The First Class

Well, I taught my first watercolor class in about a 8 years yesterday (I last taught in 2006/2007) and it was SO much fun! I had a tiny class but it was fabulous.

We painted flowers and I taught my two students the techniques and process that I use for painting flowers. They seemed to really enjoy themselves. The class was long 11am - 4pm and we used almost every bit of time. We had a break in the middle for lunch....pizza from Second Street Pizza which is just a block away.

Here are some pics from the last bit of the class

We ran out of time to finish our pieces but here is the piece I was working on and giving demos of my technique. It's not finished but I'll be sure to finish it hopefully soon (after I finish all of those other pieces I have yet to finish!)

My next class will be a drawing class at the community center and it will be February 21st from 10am - 12:30pm. Yay for teaching!

Teaching Classes

Over the past several years I've been asked by all sorts of people if I teach watercolor classes &/or lessons. I haven't, partly because I have always had a couple of other jobs so it's hard to find the time and no space to adequately teach more than one person. Now that I only have one other job, in addition to my art, the only hang up was a space to teach.

I began brainstorming...where is a space large enough to set up a couple of tables where I could be able to freely walk around and teach? Think, think, think, where? And then it came to me! A community center! YES! Soooooooooo, I reached out to the local community center to see if it was even a possibility and sure enough it is. I can teach.

I'm so excited. It's been at least 6 years since I've taught. The classes I used to teach were only 2 hours so I didn't feel like I could really get into the painting with the students...I felt like I had to rush them along to teach them everything they needed to know, which is NO way to learn watercolor. The classes I'll teach will be a Saturday afternoon and will be 5 hours. (well, really 4 when you count break time for lunch!) I'm anxious to see how I'll do, since it has been 6 years...at least!

The first class will take place January 17th from 11am to 4pm at the Whitefish Community Center. They are located at 121 E 2nd Street. 406-862-4293.

I had the hardest time deciding on a subject for the first class. I decided to go with something rather simple, floral pieces. And by simple, I mean ease of getting a good reference. I'll bring a couple of bouquets so those that have a bad photo reference will still have an opportunity to have a good reference. Maybe the next class will be a snowy landscape? Maybe animals? rocks?

If you had the chance to take a class, what would you want to learn?