stevedover1965

I have received some comments by people with whom I had spoken about and applauded the website thinkdraw and the art that is produced. But when I explained the medium and how the pictures are produced I found that the work created was not taken seriously, and considered too easy. This annoyed me because I think it is actually much harder to produce something really good on here than by
using paints and canvas (I dabble) What are your thoughts on this subject should a picture created on this website be considered as art!

matthew

I have had the same responses from people I have shared TD with Steve...

Is it art??? Art is subjective... Is it art to you??? It is to me...

polenta

It's ART for some TDers who are ARTISTS!!!!!!!
.
I consider myself an amateur, in no way an artist, and I'm glad I can see their work and play with the pieces.
IN SHORT, ARTISTS SHOW WHO THEY ARE.NO MATTER WHAT TECHNIQUE, MEDIUM OR WHATEVER THEY CAN GET HOLD TO.
Some TDers are REAL ARTISTS who share their talent with all the rest of us.

puzzler

There will always be the traditionalists and the purists to contend with, but the use of collage and montage is well known in the modern art world and this is just a variant of that. Matisse used collage and Hockney made some wonderful photo montages. Some of the artists on here exhibit great skill and put long hours into their work - it is definitely ART!

stevedover1965

Thank you I share your sentiment, collage and indeed montage require considerable planning, I am in the early stages on TD and it is thanks to artists like yourselves, and the techniques you employ that I feel I am developing into a better artist (gradually) and yes my feeling is that this is art and allows many people of different ages and backgrounds to express themselves in pictures, also I find it more relaxing and satisfying than most computer games.

Shanley

I agree with Polenta. I'm an amateur myself, although I'd surely love to develop into something more...either way, nothing about art is ever easy. Things that were considered by some critics 'childish' in the beginings got to be treasured years later. I'd like to challenge those friends to doing better than people we, the TD-ers, consider artists. It really depends how you look at it. For me two things are essential:
-imagination, so one can produce original works,
-good tehnique, so things turn out just how you 'sketched' them in your mind.

belladonnis

http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=52779

http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=74924

http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=65245

http://www.thinkdraw.com/picture.php?pictureId=37161

This IS art done by REAL artists!

Qsilv

It's worth mentioning that there are at least two strikes against TD creations being accepted as "art" -- the medium (pixels), and the size (tiny).

But you need to ask "accepted by whom". The BBC article notwithstanding, TD doesn't (yet) have a mass audience, and no "art" garners standing without promotion.

I think Shanley's criteria are excellent, btw... and stevedover's points suit me personally right down to the bone.



(.....slips bella a gold-foiled chocolate truffle for including one of mine!) ;>

puzzler

Qsilv, size is not a consideration, remember the wonderful miniaturist paintings throughout history, particularly portraits.

polenta

Some years ago there was a contest. Each person should do something in paper and walk through a "runway". Most of us used newspapers or toilet paper. We turned some toilet paper around our necks as a scarf or made the normally folded paper cap we all new from our childhood, etc, etc. Most people tried to be funny because after all we were dealing with paper and had neither glue nor scissors etc We hardly had some newspapers and toilet paper.
Suddenly a lady appeared with a GORGEOUS HAT that was everybody's delight and that left everybody amazed. It was made of newspaper... and it got of course the first prize.
SHE WAS AN ARTIST, AT LEAST IN THAT AREA.

Normal

Not only is it ART and often done by true ARTISTS (not quite me), but it is done with an immense handicap by being forced to use the peculiar odds and ends associated with the various themes offered. Like a portrait done with a blindfold on, or a landscape painted in a small closet. Narrow, narrow choices to use, but very broad results due to creative imagination.

Qsilv

puzzler, size matters. ;> (Only not AFTER you've already achieved substantial fame.)

matthew

And I was told that size didn't matter...

stevedover1965

I agree with (Normal) about the difficulties presented, and it is precisely those handicaps that makes thinkdraw so delightful, everyone has raised some brilliant points and I believe that everyone on here is an artist, there are varying degrees of artist from the doodler to the perfectionist and the professional artists who like to relax or use this site for mapping out ideas (which is in itself high recommendation for TD), but the one thing I have been able to do is learn from all of you, by watching and using playback I have been picking up techniques and using that to gradually improve my imagination and drawing skills. You are all a great group of people, interesting and insightful and a pleasure to talk to and receive feedback from. 21/2/10 (Stephen Martin - Dover)

Shanley

I've given this some thought, and I tend to believe that people might underestimate TD, becuase they get to see the playbacks. It really makes all look so easy, but in real life you're used to confrunt yourself with all the difficulties imposed by the oil, the paper, the canvas and so on. Wouldn't it be more nice, if people who take playbacks for granted, would understand that using these elements is a thing of imagination too? That there was a first time somebody this or that out? You learn a lot, that's sure, but there are many things you discover without even thinking of it! This is why many of the artists that are here from a longer time 'need' a new theme!

polenta

I need a new theme!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

spam

But before you find one Polenta I agree with Steve, Shanley etc that TD is a base fo us all however talented or not we may be. I know from my own very short time on here that I have learnt from watching how others have created their works of art and I feel myself very lucky to have stumbled across this site. It is a continuous learning curve and I love it. With thanks to all you great artists on TD. Pam - Kent.

stevedover1965

Just a question, a lot of the work I have produced on here has been using the old faces theme, but I have noticed that in Top 5 there is no category for faces! So where does that leave me, because I have ambitions to have one of my drawings displayed there. So does that mean I am provisionally disqualified because I use faces?

Baldur

'Faces' has become the unloved stepchild.
A pity too because it is actually very interesting to create pieces with.

matthew

We have been asking for it's return to the top 5 page... Who knows, if they put it back in this month, you may have 5 in the top 5 ...