My name is Mark A Smith student number 511564 and I am currently enrolled on my second course with the Open College of Art, Painting 1: the Practice of Painting. I am 41years old and have been in Thailand for the best part of thirteen years arriving for the second time, to stay, in April 2000. I have been working as an English teacher in Thailand since February 2004 and teach at both a language centre and primary school.

Until the Drawing 1: Drawing Skills Level 1, that I completed prior to this course, I had not studied art in any form since leaving school in 1989, however over the last 6 years I have got back into painting using mostly acrylics on canvas using a very crude often pointillism style. But taking this course I am hoping to improve both my painting and drawing skills and hopefully work towards a B.A. Painting (hons).