Back to School: Returning to Wonder Through Art - Royal Talens
Back to School: Returning to Wonder Through Art - Royal Talens

Back to School: Returning to Wonder Through Art

In this blog, Jeffrey Olson, Art Education Director at Royal Talens North America, reflects on the familiar rhythm that every autumn brings. Sketchbooks open, fresh supplies are unpacked, and creative possibilities stretch endlessly ahead. But "back to school" is about something greater than new materials. It's about returning to curiosity, exploration, and the sense of wonder that inspires creativity in the first place.

The Start of Something New

Across schools, colleges and community studios, countless artists will begin the season with acrylics on their palette. Since their introduction in the 1950s, acrylics have become a classroom favourite. Their vibrancy, versatility, ease of use and simple clean-up allow students to spend less time managing materials and more time making art.

Yet the true value of going back to school extends beyond new supplies and fresh starts. Every new term offers an opportunity to rediscover the openness, curiosity and willingness to experiment that lie at the heart of creativity.

It's about returning to wonder.

The Wonderful State of Creativity

Robert Henri, the influential American painter, educator and author of The Art Spirit, once wrote:

"The object is not to make art, but to be in the wonderful state which makes art inevitable."

I've always loved that idea because it reminds us that the goal isn't simply to finish another painting. It's to cultivate a mindset of openness, curiosity and exploration. Henri understood something every artist eventually discovers: great paintings don't begin with technique. They begin with the willingness to experiment, ask questions, make mistakes and remain open to discovery.

A person wearing a dark navy blue hoodie and a black apron with a white geometric pattern stands in an art studio, holding a paintbrush. The studio features wooden easels, a black floor drop, and other people working in the background.

A Medium for Exploration

In many ways, that's what has always made Amsterdam Acrylics such an exceptional teaching medium. They invite experimentation and encourage exploration. Whether you're glazing, layering, printing, collaging, building texture, or simply learning how colour behaves, the paint never gets in the way of the experience. Instead, it supports the creative process, allowing artists to focus on what matters most: learning to see.

The best artists don't have the best answers. They simply ask the best questions.

Learning Through Curiosity

Throughout art history, learning has always been central to creative growth. During the Renaissance, artists learned through close relationships between master and apprentice, while centuries later Josef Albers encouraged students to question not only what they saw, but how they saw it, transforming the study of colour into a lifelong exploration.

Technical skill matters, but an artist's greatest strength is an openness to continual discovery.

Why Every Classroom Needs Wonder

Every studio is also a classroom, and every classroom has the potential to become a studio. Both are spaces where ideas are tested, questions are asked, and mistakes become valuable teachers. The most memorable teachers don't simply provide answers; they create environments where curiosity is welcomed, experimentation is encouraged, and confidence grows one brushstroke at a time.

That philosophy is one of the reasons Amsterdam Acrylics have become such an enduring classroom companion. They don't prescribe a particular style or technique. Instead, they remove barriers to experimentation, allowing artists to discover their own creative voice.

Their brilliant colours, dependable consistency, excellent lightfastness, and versatile range support everything from traditional painting to mixed-media exploration. Whether the lesson lasts an hour or a lifetime, the paint becomes a quiet partner in the learning process.

Teaching as a Conversation

Over the years, I've realised that teaching isn't about anticipating every question. The real education begins when the conversation starts. Every class brings new perspectives, unexpected questions and discoveries that remind us learning is something we do together, not something we deliver.

Teaching, like painting, is a conversation. Every brushstroke, question and shared discovery adds another voice to that dialogue. Each class builds on the ideas and experiences of everyone involved, and the conversation continues long after the workshop ends.

Returning to Wonder

Perhaps that's what "back to school" really means. Not simply returning to a classroom, but returning to wonder, curiosity and the belief that every painting still has something to teach us.

The best teachers know that every lesson is also an opportunity to learn. The best artists know they are still students. And perhaps the greatest gift either can offer is not another answer, but the confidence to ask the next question.

Because every blank canvas offers the same invitation:

To rediscover wonder.

About the author

Jeff Olson is a Seattle based artist with more than thirty years of studio practice and exhibition experience. He is both a painter and an educator with a deep understanding of the materials that shape visual expression.

He is the Art Education Director for Royal Talens North America, where he shares his knowledge with universities, art organisations and professional events throughout the United States and Canada. His work focuses on the history, composition and expressive potential of artists materials. Find out more about Jeff on his website.

Jeff Olson wearing a white t-shirt and a black painter's apron stands in a dimly lit art studio, looking upward. Shelves in the background are filled with art supplies, and a colorful painting hangs on the right wall.

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