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Featured Artist Wanda Alsup

My husband & I have celebrated over 50 years of marriage. We have two sons who live in Idaho. Needless to say, my early years were spent managing a home, being a wife, mother and holding down a variety of jobs. Besides painting, I enjoy crocheting and love my Kindle for reading. Vacation trips as a passenger on my hubby's Honda motorcycle are wonderful.

My husband and I watched Bob Ross "Joy of Painting" on PBS frequently. Even though I enjoyed all kinds of crafts, I never dreamed that I would be able to paint and to become an instructor. While traveling in Arizona, we had an opportunity to take a class from a newly certified Bob Ross instructor. We were hooked immediately. We returned home to Idaho and began practicing on a daily basis. The little store room where we set up our easels soon became crowded with all the canvas we used. After many hours of practice, we arranged for the instructor to come to our home to teach. We found other people interested in painting and set up several classes. We would practice and practice between class sessions that were several months apart.

Finally, Pat was encouraged to pursue becoming an instructor which requires 3 sessions of week-long classes that were held in Portland, OR. He would return home after a session and practice what he had learned. After he began teaching landscapes I decided to become a floral instructor. We packed up our 5th wheel and headed to Portland where I attended the classes. Soon we were both teaching on a regular basis. We built a studio in our home and became full time instructors.

We taught classes in Idaho and Wyoming during the summers and in Arizona in the winter. We taught in craft stores, senior centers, colleges and private home. We would arrange a place, advertise and were always surprised at how many people wanted to try this method of painting. The Bob Ross method is absolutely the best way to learn how to load paint on your brush and how to place the brush on the canvas. We told our students it takes 3 things to become an artist. First is the desire and rest is practice, practice and more practice. Many students continue to paint this way exclusively and others soon develop a technique of their own.

Time spent with a paint brush in hand just flies. I consider the ability to paint a gift and still try to improve on my technique. When the paint flows easily, it is a very good day to paint.


 

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