[Chris Saper]

Matthew,

For what it's worth, here is my (with inflation) three cents worth. You've already got two years under your belt, stay where you are and get the university bachelor's degree. I believe you will never regret it, and that you may well regret abandoning it.

While you are in college, take other opportunities to do workshop study with artists who can really teach you - there are a lot of them out there. Once you get your bachelor's degree, there will be no fewer art opportunities open to you than there are now, including atelier study.

I have many times thought, "What if... what if I had a really great art background? What if I had attended an atelier? What if I hadn't had to support myself as a single woman for almost 20 years by being a hospital exec and not painting during that time? Would I be a better painter? Heaven only knows. My teacher Bill Whitaker said, " Doesn't matter. Art is a lifetime profession." I am grateful to him every day for that thought.

Your Bachelor's degree is a credential than will never,ever close doors to you. It can only open them.