Last summer I was asked by Eman Elshareef if I would give her art lessons. I was quite hesitant at first because I’d always thought of teaching as a highly respected vocation, necessitating great patience, a good connection with the pupil and a strong ability to instruct effectively, characteristics none of which I possessed. Somehow she convinced me and we started last November. I must say that despite my lack of experience in this field, it turned out I had a bit of patience, a fine connection with my student, and a simple, yet effective way of teaching: just watch and listen to me paint.
eman and three blue ysl scarves
when i paint, i produce a mess. you can imagine with two crazy women painting how the area looks!
i love the way the orange colors in eman’s hand contrast with the blues of her painting
my attempt at the scarf. i always tend to like eman’s paintings more
may 9. after months of practicing with acrylic, we decided to go at the dreaded scarf again! this time i’d paint alongside her so that she could watch my strokes and learn as she went along. i have a feeling i’ve learned a lot too
april 11. many of eman’s colors ended up on my teddy bee painting! i don’t waste a single dollop of paint and won’t let her do it either
april 4. a big part of learning is having fun and vice versa. this was a very simple lesson is shading and control
march 14. a color exercise. eman really enjoyed this. and she came up with some glorious colors
at first, eman resisted painting over her vibrant colors, but i had to put my foot down. she wasn’t happy about it and secretly, neither was i. but i loved the result nonetheless
february 21. it was a relief to go back to a relatively simple shape. in this exercise i wanted eman to experience with the various degrees of white and grey. and of course the very exciting underpaint!
december 6. this was the second painting of our lessons. i don’t know what i was thinking as i started her off with an apple and went straight to this scarf which is silk (hard to keep its shape over the days) and heavily patterned. but i think she did a brilliant job on it
eman elshareef and three white cups
