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“I was working, had 3 little kids and a household to run. I wasn’t doing anything for my enjoyment or self-fulfillment. I needed more free creative time. The decision to join the art class changed my life!” – Annette Back


When and why did you start taking art classes at The Art Studio NY?
I started taking classes in the fall of 2014. At the time, I was working, had 3 little kids and a household to run. I wasn’t doing anything for my enjoyment or self-fulfillment.
Some friends of mine took me to a paint party at The Art Studio NY for the evening. That night I had a big AHA moment. Since graduating from School of Visual Arts, I had not painted – I used my creativity only for my clients, and that is not the same as expressing yourself freely. I needed some more of that free creative time. The decision to join the class changed my life!
What advice would you tell a total beginner who feels afraid of taking an art class or they feel they “have no talent”?
Go for it. Just try it. Most of the time, if you have the urge to paint, you have the talent within you. It’s just not tapped.
What makes your experience at The Art Studio NY unique and memorable?
I take a weekly class “Dare to Paint: Intermediate Oil Painting” on Wednesdays with instructor/Founder Rebecca Schweiger. The atmosphere, the teacher and the comradely of the students is what makes my art class experience unique and memorable. We all love to be there and help each other. It is inspiring to see the progress and completion of each others work. The feedback is invaluable. I have made friends for life.
What is something you have achieved because of your art classes that you never thought you could?
I have achieved the confidence to go out into the art world and exhibit my work confidently.
What are you most proud of when it comes to your artistic journey?
I have learned to paint freely, experiment, and recognize a happy accident. Also, I am currently building a body of work.
What fears have you overcome, on and off the canvas, since starting to paint?
I have overcome the fear of “doing something wrong” or “messing it up” on canvas.
How have your art classes allowed you to relax and relieve stress?
There is nothing like following your inner voice to create. I love it. I now paint at home as well.
How have your art classes changed your life, either in your art or your everyday life?
Yes, I am now exhibiting, selling, working at home as well as in the studio. I want to paint more now.
If you’re like me, you may be feeling a certain stress as summer is replaced with “fall takeover”. Amidst the pressures of daily life, we all need a healthy escape. My favorite way to recenter myself is by spending time in the woods. I could sit silently for hours, just simply “being”, listening to the leaves dance in the wind, watching time pass. In nature, I love to watercolor painting to express what I see and feel, forgetting everything, while letting my paintbrush do all of the talking.
Students at The Art Studio NY always say how meditative and cathartic painting is. I fully agree.
I recently explored the #blueridgeparkway and #blueridgemountains and now that I’m back in Manhattan, when I close my eyes, I still see the expansive layers of blue mountains for as far as the eye can see.
The journey with a paintbrush allows me to visit the woods anytime I want. Through watercolor painting, I re-experience the quiet of nature and visit that same escape in my mind, imagination and through painting, without having traveled a mile.
What and where is your healthy escape that brings you peace in the midst of life’s hustle and bustle? Entering our 15th year at The Art Studio NY, we are grateful to offer nearly 100 weekly escapes in the form of adult art classes, teen art classes and kids art classes. We invite you to our art studio this fall to discover your home away from home, where you can escape, recenter, and reconnect with the fulfilling and meaningful self-expression you’re needing and longing for.
Rebecca
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