My First Art Teacher, Priscilla Waltz

This is an intimate portrait of my very first art teacher, Ms. Priscilla Waltz. She was a neighbor of ours where I grew up (Sea Cliff, NY) so she was aware of my artistic interests from a very early age and she was my most influential encouragement. An accomplished artist in her own right, Priscilla showed me ways of working with charcoal and watercolors that was free and whimsical, a trait that shows up in her wonderful landscapes of the beaches and waters around Long Island. She is shown here looking at one of her numerous sketch books and one of her paintings hangs in the background.