Work independently in the drawing medium of your choice! This monitored studio is designed to give students the opportunity to work from live nude models without instruction, allowing you time to explore and experiment. Just as any life drawing session the poses will range from short gestures gradually building to longer poses at the end. This is an extraordinary opportunity for you to develop and extend your drawing skills. No class 1/19, 2/16.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Leslie Bowen, Monitor
Cost: $390
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

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

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

Instead of getting caught up in tiny details, we focus on making big, bold strokes with large, juicy brushes. By loading our brushes with a generous amount of water and pigment, we can let the colors mingle and flow across the paper in exciting and unpredictable ways. It’s a messy, joyful experience that helps students overcome the fear of a blank page and discover the unique magic of watercolor as a medium. This approach encourages a playful mindset and results in vibrant, expressive paintings that are full of life and movement.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Paulette Staley
Cost: $240
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

This class with instruction by Alice Meyer Wallace will focus on classic watercolor techniques from master artists such as Sargeant, Homer, Rodin, Nolde, and particularly Charles Demuth, from Lancaster, PA. Come enjoy this fun and relaxed class! The class will work predominantly from still life but on occasion, the instructor will lead the class in painting from the model (2 times) and there will be an option of experimenting with watercolor and collage.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Alice Meyer-Wallace
Cost: $530
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

Working from your own reference material, we will spend each week focusing on a particular aspect of landscape painting. Individual techniques will be taught each session in a supportive atmosphere. Syllabus will be provided. Please bring painting materials to the first class. All mediums welcomed.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Bonnie Mettler
Cost: $570
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 with instruction by Alice Meyer Wallace will focus on classic watercolor techniques, including those used by master artists such as Sargeant, Homer, Rodin, Nolde, and particularly Charles Demuth, from Lancaster, PA. Come enjoy this fun and relaxed class! The class will work predominantly from still life but on occasion, the instructor will lead the class in painting from the model (2 times) and there will be an option of experimenting with watercolor and collage.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Alice Meyer-Wallace
Cost: $400
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

I welcome you to join me on this watercolor adventure as we explore the loose and juicy nature of watercolor. Lots of water and lots of pigment will be our objective as we paint a variety of subjects including, but not limited to, landscapes, marine scenes and even flowers using the intrinsic and magical qualities of the watercolor medium.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Mick McAndrews
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Watercolor is a versatile medium, which can be both transparent and opaque. Using a variety of subject matter, some techniques explored will be drawing for watercolor, painting without drawing, wet-in-wet watercolor, glazing with watercolor washes, the use of gouache and other aqueous media with watercolor. The instructor will start each class with a demonstration or an explanation of the technique for the day. Students will be encouraged to work in their own personal style. Each class will end with a group critique with the emphasis on constructive criticism.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Wendy Scheirer
Cost: $200
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

Enrich your knowledge of painting with an in-depth look at watercolor. Thoroughly investigate a wide range of watercolor materials and techniques from your choice of landscape, still life, portrait, and figure subjects. The course is designed to equip each participant with the knowledge and skills necessary to make accomplished, personally rewarding watercolor paintings. Open to watercolorists of all levels and to acrylic/oil painters looking to broaden their skills.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: James Toogood
Cost: $675
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

Enrich your knowledge of painting with an in-depth look at watercolor. Thoroughly investigate a wide range of watercolor materials and techniques from your choice of landscape, still life, portrait, and figure subjects. The course is designed to equip each participant with the knowledge and skills necessary to make accomplished, personally rewarding watercolor paintings. Open to watercolorists of all levels and to acrylic/oil painters looking to broaden their skills.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: James Toogood
Cost: $675
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

This workshop focuses on discovering your unique abstract voice. Through a series of small paintings created on the first day, you'll begin to recognize the development of your authentic expression and how it distinguishes you from other artists. These initial works may also reveal insights into how adjusting your approach to using visual language can more powerfully express your abstract voice. The second day features group discussion exploring how artistic inspiration shapes color and composition differently for each artist, followed by individual consultations on integrating the workshop's insights into your personal practice. For artists with some painting experience and artists with a lot of painting experience.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Marianne Mitchell
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

I invite you to join me as we explore the excitement and drama of interior scenes in watercolor. We will maximize the use of light against dark as we paint interior scenes including barns, boathouses and bars! You don’t want to miss out on this adventure!
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Mick McAndrews
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

Interested in learning or improving your watercolor 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.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: James Toogood
Cost: $225
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

Watercolor is a versatile medium, which can be both transparent and opaque. Using a variety of subject matter, some techniques explored will be drawing for watercolor, painting without drawing, wet-in-wet watercolor, glazing with watercolor washes, the use of gouache and other aqueous media with watercolor. The instructor will start each class with a demonstration or an explanation of the technique for the day. Students will be encouraged to work in their own personal style. Each class will end with a group critique with the emphasis on constructive criticism.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Wendy Scheirer
Cost: $200
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

This class will focus on the fundamentals of painting with watercolors. This class will include step-by-step instruction with demonstrations and practice. Attention and focus on individual growth at the students’ own pace will be central in this class. Learn to paint watercolors in a free, fun and fluent manner. Discover and nurture your own personal style of expression. All levels welcome.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Indira Cariappa
Cost: $200
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

