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Continuing Education at PAFA

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Practical Perspective (Online)

$265

with Kate Samworth

Calendar Current session started Oct 14, 2025 at 1 pm, runs for 6 weeks

Tuesdays, 1 – 2 p.m. (Zoom) with Asynchronous Canvas Content 
Instructor: Kate Samworth
Six-Week Course (18-Hour Equivalent) 

Understanding the principles of one- and two-point perspective is essential to drawing and painting convincing forms in space. Master the fundamentals of this geometric system that was developed during the Renaissance and is used to this day. Instruction will break down sometimes-intimidating principles into basic concepts to provide practical methods for creating interior spaces, landscapes, and cityscapes, including elements of repeated patterns, arches, stairways, and more. Great for illustrators and artists of any media requiring a strong drawing framework. 

Image: Kate Samworth

Late registration available through October 20 (recorded content available)

Materials List

Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies  
Information for PAFA CE Online Courses

Painting + Printmaking (In-Person)

$315

with Justine Ditto

Calendar Current session started Nov 3, 2025 at 12:30 pm, runs for 6 weeks

Mondays, 12:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Instructor: Justine Ditto
Six-WeekShort Course (18 Hours) 

Painting and printmaking go hand-in-hand, not only as adjacent mediums but in combination. This freeing and instructive course presents printmaking techniques as jumping off points to making mixed media work in spirit of experimentation and personal expression. Learn how to make monotypes, drypoints, and screenprints as a foundation for incorporating your choice of graphite, colored pencil, acrylic, watercolor, oil paint, and/or collage. Content includes technical advice from an artist-instructor ideally skilled in a variety of media as well as critiques to expand your creative boundaries. This class is perfect for painters/draftspeopleseeking to expand their processes, printmakers seeking to employ painterly and mixed media techniques, and anyone with love of color and experimentation. Open to all levels – no prior printmaking or painting experience required. Tuition includes a $20 materials fee.

Image: Justine Ditto

Registration still open! 
Materials List 
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies  

The Color of Light and Shadow in Acrylics (Online)
Registration Unavailable

The Color of Light and Shadow in Acrylics (Online)

$295

with Frederic Kaplan

Mondays, 1 – 2:30 p.m. (Zoom meetings supporting majority asynchronous content)
Instructor: Frederic Kaplan 
Six-Week Condensed Course (30-Hour Equivalent) 

Exploit the unique qualities of acrylics to create paintings infused with light and rich, transparent shadows. Through a combination of online videos and illustrated lessons plus live Zoom sessions, learn how to build your paintings in layers of radiant opaque and transparent colors. A variety of acrylic painting techniques will be addressed, including the tenebrism of Baroque master Caravaggio. A rich resource of information about the wide array of acrylic painting materials is also provided. This course is appropriate for students at all levels, including beginners, but drawing experience is recommended.

Image: Fred Kaplan

Register by: October 28 

Materials List

Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies  

Information for PAFA CE Online Courses

Fast and Unfussed Oil Painting (In-Person)

$310

with Roger Chavez

Calendar Current session started Nov 4, 2025 at 9 am, runs for 6 weeks

Tuesdays, 9 a.m. - 12 p.m.
Instructor: Roger Chavez 
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours) 

Cultivate fluid mark-making and bold approaches to subject matter through rapid and loose painting studies. Tight and precise painting, especially in the early stages of an artwork, can sometimes lead to work that appears stiff and over-labored, or to locked-in compositions that are difficult to change or correct. Working from the still life, cityscapes, and the life model, utilize short, small painting exercises to learn new ways of starting paintings, keeping compositions open to adjustment, and both initiating and retaining a sense of freshness in your forms and brushstrokes. Instruction will address color mixing, painting materials and methodologies, and the importance of cultivating viablemethods for growth in your painting practice. Discover the beauty and freedom of loosening up your painting! Note: Tuition includes a $15 models fee.

Image: Roger Chavez

Register by: October 28 
Materials List 
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies  

Litho Light (In-Person)
Registration Unavailable

Litho Light (In-Person)

$315

with Kandice Fields Portalatin

Wednesdays, 12:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Instructor: Kandice Fields Portalatin
Six-Week Short Course (18 Hours) 

Explore lithography through non-toxic, easy-to-learn paper plate and polyester plate processes in this excellent entry-point printmaking class. Students will work with toner-based drawings tolearn the fundamental principles of using grease and water resistance to produce prints.Instruction will cover drawing methods using toner or Sharpie, plate processing, hand-printing, and layering techniques. Students will come away with: 

  • The demystification of lithography through simple, approachable methods 
  • Experience using sustainable alternatives to traditional stone and metal plates
  • Strengthened drawing/mark-making skills in a new medium
  • A small edition of alternative litho prints

Tuition includes a $20 lab fee.

