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.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Douglas Martenson
Cost: $1,400
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

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.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Jill A. Rupinski
Cost: $1,400
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

This course offers a survey of illustration in both function and practical application. Students will learn to analyze and visually interpret written source material while exploring a variety of ideation methods and experimenting with techniques combining traditional and digital media. Key projects will include illustrations for editorials, advertising, product packaging, picture books, and lifestyle applications. Students not pursuing a focus in illustration but interested in visual communication are encouraged to join this class.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Deon Robinson
Cost: $1,400
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

This course will provide hands-on experience using traditional dry media, such as graphite, colored pencils, chalk, and pastel, through water-soluble materials, such as watercolor, gouache and ink. There will be ample presentation, lecture, and demonstration of the wet/dry media techniques. Students will be guided in working from personal sketches, paintings, photography, and from recognized artworks as well as from observation. Students will be expected to provide basic materials that they already have and most paper. To ensure that all students can experience the various processes, the instructor will provide any materials that individual students do not have. Issues of form, spatial concepts, color, visual and critical thinking will be addressed through individual and group critiques.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Jill A. Rupinski
Cost: $1,400
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

A comprehensive examination of the history, theories, and practices of color in painting. This hands-on course focuses on the practical understanding and application of how to use color. Included are an overview of color history in painting and how it has evolved to the present, a survey of the major theories and their practical applications in art making, a hands-on study of the most useful color charts, gradations and mixing, studio exercises implementing the use of color aesthetics and practices in artmaking and visits to the PAFA museum to study and analyze color in masterworks. Projects include color in figures, portraits, landscapes, self-portraits, glazing, color expression and color in abstraction. Open to all media and levels of experience.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Al Gury
Cost: $1,400
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

Figure Modeling is a comprehensive figure modeling course for first year students. The class will focus on geometry, anatomy, and proportion, as well as the crucial elements of gesture, rhythm, spontaneity, and spirit of form making. Students will be encouraged to work in a variety of sizes. Outside projects should be expected. Independent study and experimentation are always encouraged. Broader topics/discussions, such as the nature, history and philosophy of figurative art will also be discussed.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: John Horn
Cost: $1,400
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

Open Studio is a comprehensive clay figure modeling class. The class will continue the study of the figure, with a focus on anatomy and proportion, but will also emphasize the crucial elements of gesture and rhythm, spontaneity, and spirit. Students will be encouraged to work in a variety of sizes and outside projects should be expected. Independent study and experimentation are always encouraged. Issues concerning advanced students will be discussed on an individual basis. Broader topics/discussions, such as the nature and philosophy of art and the artist will also be introduced.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: John Horn
Cost: $1,400
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

Students will learn the structure of the portrait, the history of historic and contemporary portraiture, methods and materials of portraiture, and will be encouraged to develop a personal point of view in portrait painting. Issues of form, spatial concepts, color, andvisual and critical thinking will be addressed. Individual and group critiques will be conducted.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Douglas Martenson
Cost: $1,400
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

This course places the world’s major art movements in their cultural contexts, analyzing relationships between art, religion, culture, geography, and global pathways.  The course also explores issues in the world of art today, identifies themes and iconography used in art, and introduces stylistic analysis.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Tony Rosati
Cost: $2,800
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

This class is an opportunity for the student to develop three complex works of escalating ambition. As has often been said, “all art comes from other art” in the sense that artmaking is a culture in continuous negotiation with present needs and precedent. Students will develop a small group of imaginative peers from the labyrinth of painting history to consult and debate in the development of three works. The resulting pictures may include the production of studies, copies, collages, and any other kind of visual fodder to develop ambitious compositions that will explore the overlapping terrains of abstraction and figuration.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Peter Van Dyck
Cost: $1,400
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

During this two-day intermediate color class, students will learn how to skillfully mix oil paint through guided mixing exercises and discover how to better apply these ideas to their own paintings. We will work with a variety of palettes and explore how each one can influence color relationships and expression in a painting. Through hands-on exercises, demos, and lectures, color will become easier to use, understand, and enjoy. Please come prepared with the specific items on the supply list or your regular supplies. Bring a variety of surfaces to work on (small to medium surfaces), and photo references—any subject matter.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Claudia Rilling
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

