Color Me Clever (or Can You Get Straight A's in the School of Life?)

Student in Pastel 

Always be learning. And relearning.

So it's been a while since I've worked with pastels, and I have to keep reminding myself that these are just studies. There are parts of this study I really like and parts I could keep working on and erasing and working on again for weeks.

Sometimes that's the hardest part about being a student. You know that you are probably going to fail because you don't know enough yet, but the only way to get experience is to run, screaming into the failure. You dust yourself off (I forgot how pastel/chalk dust gets everywhere) and you look for the lessons that will improve your experience for next time.

The Student - Every book (or art medium) you revisit is an opportunity to discover a completely new understanding. 

Graduating to the Next Dimension (or Where's My #2 Pencil?)

Student in Pencil 

Confession time - I am a perma-learner.

I actually enjoyed high school. I did get stressed out a lot, but not because of petty dramas or a need to be perfect (I got good grades, but never aimed to be valedictorian). I knew college and huge student loans were right around the corner, and in high school you can learn for FREE!

Needless to say I love the library, and the internet can be like a good art book cranked up to eleven!

As an artist it is vital to be a life long learner. Every time you open your eyes the world shows you something you've never seen in quite that light (think of Monet with his haystacks).

The Student - Seeking answers to what you don't know can lead you down paths you never knew were there. 

30 Paintings in 30 Days (or What Am I Getting Myself Into Now!)

Student in Ink

So over 700 crazy artists from around the world will not sleep for the entire month of September all because of this lady with a radio show, Leslie Saeta. I've enjoyed listening to her podcast "Artists Helping Artists" while painting animals for Petburbia and doing various commissions.

Now, here I am taking on another wild project, but I'm doing it my way...

6 Hats, 5 Ways, 30 Days

Every artist needs at least 6 different hats to do what they do.

It's no accident that I'm starting off with the student. (Da Vinci's sketches are well known, and Mona Lisa is often the only painting new students can name!)

Instead of 30 paintings, I'll be doing 30 studies. This is a chance for me to stretch some artistic muscle, show that I have many flaws, and hopefully also connect with artists (and art lovers) who know how to mix encouragement and brutal critique.

The Student - What I'm learning is that I need to paint and draw many, many, many more people.