Self Taught?

 I have noticed lately how everyone wants to claim to be a " Self Taught " Artist. Some which i know for a fact are not self taught. What is the deal with this?There is no shame in admitting you took art lessons. Does everyone think there is some shame to taking art lessons? There isn't ! I think the shame is in claiming you taught yourself when you did not. Why not tell the truth? Being self taught does not somehow make you more of a "real" artist nor a better artist. Not everyone who takes art lessons can make good art. The point is that you can make art no matter how you learned to do so.

I took lessons !! I admit it. Adriana Almanza and Tamara Laporte are the two i paid for lessons from online. I have not taken a class in person anywhere. Other than some card making classes at the scrapbook store to get out of the house for a while. I learned from watching 10 minute videos here and there on youtube and reading books and trial and error. I am teaching myself to really see what i am looking at and pay attention to shading and coloring. If not for Tam and Ady i never would have been able to do a decent face. So while i am not a self taught artist , i am still looking for my own style. I am sure i will have flavors of their styles in my art forever. I am not ashamed that they taught me. I am not ashamed that i learned some from youtube. We all had to learn everything we know from somewhere. So let us all give credit where credit is due. Let's give the teachers a pat on the back and admit our work is inspired by someone else when we do work like the work our teachers taught us. Integrity is as important as being a good artist.

School Girl

Better Photo of my Blue Mermaid

Chunky Book Pages

I made these for a swap at Doll Dreams. On the ning site.

A card i did for a swap.

 Below is a list of things i have done in bold and in thin text things i wanted to do and have not yet, haven't done and don't want to ,  and may do eventually.

1. Started my own blog
2. Taught myself art and took classes to learn some of my art
3. Slept under the stars
4. Watched a meteor shower
5. Stood on top of a mountain
6. Held a snake 
7. Held a tarantula
8. Held a 40 pound tiger cub
9. Had a butterfly light on my hand and stay there
10. Been to the Riverwalk in San Antonio
11. Taught myself an art from scratch
12. Adopted a child ( have always wanted to !!  So if there are any out there that need a home let me know! )
13. Had food poisoning
14. Been to the top of the San Jacinto Monument and to the Alamo
15. Grown my own vegetables
16. Been on board a battleship
17. Rode in a plane  
18. Slept in a train on a 3 day trip to California  ( Amtrak )
19. Had a pillow fight
20. Hitch hiked ( as a teen, it was a scary situation every time too; i don't recommend it )
21. Eaten some uncommon things ( raw oysters, squid, octopus, crawfish, calf fries  )
22. Built a snowman
23. Held a baby goat ( my newest addition to my mini zoo )
24. Gone skinny dipping
25. Held a lamb ( i want a couple of mini sheep if anyone has any. a couple mini cows too please ! )
26. Held a young Wolf
27. Saw a total solar eclipse 
28. Saw a completely frozen waterfall in person ( it was really tall , in Colorado )
29. Watched twins being born through c section.
30. Laughed until i cried and lost my breath
31. Stood on the four corners all at once. ( Arizona, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado )
32. Rode on an old steam train
33. Fell in love
34. Dyed my hair
35. Saw the sun rise and set over the oceans
36. Visited someone on Death Row
37. Gone snowmobiling
38. Went through a hurricane ( Alicia ) and a major tornado ( Channelview, Texas ) that barely missed hitting my house directly.
39. Sung karaoke and sang on stage once
40. Been across the Hoover Dam
41. Bought a stranger a meal 
42. Been to or through over half of the USA by land
43. Walked on a beach by moonlight  and swam in the gulf by moonlight
44. Been transported in an ambulance
45. Became a Christian
46. Gone deep sea fishing ( we will see about that )
47. Went to Mexico before it became too dangerous ( walked across the Rio Grand bridge into Juarez actually!)
48. Done something that scared me half to death 
49. Attempted windsurfing.

50. Kissed in the rain
51. Played in the mud
52. Gone to a drive-in theater
53. Been in a movie
54. Touched a dolphin ( been very close )
55. Started a business
56. Got married
57. Had a real best friend (my dogs)
58. Served at a soup kitchen ( this is something i will do sooner or later ! )
59. Gone on a hay ride
60. Been to Disneyland
61. Got flowers for no reason
62. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
63. Had surgery
64. Been to a war memorial wall
65. Rode in a model T
66. Lived in both the country and the city
67. Saved a favorite childhood toy
68. Cried from pure joy
69. Held a stingray and fed a wild pelican and helped release it back to the wild
70. Pieced a quilt ( well i did piece one i crocheted blocks for )
71. Been to Hollywood
72. Been to Las Vegas
73. Been fired from a job
74. Saw the Grand Canyon in person
75. Broken a bone
76. Been on a speeding motorcycle
77. Seen the Rocky Mountains in person in winter
78. Published in two books

79. Stood up for the underdog
80. Bought a brand new car
81. Walked in Jerusalem ( Really want to)
82. Had my picture in the newspaper
83. Read the entire Bible ( read the New Testament )
84. Protested something , even by phone
85. Helped birth a foal
86. Had chickenpox
87. Saved someone’s life
88. Been to Joshua Tree and the Redwoods
89. Met someone famous
90.Visited the Delicate Arches in person
91. Lost a loved one ( several actually and one by suicide )
92. Had a baby ( but have loved someone else's child like my own )
93. Broken an addiction to anything can include cigarettes , caffeine , shopping , etc
94. Had a kidney stone
95. Been in a major car accident
96. Owned an 8 track tape player and/or record player and used them
97. Been stung by a bee ( and a scorpion , but not a jellyfish yet )
98. Had a motorcycle accident (minor)
99. Rode a horse bareback
100.Had a pen pal