thoughrepresentational and abstract approaches. Open to all levels and perfect for beginners.Tuition includes a $35 models fee.

Image: Colleen O'Donnell.

Register by: June 20
Materials List 
Summer CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Saturdays, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. 
Instructor: David Wilson 
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours) 
Credit: Non-Credit Only

Paint from a life model in a multi-week-pose format 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.

For preparatory or alternative study, see also Figure Painting: Alla Prima and the Limited Palette with the same instructor.  Students enrolling in one class need not enroll in the other, and Alla Prima and the Limited Palette is not required for The Extended Pose.

Register by: July 3
Materials List
Summer 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Instructor: Roger Chavez
Weekend Workshop 
Credit: Non-Credit Only

Explore past techniques to inspire new ways of drawing​! Experiment with silverpoint, chalk, and conté on a variety of historical surfaces: a beautiful and easy-to-erase silverpoint surface (tafelleten); a receptive pastel surface made from volcanic ash; and a versatile ground of acrylic gesso with calcium carbonate treatment for a variety of media.  Take part in surface preparations to better understand and employ their properties, and then use them to draw from traditional subject matter such as still lifes, antique casts, and the nude figure.  Perfect for draftspeople interested in expanding their craft and anyone with a fascination for historical practices.  Tuition includes a $10 models fee.  Additionally, students should come prepared to purchase materials necessary to make the various surfaces directly from the instructor, approximately $10.

Image: Roger Chavez, Untitled Still Life #D1, 2010, traditional gesso on rag paper, 11 x 15 in.

Register by: July 13
Materials List - Coming Soon
Summer 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies