Detail : Lean On Me, Copyright 2016, Lesley Humphrey. Watercolor and acrylic on paper. (Collection : Mrs. Crichton-Berner).
It’s been 5 years since I began to write….
When I began writing these lessons in 2011, I didn’t know how many I would create, or for whom. I just knew I had to do them….. I had to pass on what I had discovered.
They have helped thousands of students worldwide, but more importantly, they have healed me….. You see, I had to free my creative soul, somehow rendered ‘inaccessible’ to me after my year as the official 2011 Kentucky Derby Artist. (Probably due to the excessive exposure that brought.)
And so I began to write, and write, and write, and Lessons With Lesley poured out of me! The introduction and the first three lessons were created first, before publishing to my website, (which had to be redesigned and updated to handle the new content…Shout out to one of my computer geniuses, great pal Colin Grigson!)
Within the first 3 days of launching the lessons, I received a request from an art professor in Madrid requesting permission for the lessons to be translated into Spanish, since art curriculum was in short supply and largely unfunded in the Spanish educational system. I agreed.
4 days later I was contacted by an extraordinary lady in New Zealand who was an internet specialist who said that she would like to place some sort of routing code in the site which would allow people to download the content faster. (Something to do with it going back to the original source instead of being passed around, one to another.) She wished to do this for me, for free, in gratitude for my “Pay it forward” gift to artists and would-be artists everywhere.
It has been astonishing how many people are using the lessons. I’ve received some beautiful notes from people from all over the world – often from places I’ve never even heard about. Such is the beauty and power of the internet when used for good things.
I’m touched that you’ve enjoyed them. I ask that you pass them on. They are my way of ‘paying it forward’; of giving back to the Spirit of Art. They are little pearls of inspiration to help you find your way, as others have left pearls for me. I cannot say that they are over, for I will continue upon my creative path my whole life, learning, bringing you along with me from time-to-time… Until I’m inspired to write more, I’d like to let you know what I’m working on now with the help of my gifted son, Chris….
We’re in the process of creating video demonstrations!
For over 20 years, art teachers and students who have taken workshops with me have asked for demonstrations on my 12 lights and painting techniques. You’ve told us you need to ‘see it done’. We get it; We know that most of you are ‘visual learners’. Like David B., (an art teacher in England) said after watching one of my workshop demos; “I cannot believe what I’ve just seen… It’s like you’ve taken a wrecking ball to everything I knew about painting, and where old constructs once stood, the light is now flooding in!”
So …. we’ve decided to show you some demonstrations to help you understand Lessons With Lesley even better……
Want to see the process in action? Click below.
Final Word….
PAY IT FORWARD
My life is a living testament to the old statement “What comes around, goes around”’; or “What you do for others in an act of generosity, comes back tenfold”. In honor of this code, I began writing down everything I know in these lessons in 2011 and began to offer them out, for free…. But it’s very valuable information. The lessons constitute a lifetime of learning, and are lent to you as an act of generosity to help you on your artistic journey. If you find this material helpful, continue to ‘pay it forward’ by sharing this website with others so that they too can be inspired with Art through "Lessons With Lesley."
We’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment or question on the contact page.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY/COPYRIGHT STATEMENT: (LEGAL STUFF…)
All content and images contained in this website, including “Lessons With Lesley” remain the property of Lesley Humphrey, along with all rights and privileges connected thereto under international copyright laws. Under no circumstances can the content of this website be transferred or utilized for other than one-time, personal use without permission of Lesley Humphrey, or L and L Humphrey, LLC, its agents or assigns.