“My First”

Not for sale (but it’s a nice story)

The original artwork is acrylic paint on 24” x 24” x 2” canvas.

Although I graduated with a Visual Arts degree from Brown University, I had only taken one painting class. When I returned to school to become a high school art teacher, the master’s program found me deficient in painting. I needed to take two additional painting classes to have enough breadth in the subject to qualify for a K–12 teaching position in art education.

I was pretty nervous because painting had never been my strong suit, and honestly, I was embarrassed. My first semester was a bit torturous because the professor expected Rembrandt, but I was more like Picasso - blindfolded! By the second semester, though, things finally clicked, and the professor was much more laid-back and encouraging.

One of our assignments was to paint a still life using random objects from the classroom. I had taken a photo of my arrangement so I could continue working on it at home. I remember staying up until the wee hours of the morning, several days in a row, laboring over this painting. When I finally finished it, I was amazed. It was the first time I truly felt like I could paint. Sometimes paintings seemingly have odd names - until you know the story.