Ready to open the show

Six or so students showed up to finish hanging the show--cleaned the glass, straightened the paintings, etc. The show looks great. There are nearly sixty paintings from about twenty-five artists. Quite a few in the class had never picked up a watercolor brush--or any brush, for that matter--before taking my "Watercolor for the Terrified" class. It's amazing what they've accomplished. Others have greatly improved their basic skills since joining the class and all are beginning to grasp the rudiments of design and composition. People seem to think that a seniors' watercolor class is some kind of "art therapy" group, but this is a lively, challenging and growing bunch of people who have the potential to become every bit as good as they could ever wish to be. A passer-by watched me arranging paintings on Wednesday and said, "Those aren't beginners. I had to do black-and-white studies when I took your beginner class." I waved at the paintings and said, "So did they." Every artist was a beginner once. The ones who succeed do so because they want to do it and believe they can.