This class focuses on understanding the many expressive ways of starting and finishing a painting in wet paint. Students will learn the excitement of starting with washes of bright transparent colors and building towards opaque color passages. Throughout the course, we will address several fundamental challenges that painters commonly encounter. These include exploration of composition, focusing on how shapes are arranged within the painting and the various ways in which you can manipulate them to enhance your artwork. We will also examine the importance of value, specifically the relationship between light and dark areas, and discuss strategies for linking these values effectively. Additionally, the course will delve into essential color concepts, providing a foundation for making informed color choices in your paintings.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Fred Jackson
Cost: $480
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Working from still life set-ups, learn the various techniques of aqueous media used for creating light, structure, texture, transparency and opacity. While the focus of the class is water-based acrylics, students are welcome to work in pastels or oil if they prefer. Instructor demonstrations and group discussion, as well as individual attention, provided during each class session.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Joeseph Sweeney
Cost: $480
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

This course will focus on issues of, composition, color, texture, measure, likeness, proportion, with special attention given to technical painting issues, like, how to translate skin’s complex surface characteristics in paint. Demonstrations of a layered painting technique to bring out the full depth and richness of color in our portraits will be presented and discussed. Portraits often reveal a variety of qualities of the sitter, like social class, age, beauty, occupation, etc. The class will include demonstrations, discussions of masterworks, both traditional and contemporary, and thoughtful feedback on work. This course is open to all skill levels, from beginners to advanced, encouraging all participants to deepen their knowledge of portraiture through the process of painting.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Ernie Norcia
Cost: $555
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

The convincing depiction of form in three-dimensional space is one of the great conceptual breakthroughs in Western art initiated during the Renaissance. Drawing What You See will begin by drawing items from still life on toned paper. How do you begin a drawing, and when do you stop? We will explore physical viewpoint, composition and the rendering of light and shadow to create mood and feeling. The goal is to build a drawing vocabulary that communicates your thoughts and feelings. The class will include demonstrations, discussions of masterworks (traditional and contemporary) and thoughtful feedback on class work. The drawing participants will discover this to be a valuable resource for more advanced work in drawing and painting.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Ernie Norcia
Cost: $480
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Students learn basic techniques and mechanics of oil painting to help guide them from inspiration to expression. Working from still-life set-ups, students build paintings as they consider the relationship of objects within a composition, as well as the overall picture including color, hue, and intensity.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Michael Doyle
Cost: $480
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Take your work to the next level under the mentoring guidance of artist/critic Kassem Amoudi. In this live focused open studio environment, all levels of students will discover how to enhance their own visual language and interests exploring new ways of painting. Expert instruction and advice from the instructor will push students to explore new possibilities and work more intuitively, allowing unplanned marks and passages to become artistic breakthroughs. Examples from contemporary and modern art will be examined to promote a broader understanding of the abstract qualities of space, line and color. Advance beyond confined lines and hard edges to a more liberated way of painting. It does not matter What you paint. It is the How you paint it.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Kassem Amoudi
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Students will explore a wide range of materials, techniques, tools and compositional strategies to create richly layered abstract mixed media art. Each weekly class will include a clear teaching element, live demonstrations, and thoughtfully prepared handouts to reinforce concepts and spark ideas. Students will receive practical advice, creative prompts, and individualized guidance. Students will explore essential topics such as mark-making, texture, layering, contrast, intuitive composition, adding and subtracting, similar but different, balance, and focal points. The course encourages experimentation with tools like brushes, palette knives, color shapers, and unconventional materials. Participants will develop and refine at least one large cohesive abstract collage artwork, while also creating smaller exploratory pieces throughout the course as part of learning new techniques and materials.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Birgit Raders-Eichinger
Cost: $575
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

