Scott Christian Sava - An Artist who drives a red 1967 Cougar
Scott Christian Sava - An Artist who drives a red 1967 Cougar
A youtuber, dad, and LOTR fanatic who makes the world better with his art...
Hey friends,
Greetings from Bangalore, India!
I just finished my biggest photography project, but I’ll write about that in the next issue. If you want to catch an earlier glimpse of it, here is the link - Heroes in a 100 Faces.
Now that this major project is done, I have a couple other things lined up…
This cohort of Write of Passage is almost ending, and while it’s a bittersweet moment, I can’t wait to sleep again. My family has been telling me that I look exhausted.
Here are some links I enjoyed this week:
The Atlas of Beauty: Photographer Mihaela Noroc has traveled the world photographing women from all walks of life. She has compiled a list of photographs and stories that celebrates our world’s femininity. This work was the primary inspiration behind Heroes in a 100 Faces.
Coronation of a New King: Oatmeal Raisin: This essay, by my friend Rick Mcclelland who writes @
is one of the most humorous pieces of writing I’ve read in a while. I highly recommend checking his stuff out. He is one of the funniest guys out there!7 Life Lessons School Should’ve Taught You, But Didn’t: This video by Ali Abdaal talks about all those life lessons as a creator you should know, but school didn’t teach you. The first one is my favourite. Watch it to find out!
Why I admire Scott Christian Sava
Disclaimer: All the art included in this post is the sole property of Scott Christian Sava. I’ve included them purely for educational purposes.
If you combine Dad Jokes, Corny Puns, Lord of the Rings, a red 1967 Cougar named Esmeralda and a whole lot of artwork, you’ll get Scott Christian Sava.
Scott is an artist based in Nashville, Tennessee. He posts daily videos to Youtube and Tiktok and holds live art sessions for anyone to follow along. But beneath the fun is a deeper message. Scott wants his videos to make art a part of everyone’s life. To empower people to pick up a pencil and start doodling. To take more pictures. To, in whatever way, express your creativity to the world.
Watching Scott’s videos has become a ritual for me. Every morning at university, before settling down for the day’s work, I watch his video for the day. His charm and humility shine through his dialogues, adding that extra dollop of personality.
Scott’s art is phenomenal. Working primarily in watercolours, his style combines art-nouveau, graphic and comic-book illustrations. He does NOT strive for realism—giving his work that touch of fun. Realism can often kill innovation and imagination. Scott leans into his unique personality, creating artwork only HE can create.
Making videos is a pretty hard lift for most people. There are so many things that go into making a good video. They’re not ONLY about the filming—they involve lighting, story-planning and most importantly, writing. Scripts need a lot of work before filming can start. They must be tailored to the video length (which, for Tiktok, means A LOT of compression).
Being a dad to two twin boys, Scott can’t resist adding the odd dad joke and pun into his videos. As you watch more of his stuff, you become attuned to his mannerisms. I’ve begun anticipating a pun before he says it.
Die-Hard fans of Scott will know Esmeralda, his red 1967 Cougar that he fixed up with his son. This car is his companion on many of his art adventures.
And Scott is also a Lord of the Rings fan! I mean, he converted his entire basement into a Hobbit hole for him to retreat into and do art in. HOW COOL IS THAT! (I’m totally gonna do that to my basement when I get the chance)
The minute I found out he was a fellow Tolkien fan, I subscribed right away. We “ringers”, as we are called, NEED to stick together.
We all have a creative spark within us, and Scott wishes to kindle that into a flame. I cannot think of a more noble cause than that.
People like Scott need to be acknowledged. People who put goodness into the world simply for the sake of it. I am in full support.
Scott is an enormous inspiration to me, and while we don’t know each other yet, I can confidently call him my friend.
Here are some of my favourite videos. They’re Youtube shorts/Tiktoks, so they won't take you long:
How can artists be of use in our world? How can we use our art to make the world a better place? Scott discusses this in the aftermath of the horrific shooting incident in Nashville, Tennessee.
The emotional roller coaster every artist goes through when making a piece of art. We all think that our piece sucks while we’re making it. Scott shows how we just need to pedal through…
Ever felt like your artwork sucks? Before you throw it away, have some fun with it! Mix mediums. Try something new. Take a walk and look at it again with fresh eyes. Who knows what will happen; you might just save the piece!
How to borrow inspiration from other artists and make it your own. ALL artists incorporate bits of others’ work m into their own. It’s just how artists work…
Does art need to accurately represent the world, or can you play around a bit?
Are there any rules in art? (Spoiler, there aren’t!)
The simple secret behind getting better as an artist( getting better at ANYTHING if you think about it…)
Do artists have to STICK to one medium, or can you use many at once?
Let’s face it. As artists (And human beings!), we fail a lot. But instead of hiding it, let’s show our failures to the WORLD.
Here are some additional videos for you to lose yourself in!
PS: His website is loaded with all kinds of art resources like download-able sketches, free stock references, reviews of art supplies and more!
Oh yeah, that’s Scott.
Heroes in a 100 faces
After 5 long years, I’ve completed by biggest project till date - Heroes in a 100 Faces
More on it in the next issue…
Here’s my twitter thread on it -
https://twitter.com/IshanShanavas/status/1660291401345650688
Postcard
A portrait from my series - Heroes in a 100 Faces
Favourite Quote
Writing in public is writing myself into eternity. Like building a time capsule but never burying it - just leaving it in the open for everyone to see. - Haley Abigail Brengartner (My friend who writes
)
Have a creative, energetic and inspiring week!
If you’re new, welcome to The Owlet! My name is Ishan Shanavas, and I am an Artist, Photographer, Writer and Student of the Natural World.
Here I talk about my work, along with curating the most interesting ideas on the internet. I confine them to topics like Nature, Culture, Photography, and Art but often fall prey to other genres.
I would greatly appreciate it if you shared my newsletter and work with your friends. It really helps me out :)
Haha did you make up the thing about LotR fans being “ringers”? I’ve been a fan for a long time and never heard that before. But definitely going to be calling myself that from now on.
Appreciate the shoutout and can’t wait to see the issue with more about the project! The portraits are absolutely killer man.
What a wonderful surprise! I'm truly honored, my friend.
Thank you so much! ♥