small face study

Only a couple sketches today

Managed to find myself another micron pen, so I finished up that drawing

some sketches

and a progress shot on an ink drawing that would be finished if not for my micron dying on me 

also, I've made a painful decision that will undoubtably have an astronomically large impact on my future: I've decided that after winter quarter ends I am going to say goodbye to SCAD, where I've lived and studied for the past 20 odd weeks, and focus on improving my skills on my own back home. Some of the reason has to do with money, but the biggest factor that made me choose to leave was that ever since coming to SCAD I've been aware of a noticeable decline in my motivation and work ethic that both disturbs and irritates me, and I honestly don't know why.  I've been lucky enough to have a friendly, respectful roommate, good teachers, plenty of learning resources, and to top it off the food and weather have been (mostly) great.  I did feel some anxiety walking around Savannah when I first arrived, but that went away as I got used to the city.  Basically, I'm leaving because I'm not working hard enough, not learning what I feel I need to be learning, and, in essence, not getting my money's worth out of this school.  This is not SCAD's fault.  It's a serious, professional institution that obviously works very hard to provide the best in art education for its students, but it's not for me.  So in 9 days I will be heading home and leaving Savannah (hopefully I'll get to come back in the future, because it's a beautiful city).  Don't worry, I have not for a second doubted my choice to become an artist, which, when I think about it, is a little strange.  My life's about to get a whole lot more interesting.

Some studies

and an imaginative portrait

also, I put some thought into what themes I want to focus on in my work, and came up with this:

  

some sketches

and a long pose charcoal drawing

The 4 Things You Need To Become a Successful Artist

The 4 Things You Need To Become a Successful Artist

(or a successful anything for that matter)

Time

-this is a journey that takes many years, and the only way to get to the starting line is to put in the hours

Resources

-materials (paper, sketchbooks, drawing/ painting mediums, proper computer software, etc.)

-study materials (books, internet, lectures, mentors)

Connection

-No matter how you do it, you need to find a way to reach out and connect to those around you who can motivate and inspire you to reach your goals, and who you can learn and better yourself from.

Passion

-This is the most important thing you need, and quite possibly the only requirement to begin.  If you have the passion, you will make the time and find the resources to get where you need to go.  If you’ve lost your passion, you could have all the time and resources in the world given to you on a silver platter and you will still fail, for you will frivolously waste away your time and ignore your resources, which will have become worthless.  That’s why it’s better to begin as an underdog than to be born a prince, and why it’s better to be hungry and search for food than to always be full, for the first will eventually bring you satisfaction, while the latter only disgust.

Two oil pastel pieces that I finished a while ago but couldn't scan until recently, and some newer digital paintings.

A charcoal figure drawing from a live model, and an unfinished digital still life study.