Did you know that I began teaching at the White Bear Center for the Arts this fall?  It has been very cool to watch the growth of these new painters as they take their first baby steps into the world of oil painting... from the very beginning as they learned  how to lay out paint on the pallette...to a finished painting!

We walked together through the journey of toning the canvas, deciding on a focal point, and becoming brave enough to actually put paint on the canvas!  It's funny because most beginning painters are the same in that they are all afraid to actually USE the paint that they came to class to learn how to use!  But as they grow, they eventually start to see and feel the beauty of actually applying the paint to the canvas.  That is a very good thing.

Then there is the joy of actually seeing the student apply a skill in the next painting that we struggled through on the first painting.  Of course the student has no clue they actually did this, so it is very fun to be able to point out their progress!

In my beginning classes we work on a painting together because I think it is very valuable to see the way I paint and hear what is going on in my mind as I make certain decisions.  I like this part because apparently I am quite the yacker and there is no shortage of insight that I am willing to share.  I feel so passionate about painting that I really want my students to have an understanding about why we do what we do!

The painting above is my version of the first painting our class worked on.

P.S. I'd love to have you or your friend(s) as a student.  You can find out about my classes at www.whitebeararts.org