An old cliché states that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but to WEHS art teacher Jennifer Thompson, that simply isn’t true. According to her, anyone can become an artist.

After 16 years of teaching high school, a few more teaching college and a lifetime of loving art, she has grown passionate about helping others hone their talents and find their creativity.

“Although drawing accurately is definitely easier for some people than others, everybody can improve their drawing abilities with practice, and there are some great tricks that can help people develop their skills,” she said. “It’s equally important to help students learn how to look at their own work critically to find areas for improvement, how to think more creatively, how to arrange a composition in an engaging way, and how to develop their technical abilities with a wide variety of art materials.  All of these are teachable skills, and the more a student practices, the better their art will become.”

This year Thompson has 120 art students. She teaches Art 1-4, Pre-AP Art 2 and AP Drawing.

For the full story, see the Nov. 29 issue or subscribe online.

By Morgan Howard • [email protected]