Isabel,

This is a beautiful drawing - yours are always SO impressive.

Your story with your parents is one we all hear over and over. Theonly solution is to do as I did - pay for college yourself by going into wicked debt, working 2 jobs and going hungry. That way you decide what you study. Not only will you get to chose for yourself, but you wont fail any classes because in your head you will remember how many tables you waited on to pay for that class, or how many pizzas you delivered, etc.. :)

I think a lot of artists can get carried away with their passion to create and not take care of business. There is nothing romantic about not being able to pay bills, failing grades, or not taking care of yourself. It IS hard to do other things when you just want to draw or paint - but take care of business FIRST so you can afford the time to create, afford the supplies and have the peace of mind necessary to live happily while doing your art.

OK, that's my one lecture for the week.

Good luck Isabel!

Isabel,

Thanks for posting - what in engaging and original composition!

Thanks for sharing your lecturer "Dr DoW"!! :)
What you said to Isabel, resonates alot to my present, and the past i was in when i was in Isabel's age. It's good advice to you Isabel, because i tell you it's NOT ROMANTIC to go hungry - even worse when you don't produce any artworks because you can't afford them, and having people know that WE'RE ARTISTS!

I was going through a difficult period then, and fortunately i met a motivational speaker, and coming across this book called THE PASSION PLAN, by Richard Chang.

Through the book, he taught me that passion can thrive with proper planning! I hope you can grab a copy of this book and read it for yourself.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/078...books&v=glance

Isabel! Ni hao ma? Ni de huar hen piaoliang!! Tebie hao kan! (Sorry I don't speak "Guangdonghua"...) I lived in northwest China - and Beijing - for four years, and even with that, my Mandarin is pretty shoddy).

Hey, I had the extreme pleasure of seeing one of your original works - up close and personal! What a treat - it was gorgeous!! My student, Jeanene - who so luckily aquired it - showed it to me a few weeks ago. She's lucky and you are a very generous spirit. I really admire you so much. You are so awesomely gifted and the fact that you are so dedicated in spite of the conspicuous lack of support for your art by those around you...it says a lot about your character. Don't worry. Remember what Joseph Campbell used to say: "Follow your bliss! "

Marcus, Thank you again! I'll definitely check out that book you recommended.

Kim, Thank you so much for the lecture. As an artist, we go through tough time a lot, eh? I guess everyone has a few stories to tell. I've just found a full time job for this summer holiday (it's summer in Aus now). Been working all week. You are right, I must take care of the business first.

Chris, Thank you! It's a pleasure to be here!

David, Hi " Ni Hao"!!! Wow! you've been to China?! Your Chinese sounds pretty good to me. My best friend is from beijing too, I can speak mandarin. Thank you for the kind words, You are too nice! Say hi to Jeanen. She's such a lovely lady, isn't she?