{"id":9073,"date":"2020-10-25T20:40:43","date_gmt":"2020-10-26T00:40:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/?p=9073"},"modified":"2020-10-25T20:46:15","modified_gmt":"2020-10-26T00:46:15","slug":"dont-go-to-art-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2020\/10\/dont-go-to-art-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Don&#8217;t go to art school"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Peter Thiel, the founder of PayPal, likes to say that degrees from the nonprestigious schools are just expensive dunce caps. He means that today higher education is close to worthless, except that degrees from the top schools still get you interviews. I think he&rsquo;s right. Don&rsquo;t go to college unless you&rsquo;re in the right STEM field, or right computer science discipline, such as AI or security. However, if you can get into an Ivy League school or another top school, such as Stanford, that&rsquo;s a different story&ndash;do that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That&rsquo;s not the way it should be but that&rsquo;s the way it is. Some of the top tech companies, Google and IBM for example, no longer require degrees. Ask yourself why. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"internal-linking-related-contents\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2012\/10\/cleveland-museum-of-art\/\" class=\"template-2\"><span class=\"cta\">Read more<\/span><span class=\"postTitle\">Cleveland Museum of Art Opens Renovations<\/span><\/a><\/div><p>This goes double for art school; you won&rsquo;t learn anything and it cost real money. But, here again, if you can get into Yale, do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What do you do if you really, really want to be an artist? Why not try an internship or apprenticeship?  Find an artist that you like and approach him or her. See what happens. I was an apprentice to a painter during my senior year in high school and that experience has paid plenty of dividends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"internal-linking-related-contents\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2012\/10\/in-the-studio-oct-14-2012\/\" class=\"template-2\"><span class=\"cta\">Read more<\/span><span class=\"postTitle\">In the Studio Oct. 14 2012<\/span><\/a><\/div><p>I&rsquo;ve had 5-6 sessions with this as-yet-untitled painting. Today, instead of the Utrecht flake white that has been my go-to for a while, I used flake from RGH. Both brands have their pluses and both are affordable (for oils). At first, I was frustrated because the RGH flake didn&rsquo;t handle like the Utrecht, but the more I worked with it, the more I liked it. By the end of the day, I was really happy with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"600\" height=\"958\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/studio-2020-10-25.jpg?resize=600%2C958&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-9075\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/studio-2020-10-25.jpg?w=600&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/studio-2020-10-25.jpg?resize=188%2C300&amp;ssl=1 188w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/studio-2020-10-25.jpg?resize=560%2C894&amp;ssl=1 560w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/studio-2020-10-25.jpg?resize=260%2C415&amp;ssl=1 260w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/studio-2020-10-25.jpg?resize=160%2C255&amp;ssl=1 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"><figcaption>Unfinished and untitled painting<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Peter Thiel, the founder of PayPal, likes to say that degrees from the nonprestigious schools are just expensive dunce caps. He means that today higher education is close to worthless, except that degrees from the top schools still get you interviews. I think he&rsquo;s right. Don&rsquo;t go to college unless you&rsquo;re in the right STEM [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":9075,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[253,208,6,24,19,343],"tags":[464],"class_list":["post-9073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-materials","category-paintings","category-shop_talk","category-studio","category-turpentine-diaries","tag-rant"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/studio-2020-10-25.jpg?fit=600%2C958&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12890,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2024\/02\/youtube-art-instruction\/","url_meta":{"origin":9073,"position":0},"title":"YouTube art instruction","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"February 5, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"If you are looking for art instruction videos, YouTube is loaded with them. That's the good news--videos for every taste and interest. The bad news is that the quality is--to put it charitably--spotty. You get what you pay for. Of course, you know this, so why am I taking the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Art history&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Art history","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/art-history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/zzzbrushes.jpg?fit=800%2C839&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/zzzbrushes.jpg?fit=800%2C839&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/zzzbrushes.jpg?fit=800%2C839&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/zzzbrushes.jpg?fit=800%2C839&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13846,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2025\/01\/where-are-my-workshops\/","url_meta":{"origin":9073,"position":1},"title":"Where are my workshops?","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"January 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Reader lynnandjanice recently asked if I teach or hold workshops. I regularly get this question. Gifted teachers are rare. The first real art instructor I ever had when I was 13 possessed the gift. Her words imprinted themselves on me and unlocked the mysteries of drawing.\u00a0 I experienced something similar\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;materials&quot;","block_context":{"text":"materials","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/materials\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/muchPaint2.jpg?fit=533%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/muchPaint2.jpg?fit=533%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/muchPaint2.jpg?fit=533%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3179,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2014\/03\/confirmation-at-the-holy-rosary-cathedral-in-toledo-ohio\/","url_meta":{"origin":9073,"position":2},"title":"Confirmation at the Holy Rosary Cathedral in Toledo Ohio","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"March 11, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"We drove through the snow to the magnificent Holy Rosary Cathedral in Toledo for my son's confirmation. The eighth-grade class from Keith's school--St. Paul's in Norwalk--along with several other schools were confirmed together in solemn ceremony. \u00a0The Toledo archdiocese is currently without a bishop but the presiding priests performed ably.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Bio&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Bio","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/bio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/cathedral.jpg?fit=600%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/cathedral.jpg?fit=600%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/cathedral.jpg?fit=600%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13841,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2025\/01\/cincinnati-fail-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":9073,"position":3},"title":"Cincinnati fail","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"January 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"When I graduated high school, I didn't have the moral courage to go to New York, which is what I wanted to do. Instead, a friend and I applied to the Cincinnati Art Academy. She was devastated when she received a rejection letter. That effectively ended her art career.\u00a0 I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Art history&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Art history","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/art-history\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/daumier-the-critic_1862.jpg?fit=1200%2C987&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/daumier-the-critic_1862.jpg?fit=1200%2C987&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/daumier-the-critic_1862.jpg?fit=1200%2C987&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/daumier-the-critic_1862.jpg?fit=1200%2C987&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/daumier-the-critic_1862.jpg?fit=1200%2C987&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13813,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2025\/12\/cincinnati-fail\/","url_meta":{"origin":9073,"position":4},"title":"Cincinnati fail","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"December 1, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"When I graduated high school, I didn't have the moral courage to go to New York, which is what I wanted to do. Instead, a friend and I applied to the Cincinnati Art Academy. She was devastated when she received a rejection letter. That effectively ended her art career.\u00a0 I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;anecdotes&quot;","block_context":{"text":"anecdotes","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/anecdotes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/daumier-the-critic_1862.jpg?fit=1200%2C987&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/daumier-the-critic_1862.jpg?fit=1200%2C987&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/daumier-the-critic_1862.jpg?fit=1200%2C987&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/daumier-the-critic_1862.jpg?fit=1200%2C987&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/daumier-the-critic_1862.jpg?fit=1200%2C987&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2962,"url":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/2014\/01\/awakenings\/","url_meta":{"origin":9073,"position":5},"title":"Awakenings","author":"Tom Hudson","date":"January 24, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Do you remember your first encounters with great art? I vividly recall my introduction to certain artists--life-changing discoveries that revolutionized my views about art. The composer Berlioz recalled his introduction to Shakespeare this way: \"Shakespeare, coming upon me unawares, struck me like a thunderbolt. The lightning flash of that sublime\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Artists&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Artists","link":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/category\/artists\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Balzac by Rodin","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/balzac1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Gw6F-2ml","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9073\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thomasparkerhudson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}