Dear Barry and Jacqui,
I write this as a thank you for the gift of this incredible learning tool.
Here is my little story of how you impacted me… My mother and a sister are/ were… artists… i kept well clear.. feeling as though it just wasn’t my thing.
I became a musician. and didn’t even THINK about painting, until one day a few years after my mother died, i was in Edinburgh picking up some of her paintings to keep at our home in Canada, and suddenly i HAD to learn to paint…. After getting home i found the Marc Carder method and set up a room in my house to learn it…. I copied religiously… At the same time, our middle son was developing very serious Schizophrenia, and was hospitalized for almost two years…
anyway… i think it was therapy for me…
After i had learned to copy religiously,…. i realized i needed to actually learn to paint. to be looser,… .. to see,.. to think for myself,.. and that’s when i found you.
In between hospital visits, and learning to understand Schizophrenia, i took refuge in painting.
I started working through your classes and lessons.
The way you explained everything was so clear, and your examples illustrated beautifully what we could achieve,.. while being extraordinarily clear ,.. you manage to avoid being pedantic about any particular style. !
So,… i started working, learning, experimenting ,… very slowly, because by this time our boy was home, and needed full time care.
Your system was a refuge for me as i grieved, and coped, and we all,… gradually healed.
Over the years, he has improved,… my work load has lightened,.. and i can make regular time for this hobby that is as deep and wide as music, and life itself. Painting.
Thank you,.. for creating the tools and system for me, and the thousands of others who are participating in the Virtual Art Academy to delve deep into this amazing world of art and creativity.
In Gratitude,
Alison Nixon