From Stick Figures…

Hello, everyone! My name is Nick, and today marks the beginning of my journey to become the best artist in the world!

And tomorrow, I’ll stop lying to myself…

All joking aside, I’d like to take a moment to introduce myself, share a bit of my background, and explain what I hope to accomplish this year.

As I mentioned, my name is Nick, and I’m a software developer based in West Virginia. After several years in the field, I recently earned a Master’s degree in Software Engineering from West Virginia University (4.0, baby!). That basically means I’ve spent a lot of time focusing on logic and reasoning—and now I’m ready to tap back into my artistic roots.

You see, my original path was entirely different than what it ultimately became. I actually started out at an art school where I spent 2 semesters majoring in Photography, before ultimately dropping out of the school.

I mostly dropped out because the tuition was outrageous and the instructors were awful (so awful, in fact, that I got a refund—but that’s a story for another day), but I also felt like it was actually a terrible path because photography was my passion, and truthfully it was beginning to feel too much like a job which I felt was stifling my creativity and just ruining my enjoyment of the arts as a whole.

Even though the school was a disaster, it did help me realize that I have a genuine passion for art. Unfortunately, I didn’t nurture that passion over the years. So here I am, ready to change that.

I guess you could say my resolution for 2025 is to become a better artist—essentially starting from scratch. I can’t pretend I remember anything from my art school days, but I can commit to a one-year challenge. Starting today, I’m going to practice drawing for at least one hour a day, every day. This blog will serve as a daily journal, documenting my progress, the books I read, the supplies I use, and the software I experiment with along the way.

My goal is to make meaningful improvements each day and share every step of the journey with you. I hope you’ll follow along, share your experiences, and join me in finally learning what it takes to be a real artist!