go back to art school

[ZenDruid]

I don't see any need for anybody here to be defensive about anything. WWII? I think most of us in America will recognize that as World War II (two) and we likely all had fathers and brothers, and mothers and sisters, even grand parents who worked and fought and died in that war. That's the past, let's move on.
The use of acronyms can be a problem. We have members on this forum from all over the world. Some here know what FEMA means, others know what ANZAC means and I don't know what half the art products mean. I have to do a google search. See GOOGLE. IMHO, LMFAO...

 

[ZenDruid]

To further what Ayin and Hannah and Terri said, it only takes a few more key strokes to spell out an acronym and save others the annoyance of having to look it up. I find it a privilege to inform you all of the Federal Emergency Management Administration or the Australian/New Zealand Army Command. Please excuse my arrogance.
As artists, a strict adherence to rules would make us poor artists. I see a lot of us here are freedom fighters, even though some insist on drawing cats, but your mother warned you.

 

[Kyle Martin]

I had a great art school experience. I spent three years learning commercial art. While now they have changed the program to be called graphic design, I was taught the old school ways of illustration and designing on paper before moving to a computer. I feel lucky to have been in school in the years when people left from critiques in tears, because it motivated me to do my best.

The main takeaway from my years of college is that it gave me an understanding of design. I learned how to break down complex imagery into its most basic elements, and I learned how to layout those on paper to create realistic work that has an underlying good abstract composition.

I accomplish this in my plein air landscapes by creating a value sketch in markers before moving to the canvas. And then I mix my colors using a value palette. I have a video on my website that explores these ideas and several on my YouTube channel.

To me, having that underlying armature of an abstract value structure is what elevates those with a true understanding. As a landscape painter I see plenty of both? But the real ones always stick out.

 

[MurrayG]

Never had formal art school training, science all the way. Would I swap for art, no. I did do some art courses with very good artists and would do MUCH more of that. Kyle's point of the technical stuff is a fair point. I feel my biggest limit is drawing skill and values. BUT - these are learnable at any time if you really care. Would I have pursued art as a profession, no, as a Better trained amateur artist, yes.
I would have loved to just spend time with certain artists, travelling from one to the next.... But, go back... that's dealing with regrets and not a good place to dwell in. Explore learn and enjoy now or in the future.

 

[Kyle Martin]

You are right, Murray, exploring and enjoyment are the most important thing. And nature is the best teacher.

 

[moonreader123]

See, I was never interested in digital design and digital marketing before I start my career. If you are into art, you can go to a community college or some form of after school class. There is nothing wrong with receiving the proper eduction needed. However, please do not have a very rigit mind thinking that school is the only option out there. There are numerous opportunity for you to try out. I will prabably get into fanancial planning and investment later in my career. Therefore, you never know at the starting point.

 

[stlukesguild]

bartc- I don't mean to imply that going to college or any trade school is worthless. Just that degrees tend to be exaggerated in importance. (Schools "sell sheepskins" after all. )

Good instructors teach thinking skills along with specific content, and in some courses actual working skills. Those are valuable regardless of where one obtains them.

I quite like Niel deGrasse Tyson's take on the value of education:

I did attend a formal Art School... the Cleveland Institute of Art. I took some rather rigorous courses in Drawing, Design, Art History, Literature, etc... I would still admit that much of what I needed to know to create the art that I now create I learned outside of school... but my education did teach me how to go about learning what I needed. My diploma... I honestly don't even know where it is anymore... was a necessity for getting hired in my current teaching position... and my knowledge of Art History and various art media has been of use in teaching... but more of what I employ on a day to day basis in the classroom was learned over the years by experience in the classroom than it was from my formal studies in art school, or in my studies in art education.

To directly address the OP... if I had it to do all over, I think I would have done my studies in local community college courses as well as studying in an atelier under a professional working artist. I would have definitely been cheaper, and I might have learned more of the actual methods/practices of working in a studio as well as the business side of art. This was undoubtedly a huge advantage of the old apprenticeship system.

 

[Artyczar]

St. Luke, that's what I wish I had done if I could do my life over, but I wish I could also have earned whatever degree I needed to get some kind of job that I could actually do (without going insane) and make good money. It probably would not be in the arts, however. I would have liked to have learned art under someone who knew what they were doing (an apprenticeship) to at least get that confirmation, do some artist's residencies for socialization, and maybe work in scientific research to make a living.

 

[sculptcha]

I got a BFA in art, specifically painting and printmaking. Neither has advanced me in my professional life, though earning a degree in general has, and the minor in writing helps.

In my experience, the art school environment was very inspiring, being surrounded by other artists and sharing feedback, etc. The instructors were all talented artists and I can say I learned a little from all of them in terms of technique and helpful tips, but what I gained most from art school was the importance of regular and consistent art practice. Once I fell off my routine and lost that discipline of always working on something creative, I essentially undid all the work I put in at art school. I didn't unlearn anything, I just stopped making it work for me.

