How Do You Know If Your Art is Good?

[Maitimo]

As an artist myself, I often find that the pieces I am least happy with; the ones that I'm sure need more work but I just don't know what to do with them, these are the ones that other people like the best.  So maybe the reason you can't see how to improve a piece, is because it's already exactly where it needs to be.

Technique is part of making art, and technique can be improved with practise.  But there's more to it than that. There's ideas, emotions, and a little piece of yourself. Those things can't be practised; a piece either has them or it doesn't. And even if it doesn't, some people will still love it.

[CheriColette]

8 hours ago, Love Zhaoying said:

There Is a funny website, “Museum of Bad Art”. Something to measure by.

 

Interesting and a place to visit if I was near. I guess its like the saying in the ad industry about 'bad ads'. There is no such thing if it gets people talking and thinking. 

[Love Zhaoying]

36 minutes ago, CheriColette said:

Interesting and a place to visit if I was near. I guess its like the saying in the ad industry about 'bad ads'. There is no such thing if it gets people talking and thinking. 

They don’t have a physical museum right now, just the site.

[FairreLilette]

5 hours ago, Luna Bliss said:

It amazes me what some strangers feel they have a right to comment on...like with your tree.

I'm afraid my tree was not meant to be abstract...wish I would've thought to say that to my teacher! lol   We were supposed to be doing realism, and she was actually right...I had not really LOOKED at a tree it seems  

  Sorry about your experience.  

I got to thinking about your teacher's comment and perhaps she was challenging you.  Teachers do that sometimes.  It's kind of their job to challenge us, but I don't think her approach was right...it just came on too strong.

But, I know what the man was talking about...he wanted me to draw the tree from my soul...just what I felt, not what I saw.

But, we all know there are a billion and one ways to draw a tree.  I don't think anyone should approach it from one avenue.

I think some of my mixed media art is good...it's just lacking a bit in the concept area and technique as it's a new medium to me.  I want to continue it...give it a year and see.  

Take a break for now and have some fun, too.  

 

[Pamela Galli]

10 hours ago, Luna Bliss said:

That deserves 2 likes...

I remember an art 'teacher' who asked in front of a huge class if I'd ever actually looked at a tree before when I drew my first (apparently very bad) tree. I left art classes for years after that.

Well that was a crap teacher.  I have the greatest respect and admiration for 80% of the teachers I worked with, but that number would have been higher if more high quality people could afford to teach. 

[Zeta Vandyke]

I might get burned for this, but I do not think everything is just art because someone who created it thinks so.

I've been to galleries in SL for example, where people would display their art, and all I see was screenshots from SL. I don't think pressing a screenshot button creates art. I make screenshots too, and sometimes Photoshop them a bit too. Does that make me an artist? I don't think so.

Also in rl, sometimes I see art installations that makes me wonder, if the artist really sees themselves as such, or are they laughing their ass off because some local government bought their art project for way to much money. As example, a big metal cube, nothing more or less. Had some silly description about how it represents something in nothingness bla bla. And there was a lot of money payed for it and placed in a public park. Also another one, some rusty metal construction beam bent in a curly shape,... that was supposed to represent something I forgot, also payed a lot for and placed along some road. If that's art, I probably lack the creativity to recognize it.

I do appreciate art, varying from painting, sculptures, architecture, drawings, dance, and whatever more, but I just think "Art" also is an overused term by a lot of people that love to give their own creations more importance.

[ThorinII]

Actually, I call almost all my drawings "sketches" - even the finished ones, simply because, a) they begin with some scribbling around and grow from that, and b) when I see what others upload to DeviantArt (for example), my own drawings barely reach their "sketch" and "scrap" level.

 

Here's one of my few colored drawings, photographed from the original (because when I made this, I had no scanner at hand). I didn't even start with an explicit idea or a message to express, just with some curved lines which then evolved to the tree, then I added everything else.

Is this drawing "good art"? I honestly don't know. I even doubt it. I only know that there are people who liked it and gave positive feedback.

[Maitimo]

5 hours ago, ThorinII said:

Actually, I call almost all my drawings "sketches" - even the finished ones, simply because, a) they begin with some scribbling around and grow from that, and b) when I see what others upload to DeviantArt (for example), my own drawings barely reach their "sketch" and "scrap" level.

Is this drawing "good art"? I honestly don't know. I even doubt it. I only know that there are people who liked it and gave positive feedback.

This is good; any improvements that can be made are down to technique, choosing the right medium and spending more time on it.  As a concept, it's very nice (though personally, I would flip the bonsai dish around and have the little tree leaning towards the big one, to make a more interesting composition).  Coloured pencils are not the easiest medium to use; while you can get fine detail with them, they're not great for filling in large areas of colour; watercolour paint is better for that, and this would be a much better picture in watercolour.

