A bit of learning through teaching

For the past few months I have been giving private art lessons to two students. One is about 80 years old and the other is 14, big difference. I have never formally taught art to anyone, so it is a learning experience for me. I am teaching the older lady mostly watercolors and the teenager figure drawing.

My older student is such a sweet lady, she has become like my second grandmother. Her husband passed away a few years ago and many times she is very lonely. The lessons were a gift from her children for Christmas, but she chose to continue with me. The lessons have become therapy for her, she tells me. I enjoy listening to her talk about her past and what she's done as well as the present. She has taught me many things about life, and how to be a better art teacher. It has definitely been a blessing.

Here's a painting I finished the other day while at lessons, we've been working on flowers.

I have been working on figure drawing with my other student. She's very interested in fashion design, which is ironic because I was as well at that age. We're working on the fashion figure and proportions, clothing, and just started with watercolor. It has been somewhat of a challenge teaching a teenager, she's very shy but is slowly coming out of her shell. I enjoy working on the figure because it's also something I feel I need to work on. 

This experience has helped me learn a lot about teaching. I enjoy giving lessons but I don't think I would ever want to teach in schools unless it was undergrad. I hope I can continue giving lessons in the future!