On Friday, January 25^th, Vermont painter Craig Mooney returned to The Renaissance School to visit a second grade classroom to share some painting techniques with the aspiring artists in the classroom.

“The level of their enthusiasm was really surprising to me,” said Mooney. “I wasn’t expecting it.”

Stephanie Decarreau, the students’ teacher, had a similar observation. “For weeks, the children were asking me when Craig [Mooney] was coming. They were so excited when he came back to teach them painting techniques.”

The children worked with Mooney for almost two hours, as he instructed them in landscape and still life painting, brush techniques, color mixing, and distinguishing different elements from one another.

“I really wanted them to draw on their imagination for inspiration,” said Mooney. “I wanted to encourage the joy of painting and not confine them to any format.”

Both Mooney and Decarreau were impressed with the way their students excelled at painting. “The best part was seeing the artist in each of them express themselves. You could really see the spirit of each child coming through in the artwork,” said Decarreau.

“I was surprised at how advanced they were,” said Mooney. “They painted with a lot of enthusiasm and skill I wasn’t expecting to see.”

Decarreau felt the success of the children’s work was due directly to Mooney’s instruction on proper technique. “The technique, I think, is really what allows them to express themselves so clearly, and the learning of that technique is what is so important.”

“Craig [Mooney] was so engaging and lively with the children that he really inspired them. It really comes through when he’s teaching.”

“It was a real boost for me to be able to come and work with the children,” said Mooney. “Children get so excited about things that adults don’t, and that joy is a good cure for the January doldrums. It was a really great experience for me. I love to be able to give something back.”

Both Decarreau and Mooney agreed on the educational importance of the arts. “Bringing art into the classroom really awakens something in the child that is already there,” said Decarreau. “It’s really important for children to know that making art is a choice available to them. When I was a child, they’d bring in a lawyer, or a zookeeper to talk about their job, and no one ever brought in an artist to show that you could make a living doing this,” said Mooney.

Mooney said he would love to come back. “I felt very uplifted by the experience. I’d love go back in another season and work with the children, perhaps outside.”