Image: Kandice Fields Portalatin, I pick up my life and take it with me (Quilted) (detail), lithograph, 11 x 14 in.

Register by: October 29 
Materials List 
Fall 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies  

Fifteen-Week Extended Studio: Graphic Narrative and Comics, DM 203 (In-Person)

$1,400

with Deon Robinson

Calendar Next available session starts Jan 5, 2026 at 8:30 am, runs for 15 weeks

Mondays, 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM  
Instructor: Deon Robinson  
Fifteen-Week Extended Studio Course (45 Hours)
  
Note: No class on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 19, or during Spring Break, March 2 – 8. 

PAFA’s Extended Studio Courses offer fifteen-weeks of comprehensive instruction taught by PAFA's core faculty for an immersive fine arts experience. PAFA's selection of Continuing Education traditional-length and short courses will be coming soon! 

With a focus on telling stories utilizing artwork, this course explores the juxtaposition of word and image, sequentially, and other narrative tools to convey visual meaning. Participants will complete several visual narratives within a variety of formats, which may include a series of related images, a comic book, picture book, graphic novel, or other illustrated narrative. Course Modality: in-person. 

Image: Deon Robinson

Register by: January 2  
Materials will be addressed via PAFA’s Canvas online platform (if applicable) or on the first day of class.  
Please review the CE Winter/Spring Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies  
Notes: Extended Studio Courses are not eligible for PAFA membership or promotional discounts. A minimum 10% fee applies to withdrawals, including same-day – students are advised to confirm their schedules before registering. 

Fifteen-Week Extended Studio: Painting the Figure, FY 118 (In-Person)

$1,400

with Douglas Martenson

Calendar Next available session starts Jan 5, 2026 at 8:30 am, runs for 15 weeks

Mondays, 8:30 AM - 11:30 AM*  
Instructor: Douglas Martenson  
Fifteen-Week Extended Studio Course (45 – 90 Hours)
  
Note: No class on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 19, or during Spring Break, March 2 – 8.
 

PAFA’s Extended Studio Courses offer fifteen-weeks of comprehensive instruction taught by PAFA's core faculty for an immersive fine arts experience. PAFA's selection of Continuing Education traditional-length and short courses will be coming soon! 

Oil medium will be used throughout this course to produce a series of achromatic, monochromatic, limited color and full color studies of the figure in simple spatial situations. Paint application will be direct, although indirect approaches and optical color will be addressed. Particular attention will be paid to the analysis of hue, value and chroma to describe form and levels of space. Poses and environments will initially be kept simple to allow for the development of small, rapid studies. Time spent on each pose will then expand throughout the semester to explore a more complex treatment of form, color, surface, and design. 

*Optional:  This course is also available for full-day attendance (morning, 8:30 - 11:30 a.m. and afternoon, 1 - 4 p.m.) for $2,800. Select length with tuition adjustment during checkout. 

Image: Douglas Martenson 

Register by: January 2  
Materials will be addressed via PAFA’s Canvas online platform (if applicable) or on the first day of class.  
Please review the 
CE Winter/Spring Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies  
Notes:
Extended Studio Courses are not eligible for PAFA membership or promotional discounts. A minimum 10% fee applies to withdrawals, including same-day – students are advised to confirm their schedules before registering. 

Fifteen-Week Extended Studio: Indirect Painting, PT 204 (In-Person)

$1,400

with Jill A. Rupinski

Calendar Next available session starts Jan 5, 2026 at 1 pm, runs for 15 weeks

Mondays, 1:00 PM - 4:00 PM  
Instructor: Jill A. Rupinski  
Fifteen-Week Extended Studio Course (45 Hours)  
Note: No class on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 19, or during Spring Break, March 2 – 8. 

PAFA’s Extended Studio Courses offer fifteen-weeks of comprehensive instruction taught by PAFA's core faculty for an immersive fine arts experience. PAFA's selection of Continuing Education traditional-length and short courses will be coming soon! 

The Indirect painting process is a slow and disciplined way of working that exploits the versatile characteristics of oil paint. This course is designed to give the artist a structure to manipulate the full range of oil paint with underpainting and glazing. Students will be given guidelines in oil painting and oil medium characteristics to aid in decisions for a successful outcome in their painting. Hands-on approaches to various substrates, and grounds will set the foundation for paintings choices. Drawing, transferring, underpainting and pigment choices will be outlined in a step-by-step process. The PAFA collection will provide a range of opportunities to study from,however the final project will be open in subject matter. Course Modality: in-person. 

Image: Jill A. Rupinski 

Register by: January 2  
Materials will be addressed via PAFA’s Canvas online platform (if applicable) or on the first day of class.  
Please review the 
CE Winter/Spring Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies  
Notes:
Extended Studio Courses are not eligible for PAFA membership or promotional discounts. A minimum 10% fee applies to withdrawals, including same-day – students are advised to confirm their schedules before registering. 





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