Filter by Category
Sunday
in CE Courses by Day/Time
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.
Watercolor in the Park (Outdoor)
with Keith Leitner

Sundays, 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Capture the colors of summer en plein air through vibrant watercolor! Become comfortable and confident with the practice of working outdoors 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, watercolor painting techniques, color mixing, and the history and capabilities of water media. All levels welcome. Note: Students are responsible for their own transportation to painting locations.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn to observe and depict landscape and cityscape en plein air with attendant materials and set up
- Learn color mixing and watercolor application techniques
- Study of pigment history and development
- Learn about watercolor history via short discussions of painters and their motifs
Image: Keith Leitner, Above Stockton, watercolor, 12 x 12 in.
Register by: June 2
Alla Prima Landscape Painting (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 direct, alla prima landscape painting. Working from photographs, masterworks, or available on-site images, learn concepts that will not only improve your landscape painting but also grow your confidence in your artistic practice. Video demonstrations, images, and written instructions on PAFA’s online learning platform, Canvas, will be supplemented by critiques and weekly Zoom discussions. Oil painting will be the primary focus, but all media as well as all levels of experience are welcome. 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.
Image: Al Gury, A Walk in the Hills, 2022, 12 x 9 in.
Register by: June 23
Composition in Drawing and Painting: Strategies for Building a Strong Design (Online)
with Al Gury

Sundays, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.
An in-depth approach to understanding and using composition by Al Gury, Professor of Painting and Drawing at PAFA, and noted author of Alla Prima, Color for Painters, and Foundations of Drawing. This class presents practical skills and strategies for making strong compositions. Composition, the arrangement of images, shapes, forms, colors, values to form visual balance and strength within the pictorial frame of an artwork, will be explored through projects using still life, interiors, portraits, and landscapes. Each class will contain explanations of the visual compositional strategies in both historic and contemporary art, and extensive tactics for problem-solving and solutions, as well as a weekly assignment and critique of personal work. Class meetings will be held on Zoom, and Canvas will be used for assignments and class content. All media and levels of experience are welcome.
Optional: This is a Condensed Course, available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $595. Select credit option when registering.
Image: Al Gury, Still Life with Landscape, 2022, 16 x 12 in.
Register by: June 23