John Seed blogs about the painter Joan Brown and his experiences as her student.

Seed writes: "Brown, in her words and in her art, was uncompromisingly assertive. Her toughness didn't endear her to everyone, but over the long haul it was the quality that distanced her from a difficult childhood and moved her towards the visionary optimism that characterized her final works."

This Kind of Bird Flies Backward: Paintings by Joan Brown is on view at The San Jose Museum of Art through March 11, 2012.