This 12-week course is for beginners who want to explore drawing and oil painting, and for more experienced artists who want to improve their artistic skills. Using still-life compositions, students will learn about form, space, design, value, and color through working observationally. In addition, the instructor will introduce a variety of artists who are representative of the lessons provided and conduct in-process and final critiques for a helpful synopsis of the student’s progress and ideas. The class will be broken up into two weeks of drawing and four weeks of painting, but the student is open to work in any medium if they prefer.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Annie Gardner
Cost: $480
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Whether it is portrait, still life, landscape or abstracts, the presence of light against shadow gives the subject form and dimension. Bring your own inspiration to class and with this principle in mind, watch your paintings come to life! Composition and color mixing will be a focus in this class. All mediums and skill levels are welcome!
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Stefanie Lieberman
Cost: $575
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Through demos, lectures and personal instruction you will paint from life using your own personal still life set ups. Common problems such as composition, subject matter, lighting, color mixing and material choices will be covered.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Jon Redmond
Cost: $575
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Students create fresh and dynamic paintings using simple everyday objects in thoughtful, well-lit compositions. Through hands-on instruction, demos, and examining the work of master and contemporary painters, students begin with an indirect painting approach and proceed in clear stages. The course covers the key ingredients of great painting, including composition, paint handling, edges, value and color relationships, and modeling form. Students will develop a solid and dependable approach to painting, providing a strong foundation upon which to build. Students are encouraged to bring meaningful objects or subject matter that inspires, excites, or tells a story. This class will benefit students of all levels.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Sharon Henderson
Cost: $480
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

In this class, we’ll use our own photographs- any references with clothed figures or a portrait- as a starting point for creating figurative paintings. Students will learn how to choose clear reference images, understand form and proportion, and build a strong composition. We’ll focus on value, color, and light to help you turn a photo into a successful painting. You may work from older or more recent contemporary images. This class is for intermediate to advanced painters who are comfortable with their materials and looking to develop their skills. All mediums are welcome; the instructor works in oil.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Claudia Rilling
Cost: $575
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

In this class, our main focus will be on the study of form in a spatial context, and, we will use observational approaches in the construction of our images. We will begin by drawing the figure on toned paper. Our drawing tools will be charcoal and white chalk. We will explore physical viewpoint, effective composition and effective rendering of light and shadow to shape our expression and create a unified pictorial image. The goal is to encourage a sensitive approach to handling a wide range of values, in tandem with a variety of lines and edges. The class will include demonstrations, discussions of masterworks, both traditional and contemporary, and thoughtful feedback on work.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Ernie Norcia
Cost: $655
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Students explore all aspects of working with oils, with a strong emphasis on composition, color mixing and various painting techniques. Individual instruction provided in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. Ideal for beginners as well as more experienced artists.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Stefanie Lieberman
Cost: $575
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Using your own inspiration e.g., photos, tablets, still life objects etc., you will learn different techniques to give your paintings life and energy. Composition, value, color mixing and technique will be the main focuses of this class. All mediums and skill levels are welcome!
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Stefanie Lieberman
Cost: $575
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

This class will explore the essential relationships of shape, proportion, and value within the condition of light bathing subject matter. The painterly medium of charcoal contributes significantly to understanding the practice of building a painting. Drawing in line and moving to masses, students strive to draw fluidly with concentration on value and proportion, identifying a process that is particularly suited for training painters. The course begins with shorter exercises, as detail-oriented seeing emerges in still life drawing after students learn to prioritize the order of the masses.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Sharon Henderson
Cost: $480
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

This course is designed to create paintings that we will build from a loose, underpainting and refine as we go along. This class is ideal for those painters who want to break out of the habit of focusing in on details and let the paint create a more expressive piece. Attention will be paid to composition, color mixing, paint application and technique. All skill levels welcome in a fun and relaxing atmosphere!
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Stefanie Lieberman
Cost: $575
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Uncovering the connection between your identity and your artwork can be both liberating and inspiring. In this class, we will explore methods designed to help you discover and develop your unique aesthetic and artistic voice. Our focus will be on paint handling, color selection, and composition. You will learn to manage your palette, make intentional color choices, and understand their impact on your work. Play will be encouraged! Music will serve as our muse, providing inspiration as you select your subject matter with guided support. This journey encourages mindfulness and self-discovery, and connects us more deeply with the world around us and ourselves. All skill levels are welcome and valued in this class.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Heidi Techner
Cost: $575
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Discover the joy of painting with the natural world as inspiration. In this gentle, exploratory class, students of all levels are invited to slow down, observe, and draw inspiration from the colors, textures, and rhythms of nature. Using flowers, trees, landscapes, and seasonal changes as starting points, we’ll experiment with playful techniques and creative prompts that spark imagination and personal expression. Rather than striving for perfect results, this course celebrates process over product...finding peace, presence, and delight in the act of painting itself. Along the way, you’ll cultivate a deeper connection to both nature and your own creativity. No prior painting experience is needed—just curiosity, openness, and a willingness to explore.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Heidi Techner
Cost: $480
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

