Kelly Brewer Fine Art Workshop
To Teach is to Learn [VIDEO]
I believe in workshops for artists because I believe they work. I’ve attended many. I always enjoy the camaraderie, and I always take something away, something new and helpful. That’s why, when I decided to teach my own workshop, I felt nervous. I wanted it to measure up. I wanted it to be worth my participants time and money. I wanted it to be fun, and I wanted each person to learn something new.
The good news is the workshop came together, and I hope it was beneficial for my seven amazing participants. The surprising news for me is I think I learned more than anyone else!
Getting Organized: Organization is not my strong suit. I have all this stuff floating around in my brain. The basic principles that make a good painting are the same, but each time I step in front of a blank canvas it’s not the same process I follow each time. How do I take years of information and experimentation and articulate it in a way that is helpful? This was a great exercise for me.
Building an Outline: To teach my process, I created a handout of “The Essential Elements of Painting” (and there are many!) for my students to take home with them. I needed to develop specific steps and write them down. I had to capture all the floating stuff! I thought like a student of art rather than a teacher of art, and that helped me see the process and put things in order on a page. And writing it down helped me decide what ideas I would emphasize at my workshop. This step was really important!
Instructional Demo: Painting alone in my studio, just me and my David Gray radio, is completely different from painting while teaching in front of others. I’ve painted plenty of demos, but I haven’t had to articulate what I am doing while I am doing it in a way that is clear and helpful. Answering questions, stopping my workflow for an explanation, this presented a big challenge for me.
Confidence and the Comfort Zone: Participants traveled from two different states to attend my workshop. Some were beginners; others accomplished painters. Was I capable of helping everyone, even in some small way? I felt honored they wanted to come paint with me, and I wanted to make it worth their while. Once everyone arrived, so did my confidence. All were so eager to paint, so at a minimum, we had that in common! The truth is, all of us have something to share that is new and special for someone else to learn whether it is small or large. Once I realized I had something to share with these kind people, I felt relieved and excited about the rest of the day.
Their Turn: Their turn to paint was the part I loved best. I walked around and worked with each of them. We talked about art, laughed, and painted together. Just a few changes here and there, and we saw progress. It was satisfying and fun.
The Takeaway: The age-old saying, “To teach is to learn,” is true. But the thing I learned most on this day of my first workshop wasn’t how to teach someone to render dramatic light. I learned how grateful I am to be an artist. I don’t have to do this; I GET to do this. It felt good to be with other artists. It felt good to share what I love to do, what I GET to do.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Going up to my studio, turning on David Gray radio, and painting day after day is not what makes me a better artist. Putting myself out there, stepping outside what makes me comfortable, teaching others, learning from others, painting from life…these things make a difference.
Many thanks to those who participated in my first workshop. Together we took risks, pushed ourselves outside what makes us comfortable, and created something beautiful.
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