I really miss teaching

These students have gone on (with others) to form Greater Rochester Plein Air Painters.

These students have gone on (with others) to form Greater Rochester Plein Air Painters.

Yesterday I was chatting with a contractor. (That’s takes up a lot of my time these days.) He mentioned a young person he knew who’d returned to Rochester and wanted to pursue a career in art. I really miss teaching right now, so I told him, “If you put him in contact with me, I would be happy to coach him.”

“I’m not sure you want to do that,” he answered. “He has some baggage.”

The one on the left is now a research assistant at UC Davis, the one on the right has a master's and is working for Bonhams.

The one on the left is now a research assistant at UC Davis, the one on the right has a master’s and is working for Bonhams.

Painting can help you sort that baggage out, but a career in art actually requires more organization, drive and perseverance than a more structured job. From our conversation, I suspect the young man isn’t ready to buckle down yet. When he is, he will find a mentor.

To generalize wildly, most painting teachers have two separate groups of students. The first are high-schoolers who want to put together a portfolio that will get them financial aid at the school of their choice. The second are middle-aged people. Both groups are searchers, and I particularly love classes that are a mixture of the two.

That little punk has gone on to graduate from Rhode Island School of Design.

That young punk has gone on to graduate from Rhode Island School of Design.

Some painters can’t really handle the solitary nature of their work—I tend in this direction myself, which is one reason I miss teaching so much right now. I painted with a dear friend for years. She eventually left me for her husband when he decided to retire to Florida. She has fallen off the art scene since then, which is very unfortunate, since she was greatly talented. But she hasn’t found a new painting partner in her new home.

Sometimes you learn more from your students than they do from you. When Brad VanAuken isn't painting tugboats, he's a world-famous branding expert.

Sometimes you learn more from your students than they do from you. When Brad VanAuken isn’t painting tugboats, he’s a world-famous branding expert.

Sometimes people will paint for a few years and then quit. That’s not failure; that means they’ve explored long enough to untangle the knot that was bothering them, and they can move on. Others find that painting has its own intrinsic value, and they continue with it. Eventually, they become artists, not art students.

One of my favorite painting students... he studies whether or not I'm around to talk to him.

One of my favorite painting students… he studies whether or not I’m around to talk to him.

It’s wonderful that they stay in contact with me. Their successes feel like my successes.

Carol Douglas

About Carol Douglas

Carol L. Douglas is a painter who lives, works and teaches in Rockport, ME. Her annual workshop will again be held on the Schoodic Peninsula in beautiful Acadia National Park, from August 6-11, 2017. Visit www.watch-me-paint.com/ for more information.