Let me explain how I came to be teaching art classes after retiring from public school art teaching. In my high school teaching career I worked with students who were developing their portfolios for college entrance. I had worked hard to develop a drawing curriculum that was very successful in preparing these students. From my own experience as an art student and also in my teaching I realized how essential drawing is as a base for other media, such as, painting and printmaking. After I retired, more and more, I came into contact with other retirees who were taking various painting classes. What I heard from them over and over was how frustrated they were in these classes. As I further learned, most of these art students were taking painting classes but they had never learned how to draw. Painting without a drawing foundation can only take you so far. It was no wonder they were frustrated; they could not progress beyond the simplest of paintings. Understanding the drawing process teaches one many things beyond just duplicating an image. In her book, Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, Betty Edwards reiterates my feelings about drawing and painting with this quote, "The use of color primarily requires the ability to perceive color as value. This ability is difficult, perhaps impossible, to acquire unless one has learned to perceive the relationships of lights and shadows through DRAWING". (I added the capitals for drawing - I love this quote!) So, I sympathized with these struggling artists and I knew that I could help them. I also felt that I still had so much more to share with others regarding the drawing process. Because most of the frustration I heard came from retirees I thought, "What better place to reach them but a Senior Center?" I found the perfect fit at the Lincoln Town Senior Center. Presently, I teach a Beginners' Drawing Class and an Advanced Drawing Class there. I also teach at a local frame shop, Lyn-Art Studiio . There I teach a Beginners' Watercolor Class and two open studio type classes. In future posts I will explain what these classes consist of. Stay tuned!