PSA Academy

PSA Academy is an online learning program designed for artists who want to explore pastel painting in depth with guided instruction and sustained engagement. Each Academy offering consists of six live class meetings on Zoom spaced over a multi-week period. The extended format provides time between sessions for reflection, practice, and assignment work.

Instruction may include demonstrations, lectures, group dialogue, instructor critique, and supplemental written materials. PSA Academy welcomes artists who are committed to artistic growth and ready to invest in their pastel practice within a supportive online community.

What to Expect

• Six live online class meetings
• Multi-week pacing for absorption and practice
• Demonstration and lecture-based material
• Group critique and instructor feedback
• Assignments or exercises between classes
• Supportive online learning environment

 

 



Otto Stürcke PSA-MP

From Concept to Canvas: Procreate & Pastel

Skill Level: All Levels

Six Sundays: January 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, and February 7, 2027

9:00 to 1:00 pm (EST)

Zoom Only



What You Will Learn

  • Getting started in Procreate: navigating the interface, setting preferences, and organizing brushes, colors, and layers so the app becomes a natural extension of the studio
  • Developing the concept: observing reference photos, planning composition, and exploring size and value relationships digitally before ever touching pastel
  • Pairing Procreate with pastel practice: how digital planning fits into a daily studio routine, plus an overview of materials and why Otto chooses them
  • Translating digital studies into analog pastel work: setting up a pastel palette and moving from digital notan, value, and color studies into physical materials
  • Sculpting the painting: sketching, blocking in, washing, and building up form layer by layer in pastel
  • Going for finish: self-critique, a technical checklist, and the final decisions that bring a painting to completion

Tuition

Members: $700

Non-Members: $775

 







Loriann Signori PSA-MP

A New Kind of Seeing: Journey Through and Beyond Realism, Continued

Skill Level: Intermediate to Advanced

February 19, March 5, 19, and 30, April 16, and 30, 2027 (Fridays, except March 30, which is a Tuesday)
1:00 to 4:30 pm (EST)

Zoom Only



What You Will Learn

  • How to use, not abuse, photos
  • The creation of color and value studies to fine-tune relationships
  • Ways to use underpainting and layering techniques
  • Opening your mind to the ways the written word can enhance your understanding
  • The strength of working in a series
  • The art of construction and destruction
  • Interviews with top artists

Tuition

Members: $700

Non-Members: $775

 







Natasha Isenhour PSA

Inspiration to Expression: Conveying Emotion Through Color, Value and Design

Skill Level: All Levels (Experienced Beginner through Advanced)

Six Fridays: May 21, June 4, June 18, July 2, July 16, and July 30, 2027

Time: 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM ET

Format: Virtual (Zoom), discussion and critique-based class, no live demonstrations



What You Will Gain

  • A framework for identifying the emotional why behind a subject, not just its visual likeness
  • Practice translating personal response into compositional and value choices
  • Direct group critique on a body of work completed across the class
  • Exposure to how other students interpret the same reference material differently
  • A repeatable process for self-critique to apply after the class ends

Tuition

Members: $700

Non-Members: $775

 







W. Truman Hosner PSA-MP

Light is Our Most Reliable Narrator

Understanding Light and Movement in Nature

September 16, 23, 30, October 7, 14, 21, 2027
4:00 pm to 7:00 pm (ET)


6 sessions, weekly via Zoom



What You Will Gain

  • a deeper understanding of how light shapes form and meaning in a painting
  • a greater sensitivity to movement and change within natural subjects
  • strategies for keeping paintings open, fluid, and responsive
  • approaches to using unfinished passages as an expressive tool
  • increased confidence in allowing a painting to evolve organically
  • direction for developing a more personal and intuitive studio practice

Tuition

Members: $700

Non-Members: $775

 





Payment, Cancellation & Attendance Policy

Registration & Payment:

Full payment is required at the time of registration to reserve a place. Enrollment is limited and processed on a first-come, first-served basis.

Participant Cancellation:

If you cancel 14 days or more prior to the course start date, you will receive a full refund minus a $25 administrative fee. If you cancel 13 days or fewer prior, your fee is non-refundable.

No Show Policy:

Failure to attend the first scheduled session without prior notice will be considered a no-show. No refunds will be issued.

Attendance & Missed Sessions:

PSA Academy courses are structured as a multi-session program, and participants are expected to attend all sessions. Missed sessions are not refunded, and makeup sessions are not provided. Recordings, if available, are at the instructor’s discretion.

Participant Responsibility:

Participants are responsible for attending sessions on time and ensuring they have the appropriate technology to participate.

PSA Cancellation or Changes:

PSA reserves the right to cancel or reschedule a course due to insufficient enrollment or unforeseen circumstances. In such cases, a full refund will be issued.

Registration constitutes agreement to this policy.