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July 7 - August 15, 2025
This six-week on-campus studio-rental program is designed for experienced visual artists and educators who desire constructive feedback on their artwork, as well as the support and interaction of an artistic community. Stimulate your personal artistic growth in your own private PAFA studio through individual weekly critiques from a stellar ensemble of nationally and internationally known artists, including members of PAFA’s acclaimed faculty, as well as discussion, group critiques, and artist studio visits. Tuition covers a private studio in PAFA's Samuel M.V. Hamilton Building, weekly critiques (one-on-one; one group critique), and additional group discussions and outings to museums and commercial galleries (scheduled per students' interests), as well as the option to earn 4.0 undergraduate credits or 3.0 graduate credits.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Cost: $1,500
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

Tuesdays, July 8 - August 12, 2025
Strengthen and hone your foundational drawing skills through a series of one- and two-day projects. Topics of concern will be design, structure of space, perspective, and light and shade. Subjects will include interior space, single objects and still life arrangements, and the life model. All levels from beginner to advanced are welcome. Tuition includes a $15 models fee.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: John Horn
Cost: $310
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

Wednesdays, July 9 - August 13, 2025
The simple pencil is an economical medium readily accessible to students at all levels, including beginners. It can produce drawings that range from poetic delicacy to energetic and bold expressiveness. Working from still life arrangements, interiors, window views, and PAFA’s cast collection, students will explore a variety of approaches for using pencil to shade and model form convincingly and with beauty. Instruction will review basic drawing principles and observational skills such as evaluating shape, gauging proportions, and employing perspective effects like foreshortening. Previous drawing experience is recommended but not required.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Frederic Kaplan
Cost: $295
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

Thursdays, July 10 - August 14, 2025
For anyone seeking to advance their portrait drawing skills, this course takes a deep look at the functional and expressive anatomy of the human head including the face, neck, and shoulders. Explore head variations and how the face changes over time. Experiment with creative questions such as handling light and composition. Content includes drawing from life and working in larger formats with a wider range of media. Instruction will lay the groundwork for creative explorations that lead to professional quality work. Note: This course is Part 2 of an optional two-part course. See Portrait Drawing: Structure and Features for foundational or alternative study. Students need not enroll in both sections, and Structure and Features is not required for Expression and Likeness.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: RA Friedman
Cost: $320
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

Saturdays, July 12 - August 16, 2025
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. For preparatory or alternative study, see also Figure Painting: Alla Prima and the Limited Palette. Note: It is not a required prerequisite for The Extended Pose.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: David Wilson
Cost: $330
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632
July 19-20, 2025
Explore past techniques to inspire new ways of drawing! Experiment with silverpoint, chalk, and conté on a variety of historical surfaces: a beautiful and easy-to-erase silverpoint surface (tafelleten); a receptive pastel surface made from volcanic ash; and a versatile ground of acrylic gesso with calcium carbonate treatment for a variety of media. Take part in surface preparations to better understand and employ their properties, and then use them to draw from traditional subject matter such as still lifes, antique casts, and the nude figure. Perfect for draftspeople interested in expanding their craft and anyone with a fascination for historical practices. Students should come prepared to purchase materials necessary to make the various surfaces directly from the instructor, approximately $10.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Roger Chavez
Cost: $205
Sponsor: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Website, email, 215-972-7632

July 27, 2025
The foundation of a good drawing or painting is "composition," or the arrangement of shapes, lines, textures and colors. Learn to create effective and pleasing compositions in this instructive and fun drawing workshop with artist, educator and Cerulean Collective member Alyce Grunt! Alyce will guide you through the process of making an adjustable viewfinder, then to practice seeing a still life arrangement as a collection of shapes that fit together like a puzzle. Learn to make “thumbnail” sketches – small, quick drawings – to determine the ‘must-haves’ and what you can leave behind in your composition. Take your favorite thumbnail sketches and make a drawing or two based on your most satisfying compositional arrangements.
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Instructor: Alyce Grunt
Cost: $75
Sponsor: Cerulean Arts Gallery and Studio
Website, email, 267-514-8647

See also:
Art Books for Drawing |
Tutorials for Drawing