Neadeen Masters CDA - Country Carousel Art©
 

Are you creating or taking the opportunity to challenge yourself as an artist?

There comes a time during our painting journey when we reach a crossroad and choose which path to take.  For every painter who is quite content to paint just for the sake of a pretty painting, there are two who are on a quest for knowledge.  Which one are you? At times, the decision to seek knowledge can be made for us quite unexpectedly and at times we make the decision by carefully planning each step because we've see a beautifully painted design that we wish to paint some day.

This quest for knowledge can completely change our direction and open doors of opportunity that enhance our whole painting experience. sometimes we fall into teaching quite by accident. Thankfully I made it through the first class and the rest is history. Teaching painting has been the most rewarding aspect of painting for me and it is through this opportunity that I grew as an artist. This single unexpected opportunity started me on my quest for knowledge and changed my perspective on learning forever. Having the opportunity to teach forced me to look at painting in different ways.  It forced me to learn about art theory and to be able to pass this knowledge to my students when they asked.  The result not only enhanced my classes it enabled me to pursue more complex compositions and become the artist I am today.  Education forces us to grow whether we want to or not, and when we teach, no matter what the subject, we have a responsibility to our students to know our subject well.  Like many of my peers, I take learning seriously and Decorative Painting shouldn’t be any different even for the student.

Some painters have no desire to teach, however they still wish to gain knowledge to make them into proficient artists, so where do they go to get this knowledge? Often they say, 'I'll just take a class or two,’ my question to you is, "Are you gaining the skills necessary to make you into a stronger artist through these classes or are you just painting something for the sake of painting?" I only present this question with one hope in mind, that when you select your classes this year, you select them to learn something new each time.  It's only when we challenge ourselves that we learn, by design or by accident.

Students will follow their teacher’s advice and direction as long as they feel they will benefit from it. The way this happens is if teachers as a whole continually build on what they know, raising their own skills and always stay one step or more, ahead of their strongest students. This is what makes our industry stronger and healthier. When we create an atmosphere of learning and challenge in our classrooms, by advancing our own skills and techniques we avoid creative boredom. As a student of art we should never feel we know all that we need to know, it is this attitude that has ultimately caused our shops and studios across the country to become less creative, less challenging and less inspiring places for those students wanting more.

As a storeowner we try to fill all the needs of our painting communities, from the simplest of Primitive designs to the most complex of Realism and Fine Art. If you are a teacher, step back for a moment and take a look at your classrooms and class selections. Ask if they are creating a level of learning that is constantly challenging to all students, presenting a classroom full of wonder and excitement, yet at the same time become a source for constant inspiration when it comes to painting.  And last, as a good student, we strive for the next best painting, raising our goals and seeking improvement and growth at every class. When the desire to learn comes from the student, it pushes us teachers to another higher level, and in turn raises the standard of painting within our whole industry creating a ‘win win’ situation for us all.

Neadeen Masters CDA©