I'm really rambling, but what I'm ultimately saying is that art school can provide loads of valuable instruction, helpful tools, and preparation for the "art world" ahead, but it really just comes down to how disciplined you are in continuing to use all the skill you develop there. And I would suggest finding, starting, and maintaining creative relationships after, to not only help inspire your own work, but taking advantage of other perspectives to help inform. Seems like a no-brainer, but I somehow managed to forget how crucial it is to have a good creative support system.

Ok, done rambling. Off to maybe draw or assemble a collage or do a page in a journal or something. I don't have anyone prompting me, which is both a blessing and a curse.

 

[mill]

The sad fact is that if you go back to art school you will be tutored by people who are too young to have been taught by traditional art school methods which would have been recognised by my own tutors in the nineteen sixties. Nowadays it seems anything is acceptable since the old standards of judgement no longer apply.
John

 

[Artyczar]

The sad fact is that if you go back to art school you will be tutored by people who are too young to have been taught by traditional art school methods which would have been recognised by my own tutors in the nineteen sixties. Nowadays it seems anything is acceptable since the old standards of judgement no longer apply.
John

I think it depends on the school.

 

[StephKunze]

When I was a teen, I had some mental health issues that led to my mom getting me involved in a local teen arts program, since I loved to draw. My mentor in that program was incredibly inspiring, and she eventually encouraged me to apply for a public arts high school. I didn't know what an art college was until I attended that arts high school. Once I knew art colleges existed, there was no turning back. Art was my lifeline then, and I worried my mental health would crumble again if I went to a public liberal arts college. I ended up going to the Maryland Institute College of Art because they were the most generous of the art colleges I applied for. I come from a lower middle class background, and this college was the only one that gave me enough scholarships and financial aid to make attending possible. (Going to a public liberal arts college would have likely been the same cost, if not more.)

I was a total workaholic in college. I feel I did get everything I possibly could out of my experience in regards to learning how to make art, especially with drawing. If I were to go back in time, I would have chosen drawing as my major because that's where my energy was most focused. Instead, I majored in illustration because it was deemed more financially secure. Kinda like 16ga said, I also can lose interest when I have people telling me what kind of art to do (that I don't also want to do), which made majoring in illustration a problem since a lot of professional illustrating involves being told what kind of art to do.

I put in little effort to become an illustrator after graduating. Instead, I just kept drawing for myself. I feel if I would have been brave and chosen drawing as my major, maybe my life path in the arts would have been different due to having had a different set of professional contacts upon graduating.

For me, my initial reason for attending art college was based around feeling emotionally dependent on art. As an adult, I have other activities I love to do in addition to art, and loved ones I can turn to, so that feeling of dependency is no longer as intense as it once was.

So all that said, art college was formative for me but I don't have plans of returning to it.

 

[Artyczar]

Hi Steph. My best friend also went to MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art) for similar reasons and loved it. She is an amazingly original and wonderful artist with her own unique style. I think you would love her work. I'm glad you shared this. Thank you. I've heard some stories of my friends with mental illness who tried art school, and they couldn't quite deal with it, and then some who flourished. It depends on all the circumstances both in school and from your support system. I know I would not have been able to do it because of that and finances, but sometimes, I wish I could have.

 

[StephKunze]

Hi Steph. My best friend also went to MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art) for similar reasons and loved it. She is an amazingly original and wonderful artist with her own unique style. I think you would love her work. I'm glad you shared this. Thank you. I've heard some stories of my friends with mental illness who tried art school, and they couldn't quite deal with it, and then some who flourished. It depends on all the circumstances both in school and from your support system. I know I would not have been able to do it because of that and finances, but sometimes, I wish I could have.

Oh, I'd love to see her work if she was comfortable with you sharing it!

And I know what you mean, art school can be brutal... I remember having multiple critiques every week. Having so many critiques gives you a good sense of what people both like and don't like about your work. And often people's (including professors') opinions contradict each other, which can be frustrating. You realize it doesn't really matter what you do, you'll always be both pleasing and displeasing people, haha. For example, I love to do realistic styled drawing, and I also love to do illustrative styled drawing. Throughout my time in school, I would constantly have some people telling me to ditch the illustrative style and focus on the realistic style, and other people telling me the opposite.

It's never too late! Though, having poked around and looked at your artwork here on these forums, going to art school doesn't look like it was at all a necessity for you

 

[Artyczar]

Thanks Steph. You can see my friend's work at elizabethhoffmansart.com where she is mostly trying to do more commercial stuff to sell under licensing these days.

 

[StephKunze]

Thanks Steph. You can see my friend's work at elizabethhoffmansart.com where she is mostly trying to do more commercial stuff to sell under licensing these days.

Aww, I love these! Her work is really beautiful and charming. Also, she has standard poodles! That's so cute, haha.

 

[Artyczar]

She's a major dog person. She has a few different dogs.