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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 137200
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| Posted: 20 September 2026 at 7:04pm | IP Logged | 1
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October 1st is the centennial of the former Alberta College of Art. Truth to tell, I feel about this><much need to attend. Aside from a few friends, and learning how to draw circles in perspective, I really didn’t get much from my time there.
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Evan S. Kurtz
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 04 July 2022
Location: Canada
Posts: 460
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| Posted: 20 September 2026 at 7:29pm | IP Logged | 2
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It’s fascinating to me how many successful creatives gain little-to-no benefit from higher ed. JB, I don’t know how you see yourself, or contemplate your legacy (or if you even think about it in such terms), but I wish more people understood that they don’t need to take on a ton of student loan debt to become successful in a creative field… they just need to be willing to develop a work ethic and study the work and words of those in their field they admire.
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Michael Penn
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 12 April 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 13383
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| Posted: 20 September 2026 at 7:58pm | IP Logged | 3
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JB, for you as an artist, what percentages does each get: natural talent, practice, learning from others....?
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 137200
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| Posted: 20 September 2026 at 8:49pm | IP Logged | 4
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Of those three, 50%, 30%, 20%.
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Evan S. Kurtz
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 04 July 2022
Location: Canada
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| Posted: 20 September 2026 at 11:11pm | IP Logged | 5
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Besides those three, are there any other ingredients you’d add to this “recipe”?
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 137200
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| Posted: 21 September 2026 at 12:12am | IP Logged | 6
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Discipline.
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Dave Kopperman
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 27 December 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 4198
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| Posted: 21 September 2026 at 12:44am | IP Logged | 7
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I’ve noticed that natural talent also isn’t a complete set; I came with a baked-in eye for linear perspective, but color sense and anatomy were left on the factory floor. It’s still pretty useful to have at least one cornerstone to work from, though!
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Steven Myers
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 10 June 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 5767
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| Posted: 21 September 2026 at 1:34am | IP Logged | 8
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Learning and teaching art is harder and harder when you get to a higher level. I knew plenty of students who were obviously more talented than the teachers, and some teachers who had no idea how to teach. An example: my 2nd semester of college, I took a beginners watercolor painting course. We learned techniques (some I'd never even thought of) and had lists of painting subjects we could choose from, having to complete a certain number by the end of the semester. I liked it so much I took the next level watercolor class the next semester. A different teacher. All he did was give us something to paint each week and very minimal feedback. Didn't really teach anything. And I took no more watercolor classes.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 137200
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| Posted: 03 October 2026 at 4:33pm | IP Logged | 9
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The real Kitty Pryde attended the gathering and reported it as unimpressive to a mutual friend. Guess I wasn’t missed. :-(
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Edward Aycock
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 13 July 2024
Location: United States
Posts: 308
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| Posted: 04 October 2026 at 2:01pm | IP Logged | 10
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I'll bet Joni Mitchell doesn't attend her reunions there either.
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John Byrne
Grumpy Old Guy
Joined: 11 May 2005
Posts: 137200
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| Posted: 04 October 2026 at 2:28pm | IP Logged | 11
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Joni Mitchell and I share a common ACA experience, albeit a few years apart. The same senior instructor told each of us that we were wasting our time on our career goals. We should focus on Fine Arts and forget about music and comics.
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Michael Penn
Byrne Robotics Member
Joined: 12 April 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 13383
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| Posted: 04 October 2026 at 11:52pm | IP Logged | 12
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What a fool!
Joni Mitchell has a number of her paintings on her website, and they're good -- so now I'm wondering what the John Byrne songbook sounds like!
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