Qsilv

mmm... in re-reading what I wrote, plus your comments, I think I left it way too dry.

Yes! it IS love... and a kind of inner gift to see.

And it's the skill of using tools to convey your vision that takes work --and time.

I do a lot of photography for the more instant capture technique, some in fond if misbegotten hope that I'll get to it again... to do it in a different medium, to emphasize the kernel of what I was seeing.

Georgia O'Keefe, who did iconic, huge, sensual, intimate even, paintings of flowers, was asked if she really saw them that way. She answered (my crude paraphrase here.. too lazy to look it up) "No, but if I just did them small you still wouldn't SEE what I'm seeing!"

Ron captures and conveys his visions stunningly efficiently... prolific output... original... powerful... and oh god, I'm envious! LOL...

Qsilv

just u/l'd one of my pieces into a flickr page... this link *should* go to it

http://www.flickr.com/photos/34471582@N04/3204538088/

Qsilv

or... not? Hm... http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3352/3204538088_c4ff22b942.jpg

Luna

Osily, that's amazing! You are very talented. I didn't have time to paint for years, then started again last summer. Here is my favorite:
http://www.illusionsgallery.com/Temp-Aug-25-08.html

cutegrl289

Wow, Luna! You are very talented!

Luna

Thanks cutegrl289!
Qsilv, sorry for the misspelling of your name. I just read your explaination of stone lithography. It sounds facinating. I do woodcuts; it's such fun to pull that first print and see what you've got.

Login

Well, Ernie, I think the answer to your question is: Luna, Qsilv, baby and a few others are artists; likemee is a painter; and the rest of us (mostly) just play at drawing.

Ernie

thanks login for summing that up. Lunda.. that painting is amazing! How long did it take?
Qsilv, i like yours too, so realistic

Qsilv

Luna - woodcuts! *gasp* ...talk about a demanding art-form... far less forgiving of errors than even litho, isn't it?

The neat thing about graphite is I get to go back over it again and again and... just keep tinkering, smudging, lifting... By contrast, TD forces me to make choices and pretty much stick to 'em.

Ernie - thanks! Some of that is meant to be 'photo-realism', but it's just a trick... and that above-mentioned endless tinkering. ; >

I do consider Mike Lee to be an artist, not just a craftsman-painter. Interpretation counts!

lilmiss

AM I AN ARTIST?

I wouldnt consider myself an artist. I do however think of myself as artistic and creative. Its weird sometimes it pours out of me and others it seems I'm grasping at straws.

I won several coloring contests when I was a kid. I took every art clas I could in high school. I went to college for graphic design but didnt finish. I can draw pretty much anything I see with a pencil (except for faces...weird huh) but I cant pull anything from my imagination unless its abstract.

I've pretty much painted everthing known to man... as in houses, cars, jeans, furniture, signs, windows, and faces. I just recently took up "painting" . I have been unimpressed by most of my paintings but friends are encouraging me to keep painting. And it is VERY therapeutic for me... I try to do it when I feel compelled to and not do it just because I think I should lol...if that makes any sense.

As for anything on here...I'm just playing around hoping it will inspire me to paint a priceless masterpiece! LOL

DMarla

Luna, wow your painting is great. I have two painting that I completed. I have a landscape one that still needs work.

If you go to my profile I have a link to my paintings.

Luna

DMarla, those are beautiful, LOVE the frog one!
Qsil, yes woodcuts are challenging, but I love the way the wood grain can become part of the picture, like this one: http://www.illusionsgallery.com/Eagle.html

Qsilv

Luna - that's superb at every level. (I love your green-man too)
Dmarla - fascinating site and your frog just wowed me.
ok, both of you... I'll just go back to bed now with a nice book... sheeeeesh!

sheftali52

Hello all! I'm definitely no artist, just a doodler who likes to have fun. I do dabble in photography, though, with nature scenes my favorite medium. I also have a quirky view of things, such as using an old teapot as a planter, and a cowboy boot as a bird feeder. TD allows me to insert a little humor into our otherwise serious world. I know my stuff is simplistic, but I try to convey a thought with as few pieces as possible--sometimes too few! I am in awe of the many talented, true artists on this site.

anotherronism

First: To those posting links to their "outside TD work" I apologize. I did not take the time to browse them "yet". I will.

