Am I a Teacher?

I think I have become an art teacher....how on earth did that happen?!!

It's been a whirlwind couple of months. Since March I have literally gone from not painting in front of people (apart from the occasional passer-by who stops for a peek when I'm plein air painting) to hosting Paint and Sip parties and beginners Watercolour classes!

It all started when I was approached by the very persuasive owner of 30 Main | Bar & Restaurant | Kilmaurs about doing a "Paint and Prosecco" night each month. (for those who don't know, this entails me taking a group through a painting step by step, while they sup on Prosecco or a beverage of their choosing! Each person goes home with a painting they have created....Great fun!) I hummed and hawed a bit, but he had absolutely no doubt that I could carry it off successfully, and I guess that his confidence rubbed off on me! Don't get me wrong...I was a quivering wreck that first night, till gradually my voice (and hands and knees!) stopped shaking and I got into the painting.

The success of the nights at 30 Main gave me the push I needed to start up a local class for beginners in Watercolour painting....something numerous people had asked me to do but I had always said, "Noooo, I couldn't do that!"

I honestly would never have thought I would have the courage to stand up in front of twenty people and speak...never mind paint a picture and teach them how to paint it too!

I don't know what happened to make me become this confident, capable woman!

It really is a puzzler...and I can only conclude that it's to do with my age. I'm 54 now and I guess I've finally come to realise that it matters not a jot what anyone else might think of me. I guess quite a lot of us go through our lives crippled, metaphorically speaking, by fear of judgement, fear of rejection, fear of being mocked......so much fear!

Perhaps I have learned that it's pointless and a waste of emotion to worry about any of that. What's that old saying?... "Haters gonna hate!" (whether we like it or not!)

My second hypothesis (ha!) is that it's to do with the Menopause. Let's be honest, that wonderful gift to women causes hot flashes, night sweats, brain fog, psychotic behaviour and wildly fluctuating emotions.....so why not this? Has it caused a dropping of inhibition...a rise in confidence? It's entirely possible.

Perhaps as I grow older I'm more aware of time slipping away....and so grab opportunities more readily when they arise?

Am I tired of the unnecessary dramas which younger people encounter and often revel in, and more able to prioritise what's important in my life, thereby fulfilling my potential? I'm just musing here.....

Another factor which could account for this uncharacteristic new confidence is an old cliché, but very true. I BELIEVE IN MYSELF.

Yes, after 54 years on this planet, I finally believe in myself and my creative abilities! ( I couldn't even use the word "artist" to describe myself for the LONGEST time!) I know I am not the finest artist by a very long shot, however I am happy with the level I have reached to date...and yes, I'll say it, I'm proud of myself!

I know I can do it and I want others to love painting the way I do! I want to show them that it doesn't matter if they "can't draw a stick man" or that they haven't painted anything since nursery school! The absolute joy and satisfaction one can experience from painting is hard to describe. So many of the people who come to the classes use words like "so relaxing" and " de-stressed" and "therapeutic". It makes me happy that I have been a part in that! I really enjoy the process of taking my students step-by-step through a painting, or showing them the beauty of watercolours and the magic that occurs when you drop one colour into another on a page.

So yeah, I feel like I'm at the beginning of an exciting and rewarding new phase of my artistic life and looking forward to seeing how it all develops!

Here are a few photos from my classes and the Paint and Prosecco nights.