gail on the Continuing Cutting Edge of Learning
On Dec. 15, 1982, gail completed and signed her first watercolor painting. That painting, which features three Dole bananas in a bowl, hangs proudly in her studio. During the past 26 years, gail has strived to become the very best teacher/facilitator she can be. Following are some of the highlights.
It all started in 1982, to quote gail, “when a neighbor asked me to take a watercolor class with her. ‘It'll be fun and we can carpool,’ the friend promised. I told her, ‘That sounds like fun, but I draw stick people!’ I kept painting; she didn't.” Anna Kaye Singley was gail’s first teacher. gail studied with her weekly from 1982-89. gail took her first watercolor workshop in 1985. The artist tries to attend at least one watercolor workshop a year. During the past 23 years, she has studied with 30 different watercolor instructors, some of them several times, in workshops lasting from a few days to two weeks.
In 1982, to further educate herself and assist her students, gail began buying and reading watercolor instructional books by well respected painters, authors and teachers. Her research library now contains more than 200 books. She frequently adds watercolor instructional books, as she continues to learn. gail subscribes to Watercolor and Watercolor Magic magazines and reads them faithfully. She has bound, back issues of Watercolor Magic dating from 1996. She tries to read something about watercolor painting every day. At present, gail also has a collection of 35 watercolor instruction videos/DVDs. She has watched several of them many times.
Since 1995, gail has taken five European art education trips to England, France, Italy, Spain and Switzerland. During her 26-year painting career, she has visited as many art galleries, art shows and art museums as possible. gail wants to see as much art as she can. She will tell anyone that her students keep her energized. Her students are her motivation to study and learn as she tries to keep just a little ahead of them. She says that she has to keep learning to be a good instructor. gail believes that if she quits learning, she might as well quit teaching!
gail as a Judge of Art Shows
gail has judged art shows on local, county and statewide levels. In the late 1990s, she was the judge for the 2D visual arts competition for the Tennessee State Fair. Since 1995, she has taught three local watercolor classes a week. When her students began to enter art shows, including the Tennessee State Fair, gail had to retire from judging any event where her students might have entries. gail also was one of the judges who picked the three finalists from the more than 90 entries of the Historic Franklin State of Tennessee vehicle license plates.
gail as a Critiquer of Art
gail limits each watercolor painting class or workshop to 20 students. At the close of each daily session, she critiques her students’ works. The watercolorist is known for her helpful, incisive, instructive, gracious critiques, which are appreciated by each artist. These are real learning experiences for the whole group and the most important part of the day! Counting her three weekly classes and workshops in the U.S., Canada, Guatemala and Europe, gail has provided more than 20,000 critiques.
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