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At Central high school I studied with Fred Gill. He arranged for me to attend Saturday morning classes at the Philadelphia Art Museum. The classes were free and some of the students were girls. The instruction was excellent. I recall that when ever I had a problem I was referred to one of the painters works in the museum. I recall Juan Gries as the one most frequently suggested. Utrillo, and Cezzane were favorites at that time.
At Bucknell it was Blanchard Gummo based on a note from Fred Gill he agreed to allow me to paint instead of sketching plaster casts. His patient support resulted in numerous prizes including the Phi Beta Kappa prize for creativity. In particular I appreciated his support in a 2 hour debate with Margaret Mead rejecting her claim that painters like Vincent VanGogh were a dime a dozen.
The initial studio was located in the attic of the engineering building. That meant that fall courses ran short on light. We often had long discussions. One of the most important lessons learned was on should not depend on "happy accidents." I have been in other studios and Blanchard's was different. He never in any way influenced students to paint like him. A walk through his studio classes demonstrated this all of the paintings were different as they reflected the students and not the teacher.
Then there are stories of Louie Kahn from my Penn architecture school days. While reviewing my design of a residence, he reminded me that it is not only important to know where you are going, but that you should have a way to get there. Can you say stairs? Apparently not after working on that design project for 24 hour charrette. In Minneapolis there was instruction from Walter Quirt. He introduced me to large canvases and large brushes. I also recall the adventure involved in carrying those canvases to class. The rout included walking across the Golden Gophers football stadium on a windy day.
However, at the start of it all was my mother Miriam. She had been a an art supervisor as well as a painter. I often asked what she thought of a painting. She would always reply that the painting was very interesting. That was the right answer for me.
One more person. He worked at the MAB paint store. When I took my work to show him he was always encouraging with his suggestions. He suggested things that I could try. I have been very lucky. No one ever told me I could not paint.
