For more than 10 years, the art center at the Tucson Jewish Community Center has received its share of painters every Friday.
They paint, talk and listen to classical music from 9:30 a.m. to noon.
For Murray Keshner, 84, who teaches the four-week "Anyone Can Draw and Paint Class," his interaction with students keeps him coming back.
"I learn as much from them as they do from me," Keshner said, holding a clean brush. "We try to have a lot of fun here, keep it light and everything."
Students who are members of the JCC pay $60; non-members pay $75. Students can attend at their leisure, not necessarily four weeks in a row.
For student Diane Michaels, who has been taking the class for five years, the class offers a break from her routine at home.
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"It is truly multicultural in that we learn a little Yiddish, a little Hebrew, a little French," said Michaels, who was learning to paint with watercolors. "We listen to music and I love it. I do find it very relaxing."
Eight-year class veteran Itzak Zamir said the class is a reason to get out of the house.
"I spend my day here at the JCC," he said.
Keshner, a former New York City art director who teaches art at Pima Community College, said he enjoys motivating students.
"I just tell people I am their third eye," he said. "I am here to take what they are and what they want to bring out in themselves and that's my job as a teacher."
Connie Whitehurst sketched out what she wanted to paint and asked Keshner for ideas on shadowing.
"As long as I can keep learning from him, I am going to stay with him," Whitehurst said. "He is an unusually good teacher. He can move from one person to another, and each of us is at a different level of skill and experience. I like the individual attention and it's fun."
Contact photographer David Sanders at dsanders@azstarnet.com or 573-4155.
