I was taken aback when someone at my last workshop described my teaching style this way - at first I thought I must be scaring the pants off them! Thinking it over for a few days I realised that what she was telling me was that I urge people to take risks. That's true- my workshops are often outside the comfort zone (including mine!) . I don't see any point in encouraging people to do something that they can already do. 
I  once visited a weekly painting group  ( who had a great artist as teacher)and realised ,uncomfortably , that some of the students had been attending that group for years , and were still painting at the same level as when they began.  That's all fine and dandy if it's a social get together, but pretty pointless if you want to become a better painter. I have been  fortunate to have some tough teachers along the way, who constantly lifted the bar on me, so I would like to get others to try harder too. The look on someone's face when they realise that they can do something they didn't think they could is amazing - and what keeps me trying  to pass on what I know.
And if it's any comfort, I still scare myself quite often too! This morning I was out painting on the road to Mt.Robert - I always take a deep breath when I set up my easel in public- will I make a total fool of myself?  Five minutes into it and I really don't care ....I'm going to do my best and enjoy myself. And I did.

A question which I'm  often asked is whether I prefer watercolour or oils. Strangely enough, I like them both equally. I do sometimes paint entirely in one medium for weeks, then suddenly switch to the other, for no apparent reason that I can fathom! When I'm about to begin a painting I sometimes consider which medium will help me achieve what I want to express. If I'm painting a moody, watery scene I'll often reach for my watercolours, faced with a rugged mountain range it may be oil paint that I pick up. But sometimes the opposite happens.  Very occasionally I'll paint the same scene twice - one version with each paint, and they have a  totally different feeling to them. For me, oil paint is a much more "controlled" medium, so I have to use deliberate brushstrokes to achieve my goal- watercolour paints itself really, with a bit of directional guidance! 
So I guess that I'll continue to paint in both, I hope that you enjoy these two (one of each).