This 6-week course is for beginners who want to explore drawing, and for more experienced artists who want to improve their artistic skills. Using still-life compositions, students will learn about form, space, design, and value through working observationally. In addition, the instructor will introduce a variety of artists who are representative of the lessons provided and conduct in-process and final critiques for a helpful synopsis of the student’s progress and ideas.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Annie Gardner
Cost: $240
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Workshop participants will begin by learning to handle watercolor materials: papers, paints, brushes, palettes, and more. From the bold application of washes to fine detail, we’ll explore specifics: how to begin a watercolor and how to conclude a work, wet-in-wet to dry-brush, what to put in and what to leave out. The skillful use of the elements of composition and the simplification of form will provide a means to achieving dynamic results. We’ll also explore ways of creating a sense of light and mood in a watercolor, through the use of structured tone. Class members will be encouraged to work from still-life, and photos to start. Further development in the watercolor medium will be determined by each participant's interest.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Ernie Norcia
Cost: $240
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

PAFA’s breathtaking Cast Hall is available for students to work from copies of Greco-Roman and Renaissance sculpture, including the Winged Victory, the Venus de Milo, and the staggering life-size Michelangelo’s David, among other notable works. Cast Drawing was one of the first courses established in the founding of the Academy and has remained a core part of PAFA’s fine arts curriculum for over 200 years. Become a part of this long and rich artistic tradition as you learn to draw accurately from observation, explore line and shape, describe form through light and shadow, and gain an appreciation for some of history’s most beautiful sculptural artworks. This course is an excellent introduction to drawing techniques and materials and is appropriate to all levels.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Phyllis Laver
Cost: $295
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

If you’ve never drawn before, or your skills are a little rusty, then this class is for you! Learn to draw what you see with confidence. Work from simple forms, still life arrangements, and interior and exterior spaces to master the drawing elements: shape, contour line, composition, light and dark, texture and perspective. Instruction will guide students through sight-drawing and measuring techniques, use of materials, gauging value, and ways of defining form and space. This course is excellent as a foundation for future study, as a precursor to more advanced drawing study or to painting and other disciplines.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Phyllis Laver
Cost: $295
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

Students study composition, perspective and shading as they gain exposure to a variety of mediums including graduated pencils, charcoal, pastels, watercolor and acrylic paints. Drawing from still life set-ups, painting in the garden 'plein air' style and self-portraiture are just some of the techniques that may be introduced during this drawing and painting class. This is a 10-week, 1.5 hour, after school class.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Carolyn Kline-Coyle
Cost: $280
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Join architect and furniture maker Mira Nakashima, horticulturalist Przemek Walczak and tile maker Katia McGuirk as they discuss their unique experiences in the world of functional craft. Mira Nakashima, creative director of Nakashima Woodworkers, continues to produce her father’s classic furniture designs while also producing her own unique pieces. Horticulturist and metalworker Przemek Walczak shares how Chanticleer's gardeners craft functional art: benches, gates, trellises and other metalwork elements designed specifically for their garden settings. Executive Director of the TileWorks of Bucks County, Katia McGuirk, who formed a not for profit to steward The Moravian Pottery and Tile Works in Doylestown, PA will share Moravian tiles and talk about the ethos & philosophy behind their making.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

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. 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.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: David Wilson
Cost: $330
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

In this course, children discover new mediums and ideas in art. They begin to identify differences in art such as distinguishing between bright and light, as well as dull and dark colors, find basic shapes within larger objects, and identify types of lines, such as long/short, thick/thin, and straight/curved, then include them in their work. Enrich your child's school-based art program with a more in-depth exploration of art. Employing a wide range of mediums, including drawing and painting, printmaking, ceramics and mixed media, this is an exciting opportunity for children who are looking to take their artistic learning to the next level. This is a 10-week, 1.5 hr. Saturday class.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Susan Branco
Cost: $285
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Learn the fundamentals of drawing and painting through engaging projects in still life, landscape, portraiture and more. Students will explore essential concepts such as line, contour, form, value, color, texture, proportion, perspective and composition while developing confidence and skill. This class provides a strong foundation for artistic growth and is a perfect starting point for a lifetime of creative expression. This is a 10-week, 1.5 hr. Saturday class.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Susan Branco
Cost: $280
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

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. Content includes at least one cast study from PAFA's historic collection to improve understanding of modeling form through value. 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.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Roberto Osti
Cost: $615
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

