Leading the group of 20 artists gathered on a recent Tuesday, instructor gail Mcdaniel uses one of her beginner students to show how to blend and pull the colors of the student's red Poinsettia painting so that the colors pop out to the eye. A collective "oh" fills the room. Another useful skill is absorbed.

Mcdaniel has the rare gift to not only teach others and lead her own well-received career as a watercolor artist, but she does so with unwavering support.

"She's excellent, very complimentary, very gentle with her students and lots of fun to be around," said student Sonja Zachary. "I've always admired her work and the way she is so confident and excited and has so much enthusiasm."

Added Denise Lebowitz of Brentwood, Mcdaniel's student of eight weeks: "I've always enjoyed drawing, and I've wondered how that would translate with paint and canvas. That's one good thing about gail, she really gets you going."

Watercolor artist gail Mcdaniel, above, helps student Ann Kegarise of Franklin during class at Brentwood United Methodist Church.

Words on Mcdaniel Family: Three children and seven grandchildren plus two stepchildren, with one in memory. On Nov. 12, 1994, she married Ken Mcdaniel. What I learned at my first job: "As a real estate agent, I learned how much fun it was working with young couples. Some liked to work with those that had a little more money. But I liked working with those who were buying their first home. They were so excited." What makes a good leader: "I would have to say you've got to love the people you work with and you've got to love what you're doing."

Article courtesy of:
The Tennessean, Williamson A.M.,
Nashville, Tennessee.

The early years

But a lot of that support comes because Mcdaniel was once someone on the outside looking in, never believing she could do what she admired.

In South Carolina, Mcdaniel, originally from Kentucky, thought of herself as a mother and a successful real estate agent. But she also had a creative side. She took courses to become a flower show judge and was well-known for her needlepoint.

One day in 1982, a neighbor asked Mcdaniel to accompany her to a watercolor class.

"I said, 'Watercolor has always been my favorite medium and I would love to try it. But I draw stick people.' 'Oh, come on,' the neighbor said. 'We'll carpool and it'll be fun.' I kept painting; she didn't," Mcdaniel said.

She signed and dated her first watercolor painting - three Dole bananas in a dish - on Dec. 15, 1982, and entered her first art competition the following year. She won and award for realism.

Mcdaniel enjoyed painting so much that she began taking workshops. She has studied with 24 artists in workshops that have lasted three days to two weeks.

Classes anyone?

After a move to Kingsport, Tenn., she settled in Brentwood in 1993. The following year, Mcdaniel was hanging a watercolor show at the old Brentwood Library building on Maryland Way when she noticed an admirer gazing at her works.
Brentwood resident Elaine Ford said, "If you ever teach watercolor classes, please call me."

Mcdaniel considered it a great compliment from Ford, an accomplished photographer and artist.

The idea was planted in Mcdaniel's mind and Ford signed on for her first watercolor class in 1995 in a little room at the Baptist Children's Home Recreation Hall. That group grew so much Mcdaniel had to add two more classes, limit the size to 12 students per class and move them all to Brentwood United Methodist.
Las year, demand for her instruction increased even more. And there is currently a waiting list.

In the meantime, Mcdaniel makes sure she continues to learn and improve. "To continue my growth as a teacher, I go to Europe at least once every three years to study and learn as I visit major art museums, galleries and shows, maintain established contacts and meet new people," she said.

Back at home

Her work here exists in private collections, exhibit halls and in her own studio. The Franklin Marriott Hotel and Convention Center has 18 of her works on permanent display.
"I supplement these foreign trips with travel in the U.S. I read material pertaining to art every day and maintain a schedule of attending workshops to learn from others," she said.
But Mcdaniel's favorite work comes from her own students.

In October, she led a trip to the five-day workshop at the Stanley Hotel, a historic structure in Estes Park, Colo. Brentwood retiree Ron Kegaries, a regular student of Mcdaniel's, took his wife, Ann, a non-artist, to the workshop. She was looking to sightsee while her husband painted. She ended up painting right beside him.

"Just the enthusiasm for painting that everybody had in the workshop carried over to the spectators. It looked like fun. But it was gail who convinced me that I could do it," Ann Kegarise said.

Paint like Georgia

Next September, Mcdaniel and some of her students plan to head to the Ghost Ranch in Abiquiu, N.M., made famous for the late painter Georgia O'Keeffe, for a similar workshop. The trip is dedicated to Elaine Ford, who first suggested that McDaniel become a teacher.

"I love to see my students succeed. That's the best compliment I could ever get," Mcdaniel said.

One of her students, Greg Miles, illustrated the covers of two books, Horses Never Lie by Mark Rashid and Squirrels at my Window by Grace Marmor Spruch. Another student, Brenda Brannon, was chosen by the 2002 Easter Seals Art Competition as one of the six winning entries to be distributed to 15 million homes nationwide in February.

New watercolor classes begin Jan. 8 with sessions from 9 a.m.-noon or 6-9 p.m., or Thursday mornings from 9 a.m.-noon. The eight-week sessions cost $100. Private instruction is also available.

Other ways to get into a workshop or class with Mcdaniel include a three-day workshop in April sponsored by the Cheekwood Fine Art Institute, a six-day workshop in Monteagle July 29-Aug. 3, or an eight-day workshop in Dieulefit, France, in 2003.

For more information on any of the classes or workshops, call Mcdaniel at 599-5115, e-mail her at gail@gailmcdanielart.com or visit the Web site at: www.gailmcdaneilart.com.