Charlotte Cann, "but I made up my mind I'm not going to stop there. I'm going to do whatever I can do.'' The lively senior was referring to steps she has taken to realise a life-long dream of becoming an artist.

"Art was something I always wanted to do, right from my school days. I always took first prize for drawing at Central School. Mr. Victor Scott was the one who gave me the initiative, that little push,'' she recounted, "but I couldn't go any further because my parents couldn't afford to pay for my studies, so I had to stop.'' With marriage and motherhood, spare time was always at a premium. Nonetheless, whenever Mrs. Cann felt the need of a quiet moment to herself -- even if it meant sitting up late at night -- out would come the crayons and drawing paper.

Today, her art supplies are much more sophisticated -- water colours, proper art paper, brushes, canvas -- for the mother-of-three intends to seize the opportunity provided by the Senior Islanders' Club with both hands.

Specifically, she is one of a group of seniors who have signed up for Mrs.

Cheryl Marshall's introductory art workshop at the Club's Admiralty Park headquarters.

"I have gone right into it, and I intend to go places. I'm not just doing it for the fun of it,'' Mrs. Cann vowed.

With four lessons under her belt, her only concern so far is learning how to use her own imagination.

"I can draw what I see before me, but I can't imagine anything in my mind,'' she confessed.

And what does her husband think of his wife's new-found hobby? "Well,'' she said slowly, "he's a man of few words -- he loves to read, read, read -- so he hasn't encouraged me, nor has he discouraged me. One of these days I'm going to paint him while he's sitting in his chair reading!'' As for the three children she said: "When I tell them `Your mother is an artist' they just laugh it off, but I tell them, "One of these days I am going to prove it to you just like I did when you said I couldn't get my driver's licence'.'' (They were wrong then too).

For retiree Miss Ruth Simmons, the art classes are simply "something to pass the time''. Although she is learning what she set out to discover -- the use of colour -- and has produced some attractive little pieces, she says she has no desire to pursue art beyond the present course.

"I'm not that good but I have always liked the idea of drawing,'' she said of her enrolment, "and when this opportunity came along I said, `Well, maybe I'll learn something'. I enjoy it when I'm here but it isn't something that I will continue to do. I can't see things the way I feel an artist should see things.'' But perhaps she should take heart, for Mrs. Marshall isn't a professional teacher. Rather, she is someone who has developed a natural gift and wants to share what she knows with others.

In fact, Mrs. Marshall wound up teaching this art class by accident. She originally applied for the job of craft teacher for the Senior Islanders' Club, but organiser Rev. Fred Hassell suggested the art class instead, and she readily agreed.

Her awareness of the beauty of nature was first awakened as a student at Gilbert Institute, but it was not until she witnessed a magnificent sunrise above Horseshoe Bay that she felt compelled to record what she had seen on canvas.

"That sunrise was so spectacularly beautiful that I said, `I would love to try to capture something of its beauty on canvas'. It was after that that I actually did my first work,'' she related.

She was also inspired by her wheelchair-bound nephew who, despite his handicap, paints holding a brush between his teeth.

"I thought, `Here am I with two hands, helping him to adjust the brush between his teeth and doing nothing with my own hands'!'' Mrs. Marshall's preferred medium is oils, though she also works with watercolours, and from modest beginnings, Mrs. Marshall has gone on to sell her works commercially.

Now, for the first time, she is teaching seniors the rudiments of a hobby that has brought pleasure to so many. But could they be too old to learn? "Oh no. Art has nothing to do with age, it has to do with desire -- wanting to do something,'' she countered. "Art is about capturing beauty on canvas so that we can appreciate it for a long time to come.

"In any case, no matter what age we are, we still need companionship, and to get on with things that we have always wanted to do but never had the time, money or opportunity to do. Not everyone wants to spend their time cooking and ironing. They want to something different.'' Student Mrs. Margaret Swan is a case in point. "I think as we get older we must find things to occupy our minds,'' she said.

Like her teacher, Mrs. Swan's ultimate goal is to be able to capture the beauty of nature.

"Where I live we get such beautiful sunsets that I want to be able to paint one,'' she said.

Although this workshop is of short duration, and Mrs. Marshall describes it as "a basic introduction to art, designed to encourage the student to grow,'' she said another might be arranged if there was sufficient interest.

NEVER TOO OLD -- Mrs. Cheryl Marshall (left) teaches (clockwise from left) Mrs. Charlotte Cann, Miss Ruth Simmons and Mrs. Margaret Swan the rudiments of painting. The ladies are participating in a six-week art workshop being held at the Senior Islanders' Club headquarters in Spanish Point.