Teaching these skills to others is as rewarding to me as painting. My students range from five years old to 80, girls, boys, men and women. I don't have a favorite age group. Each and every student has a unique personality. Their creative styles are as varied as their personalities and are as challenging to me whether I'm working one on one or in groups. One young seven year old student loves to paint Hawaii. Every week she goes home with at least one tropical beach scene. One of my adult students is learning how to paint by watching me paint and following what I do. This was the easiest way for me to teach him since he speaks very little English. He began painting with me last fall. Both his skill as a painter and his English have improved with each class.
I could spend hours writing about each one of my students. Every single one of them are special and dear to me. My relationships with them are not just "student and teacher", we are friends and confidants, sharing challenges and triumphs. We are learning together and growing together as artists and as people and together we discovering "life lessons" as well.