"I was a novice, an adult beginner wanting to learn to paint, and I was too much the novice to know I had stumbled into an open art class where folks who know the skills required come to get coaching on a work in progress.  But Nicholas Stewart took me on, starting with the most basic instructions and patiently encouraged me week after week, introducing me one step at a time to skills I needed to express myself using paint.  In an open classroom setting, I was getting private lessons and didn't realize it.  It's been six and a half years since I started those weekly training sessions.  His patience and encouragement are wrapped around a positive enthusiasm that all comes together as an exciting energy.  He helps you see that you can paint, and then shows you ways to do it!  Nicholas likes to teach.  And he's good at teaching, explaining and coaching, using positive reinforcement as the driving force in his teaching.  His knowledge of art history is expansive and he loves to weave the study of painters into his classes on painting.  I've watched Nicholas in action a long time, and have concluded that the mastery skill level of someone so young is a sign of extraordinary talent. Nicholas is something special and I feel fortunate that he's been my teacher."  -Steve Rickman