This class is for students who want to deepen their understanding of watercolors and move beyond the basics. We learn advanced techniques in a progressive, step by step manner. This class is very interactive with demos and practice. The students progress at their own pace. Everyone is encouraged to discover and develop their own style. This is a fun filled class, with one-on-one attention to every student. Please bring your watercolor paper, colors, brushes and palette that you already have.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Indira Cariappa
Cost: $200
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Explore the painting techniques of the masters who pioneered the 19th and 20th century American watercolor movement, including Winslow Homer, John Singer Sargent, Edward Hopper, and Charles Demuth. Characterized by bright color and bold handling that includes accents of opaque watercolor and loose washes, work in this tradition captures subject matter with dazzling light-filled effects. Practice these classic methods and learn to incorporate them into your own artwork to achieve a greater freedom of expression as well as adaptability and control in the way that you paint. Demonstrations and art historical discussions will be combined with short and more extensive still life and self-portrait exercises. This course is appropriate for beginning and intermediate levels.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Richard Estell
Cost: $295
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

Students will strengthen core watercolor skills while learning how to paint atmospheric landscapes, convincing reflections in water, and lively streetscapes. Each week builds on the last, introducing new techniques, composition strategies, and subject challenges. Lets have fun painting in a loose, impressionistic manner by learning how to simplify and edit scenes to come up with convincing paintings using your own photographs. Hands on step-by-step guidance and instruction will be provided.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Radhika Srinivas
Cost: $240
Sponsor: Wayne Art Center
Website, email, 610-688-3553

Embody the spirit of spring with fresh and immediate painting! Learn to capture the essence of a living, botanical subject quickly and spontaneously in pencil and watercolor. This alla prima method can be used for preparatory studies for sustained paintings, compiling a field sketchbook, or as an end in itself. All levels welcome. Tuition includes a $10 materials fee to cover floral subjects.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Linda Gist
Cost: $205
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

Embrace the vibrant renewal of spring by creating a field sketchbook dedicated to the season’s first growth. This hands-on workshop invites participants to capture the earliest indicators of a new botanical cycle—delicate ferns, fleeting spring ephemerals, sprouting bulbs and flowers, and the swelling buds of trees—through lively exercises in pencil, ink, and watercolor. Learn to observe subtle changes in the landscape as expert instruction guides you through techniques for recording form, color, and texture in real time. Perfect for both budding and experienced artists, this class will nurture observational skills and creativity while deepening your connection to nature’s awakening. Leave with a good start to a beautifully illustrated sketchbook filled with your own studies of spring’s earliest wonders.
 
Location: Wayne, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Margaret Saylor
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

Clouds and trees are common and important features in landscape paintings, their masses frequently encompassing significant portions of the composition. But how does the artist imbue these elements with texture, individuality, and detail without making them appear contrived or overfussed? Examine types of cloud masses and how they may best be translated through additive and reductive methods. Explore means of mimicking organic tree forms through brush movement and how to use color and detail to suggest distance. Instruction includes painting demonstrations as well as a review of how master artists have represented these features in historic and contemporary works. Open to all levels. Demonstrations will be conducted in watercolor, but this class presents valuable information for painters of all media.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: James Toogood
Cost: $225
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

Capture the small-town beauty Manayunk's hilly streets, rowhomes, and storefronts. Learn to create a convincing sense of space, light and time of day while depicting streetscapes, trees, water and sky. Color mixing and painting techniques for oils will be demonstrated, but all drawing/painting media are welcome. Located just 15 minutes outside of Philadelphia, Manayunk offers engaging urban and riverside neighborhood subjects with parking, shade, provisions and facilities available. Note: Students are responsible for their own transportation to painting locations.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Larry Francis
Cost: $295
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

Water-based paints such as watercolor, gouache, and fluid acrylics are the perfect mediums for landscape painting in the open air! Work in your choice of these portable, fast-drying, and easy-to-clean-up alternatives to oils as you portray the beauty of spring in Philadelphia’s parks in your own personal style. Learn how to choose a composition and mix color for depth and expressive effects as you complete a series of rapid sketches and at least one sustained painting. Explore techniques for achieving transparency effects with stained gesso, working fat over lean, and rendering with ink over washes. Open to all levels. Painting locations feature shade, restrooms, and other amenities. Note: Students are responsible for their own transportation to painting locations.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Michelle Oosterbaan
Cost: $260
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

Join veteran plein air artist Joe Sweeney for a unique opportunity to paint inside one of the oldest rowing clubs in Philadelphia: the Bachelors Barge Club on Boathouse Row. Work from picturesque views of the Schuylkill River with the benefit of full access to the historic building with access to the dock, rain-/sun-sheltered porch, and amenities including restrooms. Experienced guidance will cover tactics for working efficiently outdoors, selecting a composition, color mixing, and capturing time of day and atmospheric effects. Instruction and demonstrations will be geared toward acrylic, oil, and pastel painting, but experienced watercolorists are welcome to participate. Note: Students are responsible for their own transportation to painting locations.
 
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Joseph Sweeney
Cost: $195
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

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