"I began painting as a retired teacher, hopeful to finally produce "real" art. I became frustrated. After buying the best materials, and spending time on each piece, my finished paintings did not match my vision. I knew I needed help, could I find a teacher, someone who might teach me the basic skills, help me improve and still keep me interested in creating " real art "? I began taking drawing classes with Scott Kenyon at Forest Hills Community Education. Scott's excellent instruction in drawing class helped me see the still life shapes as values, not an outline which is filled in, and that the large values or 'masses" ( his favorite word) were to be put in first, and details later. Within a few weeks, my drawings became more solid, movement from one area flowed seamlessly into another, and greys, whites and subtle grey shadows gave my drawings dimension. From that eye opening six week class, I then ventured into the impressionism oil painting class taught by Scott. In this class, he prepared the still life, making sure the painting assignment held just enough of a challenge for a rank beginner, but not too overwhelming. I found I liked doing these weekly studies. Scott gives 100% of his attention to each student's progress, providing much needed direction/suggestions. He taught us to look and really "see the many different colors" in a white bowl, or to find the darkest dark paint that and then to move on to the next area of the painting. Scott's method of teaching keeps things simple at first- using primary colored wooden blocks, as a still life, increasing the difficulty of the subject and color palette. I quickly moved on to painting a white vase, filled with red flowers , sitting on a green cloth. The finished painting filled me with joy! It zinged with light and dark colors. Scott taught me that there are cool warms and warm cools. My brain grappled with the new color concepts, language and pigments. Scott encouraged his students to master the old Masters method of painting with examples of his own paintings. After several lessons, I found that I could mix pigment to create these beautiful light filled oil paintings or studies ! After several sessions of instruction with Scott, I was very pleased to see my paintings- oil and water color, finally develop the style of a real artist! With this wonderful knowledge of light, color, and value, I now boldly swipe pigment onto canvas with my palette knife. I'm now a confident painter, I know how to select the right color and value for the setting, and the skill to adjust the values which my eyes have learned to pick out. The painting, and drawing classes with Scott were always fun, challenging, and taught with professional respect. I encourage others who want to improve their art journey to spend time with a great teacher"