Learn to explore new possibilities and paint more intuitively under the guidance of artist/critic/mentor Kassem Amoudi. Work from personal subject matter (objects, images, emotions, or ideas) to find your own visual language, informed by examples from contemporary and modern art. Examine how to use concepts of color, harmony, focal point, space, and mark-making as powerful tools of personal expression. Instruction is geared toward open painting time supported by critiques and advice from the instructor as he works one-on-one with students to guide them in their personal style and goals. This course is excellent for students pursuing abstract or nonobjective imagery, seeking knowledgeable feedback and a focused community painting environment. Painting experience recommended.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Kassem Amoudi
Cost: $450
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

Modeling the figure in clay is the foundational skill of traditional sculpture. Working from a model, learn to sculpt in clay from initial gesture to surface finishing techniques. Topics of study will include proportion, composition, structure, and simplified sculptural form. Students will complete two sculptures in the course of the class. All work will be fired after class. Beginners welcome. Note: Tuition includes a $65 models fee.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Morgan Dummitt
Cost: $515
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

Using oil or acrylic paints, exploit a wide range of techniques and artistic languages to transform everyday reality into expressive, symbolic, or personal statements. Base your paintings on unique studio still-life arrangements or use your own photographs as a starting point, and progress to working from a life model during the final weeks of the course. Topics discussed and demonstrated include using color as an emotive element, designing compositions to convey mood and movement, and employing energetic mark-making. For less experienced students, materials, color mixing, and basic techniques are also reviewed.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Frederic Kaplan
Cost: $450
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

Spend one day learning actionable techniques that immediately improve your paintings. Through focused, hands-on guidance you’ll learn how composition isn’t just structure—it’s storytelling. Discover how subtle suggestion, strategic placement, and smart color choices can direct the viewer’s eye, spark imagination, and deepen emotional impact. Learn practical methods for developing compelling layouts from life or imagination—capture exact references or rearrange elements to craft a stronger narrative. And explore techniques for using suggestion—hinting rather than telling—to engage viewers and invite interpretation. This workshop is for artists of any level who want to make their work more evocative, engaging, and memorable. Reserve your spot and start creating work that lingers in viewers’ minds long after they’ve looked away.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Vlad Milan Duchev
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

In this one-day workshop, you'll learn how to use color for emotional impact and scenic clarity in your landscape paintings. We will discuss how color is used to create depth, atmosphere, and mood in a painting and how the color of the sky disperses itself throughout a landscape, unifying and harmonizing everything you see. Students will work from photographs in the studio, and together we will do small painting exercises using a limited set of colors. This simplified approach is a great way to learn how to mix and use color effectively and will help you create subtle and sophisticated color worlds. Suitable for anyone excited about slowing down and mixing intentional colors. Students are welcome to work in oil, acrylic, or gouache.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Claire Haik
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Unlock your creativity through the art of sculpting with clay. Through hands-on instruction and practice, learn essential techniques such as pinching, slab-building, coil-building, and surface treatments. Explore the principles of form, texture, and composition, as well as the fundamentals of the firing process. Join us to express yourself and develop your sculpting skills in a supportive and inspiring environment -- open to both beginners and experienced artists! Tuition includes a $30 lab fee.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Matthew Courtney
Cost: $480
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

This 5-week course is for beginners who want to explore drawing, and for more experienced artists who want to improve their artistic skills. Using still-life compositions, students will learn about form, space, design, and value through working observationally. In addition, the instructor will introduce a variety of artists who are representative of the lessons provided and conduct in-process and final critiques for a helpful synopsis of the student’s progress and ideas.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Annie Gardner
Cost: $200
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

For students seeking to expand their beginning drawing skills or those new to working from the figure, this class will focus on applying drawing’s basic elements to the human form. Starting from Antique and Classical sculpture from PAFA’s cast collection and progressing to work from the life model in short and long poses, work in charcoal and graphite to explore figure-based concepts of gesture, proportions, anatomy, and expression. Instruction will cover sight-drawing and measuring techniques, use of materials, gauging value, and ways of defining form and space. This course is excellent as a foundation for future study in any discipline or for more advanced figure-based work. Note: This course includes the use of nude models.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Phyllis Laver
Cost: $330
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

