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The Complete Portrait: Drawing and Anatomy (In-Person)
with Roberto Osti
Tuesdays, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Many artists consider the head and face to be the most challenging yet rewarding parts of the human form to draw or paint. Gain confidence in your ability to render the portrait by drawing from both PAFA’s historic casts and models with noted artist and author Roberto Osti. Learn the fundamental structural, anatomical, and proportional elements necessary to create structurally-correct, accurate, and life-like portraits. Practice a variety of time-honored drawing techniques, including graphite and charcoal on white paper, charcoal and chalk on toned paper, reduction techniques, and more. Topics will include the basic proportions and volumes of head and neck, the muscles, correct positioning of the facial features, the planes of the head, the skull structure, measuring techniques, line drawing, and tonal rendering.
This intensive morning and afternoon course will start each session with a one-hour demonstration, covering the structure anatomy and physiognomic aspects of the head and neck. Students will then apply this anatomy knowledge toward drawing the portrait – first from renowned portrait busts in PAFA’s beautiful, natural-light-filled Historic Cast Hall, then from life, from a diverse array of models. Instruction will include homework exercises for further practice, using photographic references and Master drawings to study the theoretical and practical aspects of the subject and a variety of techniques. This course is perfect for artists of all levels interested in mastering this fascinating subject. Note: Course tuition includes a $50 models fee.
Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $745 (including model fee). Select credit option when registering.
Image: Roberto Osti, Portrait of Megan, colored pencil on toned paper.
Register by: May 9
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.
Foundry: An Introduction (In-Person)
with Morgan Dummitt
Tuesdays, 1 - 5 p.m.
This course will cover all aspects of the foundry process. Demonstrations and hands-on instruction will be given in wax modeling and casting, ceramic shell techniques, bronze pouring, metal chasing, TIG welding and patination. All levels welcome. Note: Tuition includes a $65 lab fee.
Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $840 (including lab fee). Select credit option when registering.
Image: Morgan Dummitt, Wayfarers (detail), 2015, bronze, 17 x 19 x 41 in.
Register by: May 19
Figure Modeling (In-Person)
with Morgan Dummitt
Tuesdays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Note: This course was originally scheduled for May 30 but has been postponed by one week to begin on June 6. Registration is open.
Sculpting from the life model is the foundational skill of traditional sculpture. Learn to model the 24-inch full figure in clay, from armature construction to finished sculpture. Topics of study will include proportion, gesture, and simplified sculptural form. All levels are welcome. Note: Tuition includes a $50 models fee.
Learning Objectives
- Learn to focus on large, simple shapes
- Gain a basic understanding of the major forms and rhythms of the figure and portrait
- Understand the building blocks of artistic anatomy
- Consider the goals of a study versus a finished sculpture
Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $645 (including model fee). Select credit option when registering.
Note: No class on Tuesday, July 4, for Independence Day.
Image: Morgan Dummitt, Brittany.
Register by: Registration Still Open!
The Pennsylvania Landscape Tradition Intensive (Outdoor)
with Joseph Sweeney
Tuesday - Friday, 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.*
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.
* No class on Monday, June 19, for Juneteenth holiday.
Image: Joseph Sweeney.
Register by: June 9
The Painter's Palate: Food Still Life Painting in Oil and Acrylic (Online)
with Susan Sullivan
Thursdays, 6 – 8 p.m.
Whet your appetite for painting by whipping up small food studies in oil or acrylic! Transform garden bounty, bakery confections, or lunchtime leftovers into masterpieces worthy of hanging in a kitchen or gallery. Alla prima still life painting is an excellent way to hone your color mixing and paint handling skills, and food is the perfect subject to capture form, light, color, and texture rapidly and expressively. Discussion and demonstration will cover tactics for setting up your composition, mixing color, and exploring paint application techniques for oil and acrylic; conversation is free to include food memories, recipes, and recommendations. Examine food paintings from historical and contemporary artists for inspiration and admiration. Combine palette and palate to create compositional concoctions that are personal, whimsical, or visually delectable. Instruction is geared toward oil or acrylic painting, but students may work in their drawing/painting media of choice. All levels are welcome.
Image: Allison Syvertsen, Ruins, oil on paper mounted on panel, 8 x 8 in.
Register by: June 23
The Portrait in Oil (In-Person)
with Roberto Osti
Tuesdays, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Paint portraits from a variety of models using the direct painting method. Examine the proportions and volumes of the head, as well as the placement, structure, and characteristics of the facial features, through preliminary drawings and demonstrations. Develop color using a limited palette to understand how to use chroma, temperature, value, tint, and tone. Instruction will address materials, composition, paint handling, and color mixing, blending, and theory. Homework assignments working from photos, Masterworks, or oneself/others will encourage students to learn to make personal aesthetic and technical choices and to practice concepts addressed in class. Open to all levels, this course is excellent for beginners as well as experienced students who want to review fundamental techniques or who simply enjoy painting portraits from life. Note: Course tuition includes a $50 model fee.
Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $745 (including model fee). Select credit option when registering.
Image: Roberto Osti, Portrait of Max, limited palette, oil on board.
Register by: June 23