It was only meant to fill the quiet spells. Instead, a little art family took shape

When I began thinking about art courses for children, there was certainly no grand business plan behind it.

It was actually much simpler than that.

When you sell paintings, there are times when everything happens at once. The commissions, the sales, the work all come together. Then things go quiet again.

I wanted to find a meaningful way to fill those quiet spells.

It occurred to me that I could teach children.

Back then, I had no idea that one day I would face the exact opposite problem.

Today, I am fully booked, because I simply could not take on any more children.

They actually found their own way to me

The courses did not begin with me sitting down one day and saying: Right, now I’m going to become an art tutor.

It happened gradually and naturally. Parents began getting in touch to ask whether I would teach their children to draw and paint.

So I gave it a try.

And I discovered that I enjoyed it.

I really loved it.

I was also surprised by the children who came to my classes. They are capable, perceptive, curious and often incredibly energetic.

And they really do have talent.

Sometimes I am genuinely surprised by what they come up with, how they think about a painting, or how they tackle something I would have approached completely differently.

Gradually, being their teacher became something a little different

At first, of course, I was the teacher, and they were the children who came to my art course.

But over time, that relationship changed.

The children keep coming back. We get to know each other better and better, and I learn not just how they create, but who they are.

They bring me their pictures and little gifts. They come in and give me a hug. After the holidays, they tell me they have missed me.

At moments like these, I realise that something originally intended simply to fill the quieter time between paintings has become something else entirely.

We have become our own little art family.

And perhaps that is what I value most of all.

‘That’s all right. Come on, let’s fix it.’

There is one thing I try to teach the children from their very first lesson.

There is no wrong way.

If something does not work out, it is not the end of the world. Has the paint strayed, has a line landed in the wrong place, has something smudged, or does the result suddenly look different from what you imagined?

That’s all right.

Come on, let’s fix it.

In painting, so many things can be changed, painted over or used in a completely different way. And sometimes what first looked like a mistake becomes the most interesting part of the painting.

I do not want children to be afraid to make a brushstroke just because it might be wrong.

I want them to experiment.

Above all, I want them to leave feeling they have achieved something.

That is why they often hear me say:

‘That’s beautiful.’

‘Well done.’

‘Brilliant!’

‘You’re so clever.’

They may be ordinary words. But sometimes they can mean an enormous amount to a child.

You don’t have to do everything exactly as I do

Of course, I teach them things. I demonstrate techniques, guide them and sometimes need them to try a particular approach.

At the same time, I do not want ten identical pictures.

Sometimes I let them do things entirely their own way. At other times, we find a compromise:

‘Of course you can. But first, let’s try this thing I want to show you.’

And it works.

I have two children of my own, so I know quite well by now that you do not have to push a child into everything. Often, you simply need to find the right way to guide them.

If a child really does not want to do something, I do not force them.

To me, an art course should not be a place where a child spends ninety minutes following an adult’s instructions.

They should be learning, but they must enjoy it too.

And what have the children taught me?

They have certainly taught me patience.

Although, with two children of my own, I had already had some practice in that department. 😄

But they have taught me something else too.

They have taught me not to be afraid of colour.

Children sometimes do not overthink colour the way we adults do. They simply reach for a colour they like. They try combinations I might not venture to use myself.

And it often works.

In that respect, they inspire me.

I teach in a way that feels right to me

I do not follow any complicated philosophy when running my courses.

I teach children in a way that feels right to me.

I am a warm person, I genuinely love children, and I want them to feel comfortable here. From the responses of parents and the children themselves, I feel that this approach works.

I do not want to be someone who simply stands beside the table, checking whether a child is holding their brush correctly.

I want to teach them something. I want them to develop their creative skills.

But how they feel while creating matters just as much to me.

What would I like them to take away with them one day?

Of course, I will be happy if they learn to draw and paint.

But I will be even happier if they take something else away too.

A sense of satisfaction with what they have created themselves.

Friendship.

Understanding.

The courage to try something.

And above all, the knowledge that not everything has to be perfect, and a mistake is not the end.

Perhaps we will correct it.

Perhaps we will paint over it.

And perhaps it will turn into something even better than we originally planned.

Looking back, there is actually something quite funny about it.

The courses were originally only meant to fill the quiet spells in my painting work.

Now, without the children’s laughter, colours, pictures, hugs and our time creating together, my studio would feel far too quiet.