I just wanted to take a minute to give a shout out to my painting students. I have been teaching at the Hoffman Center for the Arts for the past five months and it has been wonderful. I have one student who has taken the class every month. Others have taken only one session and some have taken a few. Like life, people come and go. But every one of them has been a joy to teach. It's so fun to watch them progress from the insecure, to the mildly frustrated, to the Ah-Ha moment and finally sit back and realize they did it. That's the joy of being a teacher.
The Happiest Color
Frank Sinatra said orange is the happiest color. I don't know about that. But I know Sherry was the happiest art student when she finished her orange poppies and orange sunset! She had never painted before this class. She was so timid and unsure about her sky. It was fun to watch her style spring out of her work. When she popped in those poppies at the end her whole painted just popped! One of the greatest things about teaching is watching the unique style of each student. Teaching makes me happy too!
A River Runs Through It
I don't get to paint every day. But if I can't paint, the next best thing is being inspired by my students. Richard just retired as a pediatric neurosurgeon and decided to try those hands at painting. He had never touched a brush to canvas before this class. Pretty impressive, don't you think? I love then enthusiasm of my students. They warm my heart and motivate me to get back to my own canvas as soon as possible. What a fun day.
I Told You So...
I don't like to be an "I told you so" kind of person... BUT... My sweet drawing student has been telling me for two years that she doesn't do color. She doesn't want to paint. She can't paint. She doesn't get color. She doesn't do color... Did I mention she doesn't do color? Well, I finally talked her into playing with the paints today. She mixed all of those colors with just red, yellow, blue and white. I'd say she's a natural peach of a painter!