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 Christain Sava.
Scott is an artist based in Nashville, Tennessee. He posts daily videos to Youtube and Tiktok, along with holding 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 shines through his dialogues, add that extra dollop of personality.
Scott’s art is phenomenal. Working primarily in watercolours, his style is a mix of 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 in 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 for 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 at Nashville, Tennessee.
The emotional roller coaster that 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 take bits of other’s work and incorporate it into their own. It’s just how artists work…
Does art need to be an accurate image of the world, or can you play around a bit?
Enjoy what you’re reading?
Then check out my newsletter – The Owlet – where I write about my work and curate links about Nature, Creativity and The Human Condition. Subscribe and I’ll send you my FREE Wild India Reading List!
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 artist 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 is some additional videos for you to lose yourself in!
Ishan Shanavas 