While reading Jeff Goins’ The Art of Work, I received a bit of reinforcement and validation for my teaching people how to draw. (Thanks, Jeff!)

All along I have said that the only ones who don’t learn how to draw from me are the ones who quit too soon.

Jeff reinforced that thought with this:

An apprenticeship is designed to give you guidance from an expert, knowledge in a given field, and experience in a challenging environment . . . It takes a lot of courage and tenacity to not only find but to finish an apprenticeship.

It makes me a little squirmy to consider myself an expert at teaching people how to draw, but if I am not an expert after 21 years, then I must just be a poser. If that is the case, how did all these people learn to draw so well??

The End of the Trail, drawing in pencil by Kelvin Farris

It does take courage. Many people have come to me quietly on the side to say how nervous they are. I do my best to explain that I will help them in any way I can. The reason they are taking lessons is to learn, not to show me what they already can do!

I don’t teach drawing lessons the way P.E. teachers “taught” sports when I was a kid. If you “got it”, then you were praised and given extra encouragement, respect and perks. If you didn’t “get it”, you were yelled at. “Try harder!” is not teaching. “Don’t be afraid of the ball” is not teaching. “Run faster” is not teaching.

Teaching is breaking down difficult and complicated material into small and manageable steps, while explaining exactly how and why, and then giving ways to practice those steps until they make sense. It is showing the way, and when one approach doesn’t make sense, the good teacher finds another way to demonstrate. It is giving the student the chance to practice as much as necessary until he is comfortable and understands the process.

No deadlines, no homework (unless requested), no tests, no pressure and certainly no yelling (and no piano recitals either) in drawing lessons, just learning. Each student goes at his own pace working on the subject matter of his own choosing.

The Art of Work: A proven path to discovering what you were meant to do by Jeff Goins may be just what I need to validate my choice of art as a profession in spite of being in the poorest part of one of the least educated counties in California. I am a Central California artist!