05:0./;subjects to groups of up to 10 students
at a time. Many of my students were
retired people finally finding the time to
pursue their passion.
I ran one night class for working
people who couldn’t take a day off
through the week. Weekends were my
family time.
I am very grateful now to those
pushy students who forced me to try
new mediums. My favourite medium
now is usually whatever I have in my
hand at the moment. I don’t tend to
draw a lot anymore. Once I discovered
the colour and speed of painting, it
made pencil work seem a bit slow and
dull by comparison.
Painting disasters for me seem to
occur with abstract work. Many people
have asked me to teach them abstracts- so I have tried to master them; but I
think I am destined to be a realist artist.
I admire impressionist work and I can
achieve a fair result when I paint from
memory, but when I have a subject in
front of me I am almost obliged to add
in all the details.
Recently I have devised a method to
force me to loosen up ... by painting
with a kitchen sponge. I demonstrate
this technique in my recent DVD
series ‘Welcome to My Garden’ where
I produce two impressionist acrylic
paintings from my back garden.
I have sold quite a few paintings from
my studio and on eBay, but my main art
related income has been from teaching.
I don’t consider myself to be a gifted
artist. I only achieve what I do through
hours upon hours of practise and study.
If I have any gift at all, it would be
in teaching. I have never studied how
to teach, it just comes naturally for me.
So this is where I have focused my
artistic direction.