IIRC he attends quite regularly these live drawing events (like the one he asked Ian to join him) and actually practices drawing there. To be fair we don't really see how he spends most of his days, with Ian at work and elsewhere.
My memory of earlier chapter may be foggy, but wasn't there a trend when Ian comes home Perry is doing absolutely nothing, or he is playing games, drinking with Wade. From time to time he cooks something and thats it.
Intellectual connection?, from Perry?. Come on, irl the only way Perry/Cherry is happening is if she knows he's the only child of the (rich) mayor. Also, if I'm not missing anything, Perry is only an aspiring visual artist in his head, the guy does nothing but drinking beer, smoking pot, playing videogames and jerking off to girls with dicks. Cherry had an exhibition and is selling her work. I mean, she's the least interesting Ian LI to me after Minerva, but credit where credit is due. Putting the poor girl in the same category as Perry is just cruel and unusual.
Taking in the account how his behavior hasn't changed from ch.1 to ch.12, or you could even argue, that he become worse as the story progresses. And to count how, if we play Ian/Cherry we get to know, how much she needs emotional support. Perry is not the person, who in slightest could understand that situation, or provide something meaningful that could help her.
That whole intellectual connection thing is laughable to me, when you consider that Baluart is full with young people with artistic or other academics background. Then there are differences in background, and characters; Cherry is child of immigrants, who faced with narrow chance of initial success, found the job outside her education background, but still tries to create art. Even when she is full of doubt about how people don't care about her paintings, she still works hard and accomplish her first little breakthrough. Then there's Perry; little manchild of privelege wearing nostalgia googles whos only worries are prices of beer, whining about how could Cindy dare to spend time with her boyfriend and talk shit about Jeremy, Alison and Cindy.
EK wanted Cherry to mirror Lena so bad that she gave them both their own personal slob.