At the end of the 16th century, seven Netherlandish provinces joined together to form the Dutch Republic and throughout the 17th century ushered in an era of economic prosperity and military prowess. Known as the Dutch Golden Age it also produced some of the finest paintings of the time from artists such as Frans Hals, Jan van Goyen, Salomon and Jacob van Ruysdael, and Johannes Vermeer. This talk will explore the history surrounding the formation of the Dutch Republic and look closely at works by some of its most prominent painters. The talk can be enjoyed on its own or in preparation for the upcoming talk The Art of Rembrandt on April 23rd. William Perthes is an educator, author, and curator.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: William Perthes
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

This workshop will focus on the problem of combining the genres of still-life and interior painting into a single picture. We will start by addressing the problem of finding a subject and the practical and formal problems of setting up a still life. We will discuss how to organize and simplify complex information, how to have a unified sense of light throughout the picture and how to perceive color and tone relationships. We will also cover aspects of drawing that will help in the creation of a convincing sense of space. Students are welcome to bring their own objects or work with objects on hand at the center. You can use, oil paint, acrylic paint, gouache or pastel.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Peter Van Dyck
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

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.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: David Wilson
Cost: $330
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

Unlocking Composition is a two-day immersive workshop that helps artists create stronger, more visually engaging paintings by putting theory into practice. Working from their own photos, participants will learn to break down complex scenes into simplified shapes and values. They’ll learn how to make and use focal areas that guide the viewer’s eye. On the second day, we’ll delve into understanding balance and unity to create harmony in a painting. Through lectures, demonstrations, and one-on-one- instruction, artists will learn the tools Mark uses to analyze and design a painting. By the end, artists will have practical tools and strategies to approach composition confidently and apply key principles to their own work, helping their paintings feel more cohesive and engaging.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Mark Vander Vinne
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Unity ties a painting together—think matching colors, similar brushstrokes, and overall vibe. Rhythm keeps things lively by guiding your eye with repeated shapes, lines, and energetic brushstrokes and marks. When both qualities interact, something remarkable happens: the painting becomes a seamless blend of order and vitality and true beauty emerges. This workshop is all about Unity and Rhythm, and we'll keep things hands-on with some basic techniques you can actually use. Students are encouraged to paint what they love. You can bring objects from home to build your own still life arrangements or bring photo references you like. I will provide a still life arrangement. All skill levels welcome. Work in oil, acrylic, or gouache.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Fred Jackson
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

This workshop will provide an opportunity for those interested in the palette knife and other alternative painting tools to broaden horizons and creative skills. While all mediums are invited, the workshop is particularly geared to those working in oils or acrylics. The format, while reinforcing the basic skills needed for the creation of well-balanced colorful images, is individualized to accommodate a wide variety of experience levels as well as styles of painting; and from those interested in representational to abstract imagery. This is the perfect workshop for those wishing to introduce new tools to their repertoire, better master color usage, and gain a range of techniques for applying paint.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Cynthia Rosen
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Few artists are as universally admired as Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669). With a career spanning the 17th century Dutch Golden Age, Rembrandt created intimate and probing self portraits and monumental civic works like 1642s The Night Watch. In his lifetime Rembrandt experienced both great success and devastating failures. This talk will consider the breath of Rembrandt’s work from brash early pictures to contemplative late ones. We’ll also explore the evolution of his painting technique which has been described as a kind of alchemy. The Art of Rembrandt builds on the groundwork of the talk Dutch Golden Age Painting presented on March 12th. William Perthes is an educator, author, and curator.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: William Perthes
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Given the priority of authentic light in my work, it is this element that I like to focus on during the three-day workshop. As such, we will focus on value and color temperature relationships above all else. While good drawing is paramount to our effort—since nothing spoils a painting faster than drawing errors—our time is better spent on the more difficult and crucial concepts of value and color temperature. Elements such as appropriate edges, surface texture, composition, and others will also be discussed as needed. We will be painting in oil.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Mark Boedges
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Exploring abstracts on a larger scale in the medium of your choosing, this 5-day class will push you into new territory where growth lives… only upsized, because bigger risks equal bigger rewards. You will be shown a system for developing your artistic voice, with a focus on design principles and the language of abstraction. The emphasis is on creative process, exploring new ways to develop and build paintings, create inventive compositions, and build authentic intent in your work. The class is as much a challenge for the experienced as it is for the developing artist, but it’s not for the rank beginner. Bring a sense of humor, a fearless creative spirit, and an open mind.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Larry Moore
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553