Jane Helton

80 Rancho del Sol

Camino, CA 95709

(530) 647-1336

TravelPaintbrush@aol.com

Unlike many of Mary’s students, I had no real history with art, teaching art or painting.  Painting ceramics was popular when I first started “crafting”.  I missed the acrylic painting phase that so many entered…so it took me awhile to understand “side load and float”.  It wasn’t that I had no interest in painting… I was in the Army and didn’t have time for myself to learn fun things.  At least until 2004…when visions of retirement were quickly becoming a reality.

Here is my story…  My motto for years had been “Crafts, Cookies and Grandkids” and I started learning different types of things to do after I retired as a Colonel from the Army.

I was taking a picture framing class and saw the beautiful painting of another student.  I was intrigued with the style and technique of her painting…it was beautiful!  When she told me she’d never painted a thing in her life, I knew this was something I wanted to look into! She gave me the name of a local Mary Owens teacher and I made an appointment for a private class.  During that class, my teacher contacted Mary and told her “This gal has talent and should learn to teach Mary’s technique”...well,  don’t  you know I was surprised!

Two months later, I enrolled in a Certification Course and started on my adventure of ‘Pen and Ink with Roughing’ using Mary’s Designs.

Five years after my initial Certification Course, several refresher courses with Mary, attending EEP, assistant teaching with Mary and my retirement from the Army,  I started teaching one-on-one and small classes. It’s so fun to watch the students as they create their own project.  The response from the students is always the same... They love going home with a finished product.

I have expanded my own painting abilities and now use Mary’s Pen and Roughing method I learned to design my own paintings from photos that I’ve taken.