Encourager & Critic

Have you ever had a teacher who not only gave you instruction but who also gave you the confidence needed to continue learning and growing? I’ve had several very good teachers in my life, some I loved because they loved me, some because I respected them for their great wealth of knowledge and some of my best teachers were just really good people who taught me how to live.

All these characteristics were rolled into the one art teacher I’ve studied with for the past four years. Jim Himsworth is that teacher. At Warehouse 521 in Nashville, Jim would go from student to student critiquing their work. The students were working in different mediums and different subject matters. Some artists would be working in oils, others in water color, others drawing with graphite pencil or some like myself with charcoal. Jim addressed each student with their own special interest and needs and made suggestions on how to make the artwork better.

Some of his comments were, “draw with straight lines, step back, always paint beautiful shapes, start with something you know you can get right, only paint what you see and, pop in the lightest lights and the darkest darks and you’re done.” Our beloved art teacher is making a move to South Carolina and will no longer be our weekly nourishment in the quest to become an artist, but what he leaves behind for us is the ability to believe in ourselves and keep at it. Learning a skill like drawing or painting is not easy and I never believed, until I studied with Jim Himsworth that I could attempt portraits.

A skilled teacher who can demonstrate art technique and also make his own beautiful art is a rare quality in the art education world. Thank you Jim, you will be greatly missed. But, you have left behind a legacy for aspiring artists who once said, “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can, to a more confident artist who can say, “I thought I could, I thought I could, I thought I could.” The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper.