Ooh painting sounds fun. But yeah, every artist needs a break. We have to get out of the dark, drab cellar to see the sun on some occasions, right?
I did actually say county** but I figured you would have no clue what county I was talking about unless you lived in NC. Guilford county though, to answer you. I think a few other counties in the midarea of the state have good magnet schools as well but I'm not sure.
I need to use prismacolors more. I got a set in 9th grade from my mom and she told me not to waste them so I have yet to actually use them, hah. But I hear theyre a very good dry blending medium. Acrylic is nice (my mom is actually an acrylic painter) but oil is so much fun. I used oil sticks for the first time this year (let me quickly digress to mention that these are not oil pastels but rather oil paint in a stick form) and fell in love with the medium. I ended up doing a big (20"x40") piece with them since they aren't small detail friendly. You might wanna try them sometime, but they are rather pricey. I mooched a set off my art teacher but I've seen them go to $5 a stick. If you can find them on sale and get some basic colors, though, then they'll last a while and be fun. That and it's just awesome to use crayon looking sticks of oil paint and blend with your fingers the medium of the masters.
I haven't gotten my concentrations shot yet but I hope to do so soon. I'm not completely done with them; I still have to put in the names of the cards.
**Edit: Wow, I misread that no less than 5 times. No, I meant county not country; Sorry!