Self-Taught Artists vs. Art School: Which is Better?

What are the differences between being a self-taught artist and attending art school? Both disadvantages and advantages of each approach are discusses, covering topics such as building an artistic community, creative freedom, work habits, and more. Discussion led by Art Prof Teaching Artists Lauryn Welch and Deepti Menon

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Clara Lieu was an Adjunct Professor at the Rhode Island School of Design from 2007-2020. Her artwork has been exhibited at the International Print Center NY, the Currier Museum, Childs Gallery, the Davis Museum, and more. Lieu received an artist fellowship from the MA Cultural Council, has written for the NY Times, and lectured at Brown University, the NAEA conference, and in Vancouver & China. She has been profiled in Artsy, Hyperallergic, KPCC, & WBUR.

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[dianeblomgren]

Vincent Van Gogh said it best. " I am always doing what I cannot do yet in order to learn how to do it". I feel this is the same mantra with self taught artists.

[ShoshiPlatypus]

What a fascinating discussion. It prompted a lot of thoughts with me.

1. Does art school influence your style? I had a friend years ago who attended art school in the 1960s. She was always a bit of a rebel and resisted being told what to do! They asked her what she wanted to specialise in and she said embroidery. They poo-pooed this idea saying that was just for old ladies (how things have moved on since then!!) but she stuck to her guns. She always had a unique style in whatever she did. At that time the schools seemed to be pumping out a lot of artists with a very similar style which I called "1960s art college" and she managed to resist this trend. I am sure things are very different today, though.

2. It depends on how you define "making it" as an artist. I was thinking about Van Gogh before he came up in the discussion, and how he was self-taught. However, I think I am right in saying that during his lifetime he sold just one painting. His brother supported him financally. If "making a living" from art is a criterion, Van Gogh didn't make it until after he was dead.

3. Professions which require college training. Take my dad. He was a highly accomplished man in many areas, and could easily have been an engineer (like his dad), a professional musician, or a doctor. During his latter years at school he had to make the choice, and always said that if you are a professional doctor and an amateur musician, you can live a happy and fulfilled life, and they leave you alone. However, if you opt to be a professional musician and an amateur doctor, they tend to put you in jail!! He opted for the former choice and lived a rich life, both professionally and in the amateur musicians' world witih loads of friends, and endless fun making music together. He also played numerous instruments (all to a high standard) and said that if he had been professional, he would have had to choose just one. He would also have most probably ended up in the ranks of an orchestra with no choice about what music to play, and a rigorous travelling schedule - he did not have the personality type reqired to make it to the top as a world-famous soloist. As for engineering, over the years he set up an extensive small workshop at home and enjoyed working with his lathes etc. and was an expert clock repairer for all his friends and neighbours, with his only fee for working on the clocks he loved being a bottle of best malt whisky!!

I am a self-taught artist, but to improve my skills I am currently taking part in a year-long online drawing course and your comment about not doing the things that don't attract you as a self-taught artist made sense. We have just completed the month-long charcoal module and I really didn't enjoy this! Charcoal is not my medium of choice (too messy and imprecise) but I persevered to the end and produced some great results. I am very, very glad to have been challenged with this, even if I don't pursue it in the future. Every module is training us to observe, work on values, and to develop the hand skills necessary for drawing, and its all great. In between online classes I am working on my own, drawing from references (thank you ArtProf for the great Flickr resource!) - video screen-grabs, whatever takes my fancy, and also sketching what is in front of me. All great practice. I have also recently discovered ArtProf and am an ardent follower, sometimes drawing along too. Thank you all soooo much!!

[ladygwarth]

I got into art late in life, so didn’t attend uni. I did an online distance course that allowed me to experiment with different media which helped short cut those choices, otherwise I am very self taught. I don’t have guidance so sometimes learning curves can be very steep. I sell a bit, not a great deal, but it covers my materials and YouTube is a great source of knowledge. There is no debt and no pressure to commit to educational deadlines which leaves all my time to create. There are a lot of artists locally whom I have become friends with, but I am sure there are many advantages to getting a degree too, like individual guidance and learning and support when your confidence hits it’s lows, I am sure if I were young I would be wanting to pursue an art degree.

[janetholmes]

Sadly, after I finished Art College I didn't paint, sculpt, draw etc etc for about two years...I just totally lost my 'voice' and it wasn't until I met a 'self taught' artists who simply said - ' find your joy' and 'why do you want to do stuff if you don't engage with it?'...'just make he works out of his joy in his creative life and since and gradually I think I became 'unstuck' and I love every day I draw now....or create either in my head or Creating is about living and reflecting and creating a

[KevinContreras]

Art school has taught me that there is so much more to art than I could have imagined. Art can be inflammatory. Art can be very conceptual and experimental. Art can be something only a few can like. Art can be very difficult. And probably most importantly for me, art is more than just skill!

[anpdm]

When I began Art school, I loved art but did not have any experience or skills. After getting a BA, I still felt like my drawing and painting skills needed more direction, which meant continued self-directed learning. I've concluded like any profession, academic certification can help get one started but some continued learning is required to stay current.

[c.retana-holguin]

I graduated from the university with a MFA in fine arts--I do scenic design. When I got accepted into UC, Irvine and UCLA, I had a small portfolio of pictures with ten actual scenic designs that I had done. I had no drawing or rendering skills, but I could build superb scenic models and had a knack for working with metaphor which theater uses a lot. After finishing grad school, I have made a living doing design--as I have designed more than a 100 paid theatrical productions--and I also have taught college English and theater, as well as, worked as a carpenter and scenic painter.