I'm new here. I've posted in different forums that I don't consider myself an artist. But I am creative.

I fell in love with this site. Most specifically - I fell in love with the feedback.

And I did a few nice pieces and man-oh-man, did I get feedback.

So I got hooked and did 60 pieces in six days.

And then I did my last "serious" piece. It's simple text that says "I'm Burned Out"

I was - and am.

But why?

I said my favorite thing about TD was the feedback. But I've begun to realize this is also a bad thing in a strange way.

My first 60 pieces were done for the sheer joy of doing them. Some were fun, some were serious but all poured right out of my head.

Then there was feedback. And ratings.

And I found myself looking at my own work and rating it myself.

Oh how I rue the day I decided this piece was "important" and that one was not.

There lies the rub... I'm not burnt out.

I just suddenly stopped playing for my own gratification and, instead, began contemplating pieces for YOUR (yes, all of you) gratification.

And that was the end. I just couldn't come up with what was important enough to spend hours of my life on.

I love this site. I love the feedback.

But what it art? I said before I think it is love. I continue to think that. But it shouldn't matter at all what anyone else thinks of a piece or a style or anything. Someone said "a willingness to accept criticism..."

Oh - I couldn't disagree more. The very second I "accepted" criticism (including outstanding reviews and flattery)... The very second I let that "feedback" influence me - I was done. Because it ceased to be about me and my love for this (or whatever) and instead became some Hallmark card or slogan of the hour.

I Am an artist. And my audience is, and should be, exactly one! The only one who matters. Me.

Otherwise - it just ain't art!

Ron

Luna

anotherronisim, I completely get what your are saying. I gave up doing comissions years ago for the same reason. I hated it. However, doing pictures here is also a way of communicating for us right-brained people that don't do words well. Where else can you express your feelings about the inaguration or your dog dieing, or a tribute to Andrew Wyeth and have so many people share it so quickly? Think of it as a place to play and share with the others. This is a great group of people. Have fun with the interaction and don't take the art to seriously. I never, ever type anything this long

likemee

ron, i really enjoyed reading your incitful comments. and i aggree in so many respects with what you are saying in theory.

as both a painter and TD fanatic, my favourite moments are when i am pleased and have enjoyed producing a piece of work. however, call it shallow or superficial but that enjoyment and satisfaction is short lived if an audience does not appreciate it in any way.

art should be for ones own self fulfilment, but it should also be something shared and enjoyed by others. one thing it is not for is the ego!

puzzler

Surely this site is about creating something, which you enjoy doing, but being brave enough to allow others to comment on it. Thankfully, most of the feedback is encouraging and the whole process becomes self-motivating. I also don't think we should consider ourselves shallow for being proud of our achievements. This site is small enough to feel like a family and I don't worry about sharing with them. It's life, you take the bad with the good. If your art is purely for your private satisfaction, fair enough, but then just don't submit the work - simple! You also need to question whether it is ethical to comment on other people's work, if you feel that feedback can have an adverse effect on them, as it has on you.

Qsilv

Being an artist and doing art are two different things, y'know.

I think of quite a few more of you as artists than are willing to live under that label. Seems to me you have the inner vision --and yes, that driving force, the love.

But the doing/creating is tricky. And doing it here is a mixed bag. It's play. But it does get seen... well, it does when we submit it. At that moment we have decided to allow others to enjoy it, ignore it, scoff at it... rate it.

It's perfectly possible, however, to use the tools privately, do a screen-capture for yourself, and then delete the work from TD without ever making it public.

I'm willing to toss my pieces into the arena, because it feels to me like fair trade for entry into other people's minds and products.

Most serious artists discover that they can't create in a vacuum indefinitely. Long periods of solitude are lovely, but when you go look at others' work, suddenly you just get infused with new energy.

Thanks -- to all of you!

kitten008

O.K iv'e been reading all of your comments and i have a final answer on ernies question "who is an artist?" and iv'e come up with this
anyone can be an artist if they beleive that they are an artist there shouldent't be any restrictions on who is and who isn't i say that if you want to be an artist you can be