01-09-2017, 10:38 AM
Hello!
I'm 33 and I currently reside in the southeastern US. More specifically, I live in rural Georgia near the Alabama line, but I sometimes make it out to the metro Atlanta area on weekends.
I was at first intimidated by all of the beautiful, professional work being submitted here, but I decided I wanted to join anyway, especially after noticing I wasn't the only one scared to join at first. I know it's bad to compare yourself to others, but my own work is currently very much more amateur.
Basically, I've never had any kind of formal art education. What little I do know was gleaned from practice on and off over the years, books, or watching the Youtube channels of some artists I follow that do tutorials and instructional videos. I took one introductory level college art course in drawing, completely unrelated to my degree, but that was a very stressful time for me, that class often got pushed to the back-burner in favor of work related to my major, and I mostly ended up embarrassing myself. My parents didn't know what to do with a child interested in art, my father often heavily pressured me towards STEM fields because they "made more money" even though those areas weren't really my strong points, and after attempting a degree in biology, I switched to English because people seemed to like some of my writing and I did enjoy literature, so that's what I graduated with. I didn't adapt very well to cubicle life in an office, it quite literally drove me crazy, so I quit and I've had a bunch of odd jobs ever since including a bookstore position, a staff position at a living facility for DFCS and DJJ kids in government custody due to family problems or criminal records, and various warehouse positions.
I keep coming back to art though. It's one of the few things I've pursued out of my own interest and one of the few things I can really lose myself in. I'm getting a later start than most people, being in my 30s now, but I have no kids, I'm not married, and I don't have much of a social life due to being more introverted and having social anxiety problems. I want to do something more meaningful with my life, and I hope to at least pursue art in earnest for myself, with the added bonus of at least getting supplemental income eventually, or even shifting careers if I'm ever able to achieve at least a semi-professional level of skill and the business know-how to promote my work. I know the odds are stacked a little more against me than others at this point, but I have to try. Worst case scenario, I figure I will at least improve in my ability to express myself artistically in my spare time, which is worth the effort in an of itself.
I did finally buy one of the Andrew Loomis books on figure drawing since all of his books seem to be highly recommended by most artists and I'll be working through that. I've also debated trying out Noah Bradley's Art Camp when I have the cash. I will be posting some of my stuff to the sketchbook section as soon as I'm able. Attached for now is the full, uncropped version of my avatar pic that I did on scratchboard. I'm open to suggestions as far as exercises to help in areas I'm lacking in (or even help in identifying what more specific areas I should work on first to see some improvement), links to videos or online courses that might be beneficial, or instructional books. I'm currently focusing on traditional art first, though I'll likely dabble in digital later as well. I do currently have access to a Wacom Intuos tablet and Corel Painter Essentials (got the bundle for Christmas).
To those of you who followed me this far, thanks for listening to me ramble. Hopefully I'll be able to give a little something back to the community as well. I'm more than happy to help or share in whatever ways I can, though as I said before, looks like a vast majority of people here are far more advanced than I am.
-Renee (a.k.a. Alopex)
I'm 33 and I currently reside in the southeastern US. More specifically, I live in rural Georgia near the Alabama line, but I sometimes make it out to the metro Atlanta area on weekends.
I was at first intimidated by all of the beautiful, professional work being submitted here, but I decided I wanted to join anyway, especially after noticing I wasn't the only one scared to join at first. I know it's bad to compare yourself to others, but my own work is currently very much more amateur.
Basically, I've never had any kind of formal art education. What little I do know was gleaned from practice on and off over the years, books, or watching the Youtube channels of some artists I follow that do tutorials and instructional videos. I took one introductory level college art course in drawing, completely unrelated to my degree, but that was a very stressful time for me, that class often got pushed to the back-burner in favor of work related to my major, and I mostly ended up embarrassing myself. My parents didn't know what to do with a child interested in art, my father often heavily pressured me towards STEM fields because they "made more money" even though those areas weren't really my strong points, and after attempting a degree in biology, I switched to English because people seemed to like some of my writing and I did enjoy literature, so that's what I graduated with. I didn't adapt very well to cubicle life in an office, it quite literally drove me crazy, so I quit and I've had a bunch of odd jobs ever since including a bookstore position, a staff position at a living facility for DFCS and DJJ kids in government custody due to family problems or criminal records, and various warehouse positions.
I keep coming back to art though. It's one of the few things I've pursued out of my own interest and one of the few things I can really lose myself in. I'm getting a later start than most people, being in my 30s now, but I have no kids, I'm not married, and I don't have much of a social life due to being more introverted and having social anxiety problems. I want to do something more meaningful with my life, and I hope to at least pursue art in earnest for myself, with the added bonus of at least getting supplemental income eventually, or even shifting careers if I'm ever able to achieve at least a semi-professional level of skill and the business know-how to promote my work. I know the odds are stacked a little more against me than others at this point, but I have to try. Worst case scenario, I figure I will at least improve in my ability to express myself artistically in my spare time, which is worth the effort in an of itself.
I did finally buy one of the Andrew Loomis books on figure drawing since all of his books seem to be highly recommended by most artists and I'll be working through that. I've also debated trying out Noah Bradley's Art Camp when I have the cash. I will be posting some of my stuff to the sketchbook section as soon as I'm able. Attached for now is the full, uncropped version of my avatar pic that I did on scratchboard. I'm open to suggestions as far as exercises to help in areas I'm lacking in (or even help in identifying what more specific areas I should work on first to see some improvement), links to videos or online courses that might be beneficial, or instructional books. I'm currently focusing on traditional art first, though I'll likely dabble in digital later as well. I do currently have access to a Wacom Intuos tablet and Corel Painter Essentials (got the bundle for Christmas).
To those of you who followed me this far, thanks for listening to me ramble. Hopefully I'll be able to give a little something back to the community as well. I'm more than happy to help or share in whatever ways I can, though as I said before, looks like a vast majority of people here are far more advanced than I am.
-Renee (a.k.a. Alopex)
