Pratt, the expensive, formal college experience.
After highschool i attended an art college. Pratt Institute in NYC. It's got a great reputation, great campus, and it costs a ton of money. Secret to success? You wish. So I applied and received scholarships, grants, financial aid and loans, taken out by my mother and i, and I graduated with a degree in Illustration, but it was not the education i was seeking. Quality art education at that time was hidden under a rock at the bottom of the ocean in a giant shell and so was the definition of what 'quality' art was. I just knew i wasn't seeing it. As a result i bounced around a multitude of departments and almost decided art was not the direction i was going... until i stumbled on traditional animation. Oh. And that was fun. Not being from the film department i had to fight my way into the classes, but i got in, and eventually, got my animated short 'Sin', played with the best of the rest of the film majors at their showdown, which i know my not being in the department raised some hairs. I got to hear about it. The amazing thing was i didn't find out what a 'cycle' was till the very end of my short film. I kept asking and no one would give me the answer, as though the answer was so basic that they thought it was a joke. Knowing what a cycle was would have saved me alot of time. That's all i gotta say.
That year I was also selected to be in the 'best of' for Pratt Institute Show at Hammerstein Ballroom. My art was strong in it's language, but not in its execution. I left New York to pursue a career in L.A.
I got a studio job in L.A. Learned alot. Got promoted. Got a tan.
I became an independent contractor. Gained alot of clients. Earned a living. Started traveling more.
I became a fine artist. Started traveling monthly because stable housing was an issue.
I'm not going to go into the complete story of how i became a fine artist, or my crazy experience of trying to become one these past five years. Just know, it's been very eventful. Kinda like if a tornado hit a room and left, and then you look at the mess and think; that's what figuring out how the fine art thing goes looks like. By the way, the room was packed with stuff. Which quite literally i had to get rid of. But that's another story.
The most relevant part of the current ordeal is that I ended up taking an oil painting class, and it felt right. This new world of fine art was beautiful; images composed an executed in a manner which required great skill and intuitiveness. I was exposed to artwork so rich you could look at it for hours and still, you would not be done, in person they held vitality which breathed through the seams, they were immortal. I wanted to create that. I slowly took on less and less work through my business and became more and more focused on becoming a fine artist... and slowly figuring out that i had to learn how to draw first. I thought my drive and dedication could pull me through (self-taught alternative)... it didn't, in fact, i met some wrong people on that road. Taking a class here and there did not provide sufficient practice. I had to juggle too many balls at once not knowing how any of them worked. When I did begin finding out how they worked, it became more complex. You need the information, the time, the practice, repetition, guidance and patience to be successful as a student of art, let alone a successful artist.
There is a video i recommend watching if you're looking to study art ;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KX0MrnzBJ8M&index=5&list=LLNuiT2W40nKrL5gHMH8ockA
Education holds the key to everyones future. I hope to be able to aid in that process because i would hate to see anyone else go through the same experience as i. Financial means should not be the limit to the education you can be provided with before you make a career.
Education won't guarantee survival as an artist. After you learn to produce great work there is a whole other ball game waiting for you, and you'll have to succeed and survive. But at least you'll have quality, and that's a big step in the right direction.
To check out my Indiegogo campaign and listen to part of my story, please check out the link below and donate if you can. Thank you.
http://igg.me/at/katart/x/11654917
