Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. (Rain Dates: May 3 – 4*)
Instructor: Joseph Sweeney
Weekend Workshop
Credit: Non-Credit Only

Paint on location on the grounds of beautiful Ridgeland Mansion, the historic 18th century Federal-style house located in west Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. Landscape painting topics will include color mixing to achieve a sense of light and air, capturing time of day, compositional fundamentals, and sound painting practices for oil, acrylic, or pastel painting. Students are responsible for their own transportation. 

* Rain Dates: May 3 - 4. Please reserve the rain dates 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.   

Register by: April 18
Materials List
Winter/Spring 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies

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

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.

Register by: April 25
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)

Register by April 21 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDSUMMER2025 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. (Discount applies to CE regular adult Summer Session 1 and 2 classes and workshops only. Summer Studio/Critique Program or other studio rental programs, certificate registration, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.)

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.

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

Sundays, 3 – 4 p.m. (Interactive asynchronous Canvas content supported by weekly Zoom meetings)
Instructor: Al Gury
Six-Week Condensed Course (30-Hour Equivalent)
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)
No class on May 25 (Memorial Day Weekend)

Register by April 21 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDSUMMER2025 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. (Discount applies to CE regular adult Summer Session 1 and 2 classes and workshops only. Summer Studio/Critique Program or other studio rental programs, certificate registration, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.)

This six-session class is a visually rich, hands-on, and informative presentation of the working methods, color, materials, and techniques of six great eras of painting. Topics for examination will include Spanish and Dutch painters such as Velasquez and Rembrandt, great Impressionist painters like Manet and Pissarro, the painters of Montmartre such as Matisse and Picasso, the early expressionist painters like Kandinsky and Soutine, and the great abstract painters of the 20th century. Each week will include video demonstrations of master painting methods, lessons in visual art history, and a Q&A Zoom review session of materials and methods for all painting approaches. Students will complete weekly projects to create paintings using the approaches and aesthetics of each of the six great eras of painting, which will be critiqued and commented on by the instructor on the online platform Canvas, with a learning goal of enriching each student’s confidence, knowledge, and skills as they acquire tools for their own art-making practice. Open to all media and levels of experience.

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $595. Select credit option with price adjustment when registering. 

Register by: May 12
Materials List
Summer 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies 
Information for PAFA CE Online Courses

Sundays, 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. (Interactive asynchronous Canvas content supported by weekly Zoom meetings)
Instructor: Al Gury
Six-Week Condensed Course (30-Hour Equivalent)
Credit: Non-Credit or 1.0 Undergraduate Credit (See Below)
No class on May 25 (Memorial Day Weekend)

Register by April 21 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDSUMMER2025 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off.  (Discount applies to CE regular adult Summer Session 1 and 2 classes and workshops only. Summer Studio/Critique Program or other studio rental programs, certificate registration, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.)

Improve your skills and understanding of drawingthe human figure and portrait! This fascinating and informative class will address the materials for drawing; the structure of the human body; how to understand the shapes, volumes, and anatomy of the figure; descriptions of the bone and muscular structures; and traditionalfigure drawing materials and techniques. Topics of study will include the visual history of drawing people, master techniques, and styles and expression in drawing the figure. Instruction will address techniques for gesture drawing, achievingrealisticproportions, defining form through line and shading,drawing the portrait, and tackling hands and feet. Each class will include Q&A, problem solving, presentations of drawing approaches to anatomy, and video demonstrations by the instructor. Students will be assigned weekly projects which the instructor will critique and comment on via the online learning platform Canvas. Excellent for both beginners and experienced artists.

Optional: This course is available for 1.0 undergraduate credit for $595. Select credit option with price adjustment when registering. 

Register by: May 12
Materials List
Summer 2025 CE Policy Guide, including withdrawal/refund policies 
Information for PAFA CE Online Courses

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)

Register by April 21 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDSUMMER2025 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. (Discount applies to CE regular adult Summer Session 1 and 2 classes and workshops only. Summer Studio/Critique Program or other studio rental programs, certificate registration, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.)

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, 1:00 – 4:00 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)

Register by April 21 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDSUMMER2025 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. (Discount applies to CE regular adult Summer Session 1 and 2 classes and workshops only. Summer Studio/Critique Program or other studio rental programs, certificate registration, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.)

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

Register by April 21 for a 10% Early Bird Discount! Enter promo code EARLYBIRDSUMMER2025 at checkout (and click “+” to add the discount). PAFA members at the Friend level and above receive an additional 10% off. (Discount applies to CE regular adult Summer Session 1 and 2 classes and workshops only. Summer Studio/Critique Program or other studio rental programs, certificate registration, gift certificates, membership purchases, and lockers are ineligible.)

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