Joseph's shiny new sketchbook

[JosephCow]

Had a break from commissioned work for a bit so decided to just do one of these tonight. Really gave me a chance to think about stuff as well. I ended up quitting my art school a year early, which was a hard decision to make. It really was something that I had formed my life around for a long time, and I was pretty good at it. I feel kind of guilty in a way because I was lucky to get the opportunities I did, not everyone gets that chance, yet I just really didn't feel like I could work with the school, personally. and artistically it just wasn't there for me. The classical realism thing is cool like I love painting from life. But it's one aspect of art. Yet it's treated with religious reverence. There was never any room for critique of ideas, or even just questions. 

 There were some beautiful things done there, but some really unimpressive things as well, for the time put into them. I didn't see it going where I wanted it to. A lot of the artists I looked up to were always regarded as like, well they're good except not really because they don't look like this exact style of painting that we are doing. And I'm just like, I'm sick of spending 50 hours drawings a naked person and having it mean nothing. I'll spend a couple hours painting this garfield toy for no reason, but not months.  I think it was a kind of arch-conservative attitude toward art. A love of tradition, and hate of modernity. And a genuine love of nature and beauty, too. I had some things in common with it, but ultimately it's not really for me.

But anyway enough angsty rambling. All experiences are formative to an extent, even if it's realizing you don't like something, so I don't regret it.



sketch vs. final