A lot of artists and my artist peers will go to art school or go into the art major and ask “Is this worth it?”
In this blog, I thought I’d share some of my very old art from when I was 18 and 19 years old and just starting out as an art major at CU Boulder.
I found this drawing of a Girl in a Yellow Flying Machine (circa 2005)
I really like this old drawing of mine. The wings of the flying machine look delicate, but believable. I believe the pilot’s excitement. I believe the entire scene with help from the two figures on the right who are watching (or not watching) the flying machine girl from a cliffside.
Another drawing I found in my old freshman year sketchbook was of a Monster Cathedral (2005)
It’s pretty funny and also not bad, the buttresses are now spider legs, why not? The entire thing is asymmetrical - I don’t understand the placement of the tower - but why not?
As I looked through my sophomore notebooks, it was clear I had started to develop a style, and also work more heavily in ink:
This style was my effort to ‘draw strong’ and see how far I could carry a single line. It was all ink, so I had to make strong, permanent decisions in this style.
Here is another piece from 2005-2006 of a breaking egg:
I still draw in this style, many of the elements of Tilted Sun and paintings that I make are true to this style - if not on paper, then digitally.
Here is a piece I made in the style from 2019:
Every time I find myself wanting to knock my education or have ‘artist shame’ I have to remember the drawings from 2004-2006, and that both styles are actually pretty good for a teen. To this day I still have many styles.
So, yes, I think studying art formally was worth it. There is a patent change in my styles and skills from 2004-2005, and each year after that. Studying art formally doesn’t have to mean university classes either - I’ve seen many people improve just by hanging out with artists they admire, or via following youtube. I personally learn new things on youtube and new things from my friends every day.
That’s the cool thing about art - it just keeps getting better.
Catch you soon!
Related blogs:
Why Dumbo and Pinnochio are Weird Movies
Who wrote this?
I’m a painter, I make comics, and sometimes I do computer stuff!
- Becky Jewell