I wanted the luxury of being a student again. I wanted to challenge my drawing habits. I was looking to feel that nervous energy often paired with new experiences. Monday Evening Drawing – Virtual with Fran O’Neill came recommended to me by my friend, former student, and NYSS staff member Shauna Marley. A decade ago, I took a marathon at NYSS, so I knew this would be the right place to enroll in a drawing class.  

Fran had us drawing within minutes of the start of the first class. How exhilarating to move directly into cobbling together a still life from random items strewn around my desk and get immediate feedback! From that first class, it was easy to trust Fran – I felt guided, challenged, and confident I would get what I was looking for. 

As an artist educator, Fran renewed approaches and concepts that I was able to immediately apply to the classes I teach, as well as in my studio work. I am newly devoted to varying the intensity of edges, and to making a wide range of marks to depict surfaces and spaces.  My use of ink and brush was bolstered; collage is the unsung hero of drawing; red and blue pencils to define spatial protrusions and recessions are brilliant; and, of course, charcoal is everywhere!