thanks everyone. means a lot to get all the feedback.
@Craig Sjoquist
well, i'm not too young. ...43 years old. grew up with my mom being the bread winner professional artist. i went professional at 12 years old and have done nothing but paint and build art/stuff since. in fact my mom now 63 just dropped by my studio because she wanted some tips on priming raw linen and i showed her some "set paint on fire" techniques. so once an artist, ...your an artist for life.
as far as school, no training but i did go to a year of seminary.