Susan Sternau Studios: Fine Art and Art Lessons, Sausalito, California

The teaching part, I started about 10 years ago. I had work in a gallery downtown called Artful Art, and someone wandered in and liked my paintings, and asked the gallery owner if he could take art lessons with me. Paint with people, or draw with them. So I show them, you know, I'm making mistakes too. It's always a joy. I mean, I love working with people and seeing how they can grow as artists. My goal always as an art teacher is to give people the skills and confidence to work on their own. I love the natural world, and I think living in the Bay Area, which is so beautifully, naturally beautiful, and walking along the water every day has been a real inspiration. And I try to put my joy with life and with what I'm seeing around me into the paintings. You know, I've always been drawn to nature, and I've spent, as a teenager, I've spent a lot of time outside, hiking camps, and nature walks. It's very fulfilling to see people grow and gain confidence with paint, and start producing, or drawing, and produce works that they're really proud of. My goal always as an art teacher is to give people the skills and confidence to work on their own. The joy of the process of being in the moment. You know, after a little while, the fear and the judgment kind of drop away. Well, I always get ideas from my students. I mean, I think their enthusiasm keeps me going forward.