Hello Anne, 

A person has not seen Nantucket until they have seen it through the eyes of a local artist. 
  
On Thursday July 27th I met you at the Orange Street church for a beginner sketching lesson. You greeted me with a welcoming smile, warm personality, and re-assuring kind handshake. I watched you take glory in reaching out to each new student’s as they arrived, and you gladly took each one of us under your wing. You asked us to gather closely in a circle, and then you made it easy and fun for us to introduce ourselves, share our backgrounds, and our desire to learn to sketch. It was wonderful to meet so many people from different parts of the country. I noticed that we all had one thing in common; we wanted to learn a new skill, and allow ourselves to be creative in a beautiful Nantucket setting. 

My first lesson with you was insightful, you helped us think and look at things in a different ways. You gave wonderful correlations like sketching is to Jazz as drawing is to Classical music. You made your correlations come to life by showing us examples of some of your own work. You told us to trust our eyes, and look at the lines in your subject 80% of the time. Look at your subject as a road map, go off the main roads, and don’t be afraid to explore the side roads. Then you comforted us and said “when you get lost, look at the glass as half full, and have confidence you will find your way”. One by one you helped each of us bring our sketches to life, you taught us to tell our story by using the rule of 3, “like learning the Waltz you said “1. 2. 3.”. Pick three things that show what is happening and then emphasis those three objects to tell the story. It worked like magic! 
  
As a result of my first lesson with you my sense of wonder has come to life. I notice colors and shades of color, I look at things differently, and I appreciate the smallest details in my surroundings. My husband said “what’s going on with you, you are so happy”!? I looked at him as said “I am seeing things in a different way, and by the way, have I told you how handsome you are lately”? Well, of course now he thinks I should go to sketching class everyday! After my first lesson I am sketching and drawing objects and scenes I used to think only a professional artist could create. It’s amazing. 
  
Thank you Anne! You are an amazing nurturing teacher who helps your students trust their own creative abilities. What a wonderful gift you have, and I am glad you share your gift with others.   
  
All the best to you, 
Virginia Sambuco