Day 11: Something you always think “what if” about

Done sometime in my second or third year of college.

I have a strong passion for art. In a recent discussion board post in my new media theory class my professor had mentioned art as her first true love and contemporary art was her first true lust. In my response that week I ended it with art being my first true love and Baroque/Romanticism was my first true lust.

It should be no surprise I wanted to go art school.

I’ve always been drawn to drawing and painting and used to spend hours in our basement working on various pieces in various mediums and dreamed of selling my work someday.

Done in my senior year of high school.

When I started high school, I began looking into different art schools. I didn’t exactly want to go to one of the Art Institutes and I knew I wanted to look into schools in a city setting. I had lowered it down to two; the School of Visual Arts in New York City and Columbia College in Chicago.

I was excited to get my portfolio together. I was a sophomore in high school and figured I would start early to have my best pieces together. It was during that time that I had a harsh realization with myself.

I was a terrible professional but an amazing hobbyist.

My first oil, The Rev, done in my third year of college.

I had my strengths and weaknesses but decided to save myself the heartache of being told I wasn’t good enough not only to get into an art school but also to make a career out of it. It was a sad moment, yes, but necessary.

Now, many years after that Sopranos-style sit down I had with myself, I still am left wondering “what if” I had just gone for it and applied to art school. Would I have gotten accepted or rejected?

Guess I’ll just have to stick with the “what if.”