October Student of the Month

Before we get too far into November I want to announce my choice for the newest “Student of the Month” . We had several who went home with really nice paintings and the decision was not so easy. At the end of the day, Karen Hanson is my choice. She and her friend Karen Wills had a fun day in the studio. I had an easy time remembering names, but my Kathy’s had it a bit tougher trying to figure out who I was talking to.

Karen H was so good a paying attention to my instruction on the correct way to load the brush and watched carefully to see how the brush touched the canvas. Applying those techniques, along with her good perspective skills and a nice soft touch were the determining factor in the October decision. That she did so well was not a surprise as before the class began she confided in me that when she started college her hope was to become an art instructor.. Who knows, now maybe one day you will be calling her for Joy of Painting classes.. Well done Kathy and Congratulations.

Now I would like to thank all of you who have been inquiring about classes. It is so fun to see the open dates in November and December filling up. We have scheduled times for several youth classes. And in the adult category we have a date night scheduled, friends are coming to paint together and we are working on finding a date for Dad to paint with his daughter.  Naturally, most of the inquiries are from the Magic Valley but we also get students from the Boise/Meridian area. It makes me really proud. A good portion of the activity comes from referrals but this blog and the newsletter are also helping.

Speaking of the website, I have added a new section. It is a page were we will list former recipients of the Student of the Month.. You can preview that page by CLICKING HERE.

The site is a work in progress.. I want to put in pages that details what both our Youth and Adult classes are about, what I provide and what they cost. Also, I am considering starting some one day workshop classes. Here there would be a morning session were we would practice individual techniques (like putting snow on the mountains, or painting happy little trees, etc) and then after a mid day break we would paint a take home painting using the practiced techniques. This is really a better way to master the individual skills. And I am giving some thought to video taping short segments where I demonstrate some of those techniques. That could be another feature of the site… If you have any thought as to items that would improve the site, please share them with me.

It is my bedtime and I am going to post this and shut the computer down. We will talk again, real soon….     Happy Painting and again, congratulations Kathy Hanson.

Pat Alsup   Certified Ross Instructor.