I applied to the Kansas City Art Institute in 2003, as a "non-traditional" (read: "older") student. I was 37. I knew that I wanted to major in painting, so I was asked to submit a the standard "painting" porfolio, which (the school had indicated) should include 12 - 18 photographs, 18 -24 paintings, and 18 - 24 life drawings.
Two weeks later, in the Spring of 2003, I met with a young lady who would start her seniour year at KCAI that fall. Apparently, some people who return to art school late in life have not continued to regularly make art, because before we sat down to look at my portfolio, she asked me if I had brought any "recent" work. I told her I had pieces close to two decades old, plus one piece I had just completed the week before--and plenty of artwork completed throughout the time between.
She was visibly relieved to hear this, and we had a nice conversation about my work, her work, and the school. On her recommendation , I was accepted to the painting department as a sophomore (and awarded a partial scholarship).
This is one of the life drawings from that harried, two-week marathon of life drawing: Krystle : 11 x 14", charcoal on toned-paper, approximately one-and-a-half hours.
(copyright 2003 Keith Russell.)
I'm having this piece framed, and it will remain in my private collection.
Enjoy!
While I had taken plenty of photographs (including a couple that had won some local awards), and I had photographs of plenty of my paintings, I owned only a couple of my life drawings at that point. So, in the two weeks before my application was due, I joined several local life-drawing groups, and spent most of those evenings making the life drawings necessary to complete my portfolio.
Two weeks later, in the Spring of 2003, I met with a young lady who would start her seniour year at KCAI that fall. Apparently, some people who return to art school late in life have not continued to regularly make art, because before we sat down to look at my portfolio, she asked me if I had brought any "recent" work. I told her I had pieces close to two decades old, plus one piece I had just completed the week before--and plenty of artwork completed throughout the time between.
She was visibly relieved to hear this, and we had a nice conversation about my work, her work, and the school. On her recommendation , I was accepted to the painting department as a sophomore (and awarded a partial scholarship).
This is one of the life drawings from that harried, two-week marathon of life drawing: Krystle : 11 x 14", charcoal on toned-paper, approximately one-and-a-half hours.
(copyright 2003 Keith Russell.)
I'm having this piece framed, and it will remain in my private collection.
Enjoy!
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