My moment of enlightenment came during a painting class I took several years ago through the Continuing Studies program at Maine College of Art (MECA). It was called Painting for the True Blue Beginner and was taught by artist Patsea Cobb. Our assignment was to find a picture of a painting we liked and try to copy it. I chose Man in a Room by Paul Cezanne. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, but just kept trying to paint what I saw. Patsea had warmed us up with several demos on how to prepare your canvas, lay out the palatte, hold a paint brush … I’ll never forget the moment my view shifted, literally and figuratively. I was working on the man’s pants and tried to copy a shape on one of the legs. I stepped back as Patsea had encouraged us to do and there it was — a wrinkle in the pants. I was astonished and from that moment on, I have been trying to make my own marks. Read More