I have always done personal art. (I'm doing it now as I write this. And I even have a small studio in my back yard.) I have had a museum purchase and I have sold individual paintings as well as exhibited. I also attended a community college which was quite inexpensive for several years and studied art and not theater--where I enjoyed a community of people who had similar interests in painting or sculpting. Did I learn anything--I would say yes! I learned by watching how my fellow students drew, painted, and either excelled in their work or failed. Most importantly, I gained valuable experience by seeing the work the experienced professor was doing. One professor was in her 80s--and there is no way in the world a young person can acquire the quality of work, experience, or voice a much older working artist can have.

Over the course my life time, I have had to learn, by myself, how to draw and paint better, how to work with mixed media, how to paint landscapes and people, how to paint with oil or encaustic. Or even how to make your own sketchbook or painting board out of a wooden frame and a piece of thin plywood. I now search for imagery on Pinterest and have saved countless YouTube videos on artists painting landscapes or still lifes. A year ago, I received a commission to paint an ocean still life. I have never really painted the sea, so I had to do a lot of visual research and learn how to paint waves. I have learned a lot by seeing other artists' work on the Internet. This is self teaching!

[TJ-jqbz]

I am self taught and I’m proud of myself and being self taught! It has been a profound, challenging, self healing process. I didn’t have opportunity to go to art school. It might have been super helpful but I found my way nonetheless 👩‍🎨🙏💕

[gayedavies]

I and my Mum are self taught sis got 7 years of scholarship. She is poor and stressed. I did English with early childhood at uni, then people in business and left 15 yrs ago to dance living in SA. However, this took me onto photography then to visual storytelling where I have tried Lino printing which I love ridiculously, using mixed media and exploring techniques and have private tutors when I need them. I m 59 and I have a way of doing my m in London is the place to be ....

[deniamassetti]

I stop going to school, because I felt embarrassed. One day a teacher made fun of me. I don't understand measure with stick . I was not doing it. She told to everyone I was not using the stick because I think I am good . I told her I am not using it because I don't know how to use it. So, that was the reason I being learning myself. Also I feel there is not pressure in doing any art good immediately. I can take my time .

[justanotherisekaiprotagoni]

Some of my favorite art prof girls😭 teaching on a Saturday?! Where’s the overtime check🤣✌🏾

[MummyBrown]

I went to local art school so I'm luckily not in debt. One point that I think is important to mention is that art schooling is such an ambiguous thing that is really up to you to figure out where you want to take it and then immerse yourself in that culture. I think one of the key elements to success in your chosen field is to learn to sell yourself and how to be resourceful, especially if your field is not a very direct one.

I graduated college for Graphic Design and I am working as an Illustrator primarily aimed at children's education. My direct field options would've been book cover designer, web designer, maybe even children's Illustration but I chose something closer to the latter. The only way I broke into that is by being resourceful. I had to learn, and I'm still learning, how to sell myself to get gigs. None of that was taught to me in my classes. I've never gotten a job based on my degree, at least not any that I was connected to. It's all about your portfolio of work.

My experience in art school taught me the fundamentals of my craft, how to give and take critiques, and team work as needed. All of this can be learned through resourcefulness and this channel is GOLD for things of this nature.

I can't say I'm sorry for school. I'm a nerd and it was a wonderful experience, but I don't think it is a dealbreaker for success. For my field, that's solely based on your ability to learn and adapt.

[Narja]

In France, art schools and uni run from basically free to 25k a year for the most expensive private schools. I had the opportunity to take a few fine art classes at the uni as a minor in my literature degree, and it was quite cool. I think a formal education can help trying new things you'd never tried without that push and meeting unexpected people and teachers, but at the end of the day, only your hard work, reading and all will probably really matter. But art schools and formal environment are still good pushes. But i would never had pay so much for it (i've done all my studies, phd included, with scholarships and teaching assistant positions, because i'm from an uneducated family, and was, i suppose, hard working and smart enough to get some help from the system, but getting an education and therefore fulfilling job opportunities is still very much a privilege nowadays )

[laura_dasimpsimp]

I only go to normal school... i dont go to art school. I feel like if u'r self thaught... u can actually experiment more... and quickly finf ur style

[mayahika]

Art school is extremely expensive and is only located in the main capitals of the country which is very unfortunate for us who live by the countryside/province because it is also expensive to go to the capitals and cities of the country.

[starvingartistscollective]

Ahhh I just choked!! Lauren just said a maker-space in her area is $40 a MONTH!! In my country it's $450 a IF you can find one! WOW!! To be fair my art education was much cheaper than in the US but maintaining my discipline (ceramics) after art school has been expensive! I've had to slowly buy all my equipment for a home studio BECAUSE I couldn't afford the up-keep of a maker-space. Guess it proves that adage about 'what you lose on the roundabout, you make up on the swings'. Great stream Deepti and Lauren! TFS!!

[francavan]

What about states’ universities? Aren’t they more affordable?

[shazia]

There are a few cost-effective options available in some countries in Europe (not UK or Ireland) which are way cheaper (under 5k euros tuition fees for the whole course). ArtProf is sadly very US-centric, would you consider expanding your team so that you could explore options and perspectives for audience who live outside the US.

[ZadenZane]

Isn't it possible, if you have some years of experience, to bypass the bachelor's degree and go straight to an MA? I think they call it an MFA, masters in fine art.
BTW talking about degree courses in general, if you have a specific career in mind (law would be a good example) then look outside the American system. In England you can do a law degree (LLB) and go into training straight from there. The grad school stuff is covered in the undergraduate degree.
I'd love to go to art school if I could but I don't think that's going to be possible for multiple reasons...😢

[beedeeuniko]

Art school is not expensive everywhere, in germany it’s 300$ a semester at a state university, but in the US it can be up to 100K for 8 semesters at a private school from what I just read...