06/06/2026
Today I introduced oil painting to my older kids class.
Arguably the most classical medium, and also one of the most difficult.
We slowed the whole process down step by step: gessoing the canvas, sketching in charcoal, thinking about perspective, setting up a simple still life, blocking in the first round of oils, mixing colors on palettes, and slowly building layers of paint.
Oil is not an easy medium. It is thick, stubborn, slow, and hard to manage. But that is also what makes it so powerful. It teaches patience, to look closely, adjust, mix, layer, and trust the process.
There was something incredibly meaningful about teaching this in my own studio, with my paintings hanging all around us. Watching young artists step into a medium that has carried so much art history, while beginning to find their own visual language, felt deeply fulfilling for me as both a teacher and an artist.
As I looked around the room at easels, paint-covered palettes, focused faces, and works in progress, I felt grateful for the opportunity to share what I love, for the students willing to take on a challenge, and most of all, after all these years, creating and teaching art that still brings me the same sense of wonder it always has.
