I Am a Teacher
“I am a Teacher.”
I am proud to be an art teacher. I love traveling across the country, teaching painting workshops. The painting shown, “Power Sea,” is the project I have selected for teaching in San Jose, California, on June 6 and 7 at Universal Art.
Claude Buck, my teacher, told about his art instruction received while attending the Grand Central Galleries School in New York, many years ago.
Claude was privileged to study with the fine classical artist, Emil Carlsen. Claude said that the teachers at the Grand Central School were all very protective of their students
and of their own knowledge and techniques. Claude described how Carlsen would place his palette in a desk drawer, and whenever people would enter his studio, he would shut the drawer so they couldn’t see the color mixtures upon his palette.
It was rather heartening that in spite of that background in secrecy, Claude was so giving of everything that he knew in art (and anything else.) One of his ways of passing on information to others was in his finished paintings. Upon turning the canvas around, the viewer is drawn to the symmetrical design that shows the basis of Claude’s composition. Also, next to the design can be found a list of all of the color mixtures used in the painting, complete with color samples of paint.
My thought this month is: If you are a teacher, then teach! Share! In other words, if you display a painting as a workshop-painting project, then don’t hold anything back in showing the students how to paint it. If you have a technique you want to keep secret, no problem, just don’t advertise that you will be teaching it as a project, and then shut the “desk drawer” on somebody who has paid to be taught the technique.
I am proud to be an art teacher. I love traveling across the country, teaching painting workshops. The painting shown, “Power Sea,” is the project I have selected for teaching in San Jose, California, on June 6 and 7 at Universal Art.
Claude Buck, my teacher, told about his art instruction received while attending the Grand Central Galleries School in New York, many years ago.
Claude was privileged to study with the fine classical artist, Emil Carlsen. Claude said that the teachers at the Grand Central School were all very protective of their students
and of their own knowledge and techniques. Claude described how Carlsen would place his palette in a desk drawer, and whenever people would enter his studio, he would shut the drawer so they couldn’t see the color mixtures upon his palette.
It was rather heartening that in spite of that background in secrecy, Claude was so giving of everything that he knew in art (and anything else.) One of his ways of passing on information to others was in his finished paintings. Upon turning the canvas around, the viewer is drawn to the symmetrical design that shows the basis of Claude’s composition. Also, next to the design can be found a list of all of the color mixtures used in the painting, complete with color samples of paint.
My thought this month is: If you are a teacher, then teach! Share! In other words, if you display a painting as a workshop-painting project, then don’t hold anything back in showing the students how to paint it. If you have a technique you want to keep secret, no problem, just don’t advertise that you will be teaching it as a project, and then shut the “desk drawer” on somebody who has paid to be taught the technique.
posted by Buck Paulson @ 9:18 PM
1 Comments:
Hi Buck! I was nodding in agreement the whole time reading your comment "if you are a teacher, then teach!" I am also a teacher......I tell my followers that I don't know much (and I don't) but what I know, I will share. And I do To me, it's hugely rewarding. Can't tell you how many times I've taken a class from a "teacher" who holds back.....who sorta/kinda shows you. Some are openly secretive. People actually walked out of the last class I took. When asked how she did a particular step she said "oh I just throw paint on there." ????
I happen to know one of the best teachers in the art world and have been lucky enough to take several of his classes. His name is Buck Paulson and he is a TEACHER! :-) Terrie in Washington...you know who I am!
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