01-27-2013, 09:40 AM
I myself am not going to a art school and have a very low time consuming job, maybe I can help in some way. I doubt you'll find many(if any) articles by successful artists telling people to not go to college and quit their jobs to pursue self teaching. That is a dangerous blanket statement that could ruin some lives. The best answers to those questions are very personal ones to the individual asking.
Almost all parents are very skeptical of the "no college" route. The art field is one of few exceptions where it's possibly a smart idea. I don't know what kind of colleges you have available to you, but a lot of them are wastes of time. Don't get me wrong, some of them are amazingly good and if you can go to them you should. If you haven't already looked into the professors of the school that would teach you, you may want to. If they are standard "community colleges" it'll most like be a waste of time though. The most common story I've heard while listening to interviews or talking with "successful" artists is that they went to a college and wasted their time, only to teach themselves afterward. You're right when you say classes/papers don't make you anymore appealing to people looking for artists. None of them ask if/where you went to school. They look at your existing work to judge if they want to contact you or not based on that. That said, some classes can still be great for learning, such as life drawing!
Even a part time job can feel like it takes up a lot of time and can be a miserable, grueling, draining thing. But it isn't ever a bad idea to have a pile of "oh shit" money, just in case. You say this is the leap you feel you need and I understand that, sometimes you gotta put your ass to the burner so you can run faster. Dave Rapoza signed a lease on a house he couldn't afford just so he would be forced to work harder (I'm not suggesting you do this) for example. Try to be understanding and see it from your parents point of view though. Their son is saying he doesn't want to go to college, and wants to quit his job so he can stay home and draw. As a parent, that is a very scary thing to hear and will only cause worry, haha. It sounds very risky and it definitely is, if you loaf around most of the day or say "I'm just not feeling it right now" you won't be making any money off art anytime soon. Not only is it just lazy but its unfair to your parents who are supporting you, under the impression you are working toward your dream. You'll have to work everyday and it won't be fun all the time. It's real and often grueling work, just like that part time job can be.
I'm sure you already know a lot of this though, I just wanted to say it just in case and also for anyone else who is also thinking of doing what you are.
As for trying to explain to your parents, just do your very best to be clear about your intentions and show you have a plan. They'll be skeptical and probably disagreeing anyway. You'll need to show them how hard you are going to work. Don't sleep for 12 hours, wake up at 3 pm and then sit on the couch for 6 hours. Wake up early and get to work. Show them how serious you are, and even then they might still be skeptical. You can find interviews of successful artists (Crimson Conversations being great ones and much more helpful than all of what I'm saying) where they explain their experience with schools and what they did at your age. Show them who these artists are, what they have achieved and that they are successful in the field. As Vandall said, you are a tradesman. No one cares if you went to a school or who you studied under, they want the product they are buying from you.
Whoever just read this, I hope it was somewhat helpful to you. If not, sorry for your loss of time, haha.
Almost all parents are very skeptical of the "no college" route. The art field is one of few exceptions where it's possibly a smart idea. I don't know what kind of colleges you have available to you, but a lot of them are wastes of time. Don't get me wrong, some of them are amazingly good and if you can go to them you should. If you haven't already looked into the professors of the school that would teach you, you may want to. If they are standard "community colleges" it'll most like be a waste of time though. The most common story I've heard while listening to interviews or talking with "successful" artists is that they went to a college and wasted their time, only to teach themselves afterward. You're right when you say classes/papers don't make you anymore appealing to people looking for artists. None of them ask if/where you went to school. They look at your existing work to judge if they want to contact you or not based on that. That said, some classes can still be great for learning, such as life drawing!
Even a part time job can feel like it takes up a lot of time and can be a miserable, grueling, draining thing. But it isn't ever a bad idea to have a pile of "oh shit" money, just in case. You say this is the leap you feel you need and I understand that, sometimes you gotta put your ass to the burner so you can run faster. Dave Rapoza signed a lease on a house he couldn't afford just so he would be forced to work harder (I'm not suggesting you do this) for example. Try to be understanding and see it from your parents point of view though. Their son is saying he doesn't want to go to college, and wants to quit his job so he can stay home and draw. As a parent, that is a very scary thing to hear and will only cause worry, haha. It sounds very risky and it definitely is, if you loaf around most of the day or say "I'm just not feeling it right now" you won't be making any money off art anytime soon. Not only is it just lazy but its unfair to your parents who are supporting you, under the impression you are working toward your dream. You'll have to work everyday and it won't be fun all the time. It's real and often grueling work, just like that part time job can be.
I'm sure you already know a lot of this though, I just wanted to say it just in case and also for anyone else who is also thinking of doing what you are.
As for trying to explain to your parents, just do your very best to be clear about your intentions and show you have a plan. They'll be skeptical and probably disagreeing anyway. You'll need to show them how hard you are going to work. Don't sleep for 12 hours, wake up at 3 pm and then sit on the couch for 6 hours. Wake up early and get to work. Show them how serious you are, and even then they might still be skeptical. You can find interviews of successful artists (Crimson Conversations being great ones and much more helpful than all of what I'm saying) where they explain their experience with schools and what they did at your age. Show them who these artists are, what they have achieved and that they are successful in the field. As Vandall said, you are a tradesman. No one cares if you went to a school or who you studied under, they want the product they are buying from you.
Whoever just read this, I hope it was somewhat helpful to you. If not, sorry for your loss of time, haha.