Please don't give up; keep practising and you'll soon be up to DA standards

Edited April 1, 2019 by Matty Luminos

[Selene Gregoire]

@FairreLilette

https://mystudentvoices.com/what-makes-an-artist-good-e7920295abce

http://marketingtrw.com/blog/become-empowered-successful-artist-part-1/

 

 

Hope those help you to build your confidence in your work.

[Arduenn Schwartzman]

On 3/29/2019 at 10:53 PM, FairreLilette said:

For me, I took a look at some of my art and felt it was lacking simplicity, space, it was too confusing or too busy.

Make a new art that is simpler, with more space, less confusing and less busy?

You'll only know if you try it.

[Rolig Loon]

Here's an etching that I made 40 years ago in an adult ed art class.  As I recall, the teacher said something like "Nice composition, really overworked.  Try again."  I never did. I'm at the limits of my artistic talent and have found more rewarding ways to spend my creative time, but it was fun to try and he was very kind.  Art doesn't need to be great or even "good" to be satisfying.

[Chic Aeon]

A couple of thoughts on this:

Really --- the point of art that most long-time artists "get" is THE PROCESS is the goal. 

Someone not long ago wrote that if no one saw or used my creations I would stop making them. Was that true?  I decided it was not. I make them mostly for myself. If others like them too, then that'a a plus. There is a great sense of accomplishment when an item is finished -- long before it goes out into the virtual world. 

 

And a RL story:   

Long ago when I was taking art classes in college, my instructor "critiqued" a pencil sketch (a big one) saying that == and I quote "it isn't working".  Now that was VERY unhelpful LOL. Was it the composition? The perspective (which was in the surrealistic vein)?  The values?   etc etc.   Personally, I thought it was working just fine.

A handful of  years later when I had made it somewhere near the top of my genre's particular mountain, the same art teacher came up to me outside a lounge (she had had a few by that time) to tell me what a good artist I had always been etc etc.  

Sometimes you simply need to trust yourself. 

[Chic Aeon]

5 minutes ago, Rolig Loon said:

Here's an etching that I made 40 years ago in an adult ed art class.  As I recall, the teacher said something like "Nice composition, really overworked.  Try again."  I never did. I'm at the limits of my artistic talent and have found more rewarding ways to spend my creative time, but it was fun to try and he was very kind.  Art doesn't need to be great or even "good" to be satisfying.

I like that very much (17 years teaching art classes) :D. 

My only comment would be that the composition would be better with the barn moved off center to the left with more of the sloping hill showing. Maybe some cropping at the bottom of the grasses so that they don't seem to be floating.  I am not getting the "overworked" bit at all --- and I am a minimalist at heart LOL. 

Please see my comment above on "art teachers".  

In MY classes we did critiques at the beginning of each class. They were NOT mandatory. The point was "what could make this better"?    Oftentimes it was the composition. Technique improves usually with practice :D.  Obviously not everyone agreed about what would be 'better'. I rarely assumed that MY comment had more relevance than the comments of the students. 

 

[Rolig Loon]

5 minutes ago, Chic Aeon said:

Really --- the point of art that most long-time artists "get" is THE PROCESS is the goal. 

I decided long ago, that's true of most things.  I can be truly invested in a project -- artistic, scientific, writing, scripting --- but once it's finished, I lose interest almost immediately.  The process of creation is the exciting part.  The finished product is ... well, sort of a static reminder of the process at best.  That suggests that for me art is not a "noun" but a "verb," if that makes sense.

[Pamela Galli]

It’s lovely. I would be patting myself on the back.

Another crap teacher. Criticism is almost never helpful. Certainly when it involves something personal a student has created, it’s just stupidly harmful. Example how to provide criticism free feedback:

When I taught writing, after working on his own for a few weeks I would offer a student the opportunity to have a conference with the class. After the first reading to the class, the author called on students to tell their favorite part of the piece; those who agreed chimed in Agree. A lot of agreement meant that was a really outstanding part.

Next reading, as they listened the class wrote questions on stickies. The  author called on students to ask their questions, and the author answered and made notes in the margins. Finally everyone gave their questions stickies to the author.

The questions enabled the writer to know what to clarify or elaborate when he wrote the next draft. 

No one ever received a grade for his writing. Nothing was considered finished until it was worthy of an A, so there was no point. Also, the writing was too personal to grade. Grades came entirely from conference participation.

The point is that everyone, without exception, was eager to do a conference because there was no risk of criticism, only highlighting the best parts, and asking questions that showed deep interest. 

 

Edited April 1, 2019 by Pamela Galli

[Pamela Galli]

10 minutes ago, Rolig Loon said:

The process of creation is the exciting part.

Exactly. If a teacher can give helpful feedback on the process rather than evaluating the product, she knows what she is doing.

To add to my little story, re grading the product: Once in ap blue moon someone would read a piece that was so polished, so well elaborated, so clear, etc., the class just broke into applause. And had no questions.

How useless it would have been for me to give a grade to something so obviously exceptional. 

Edited April 1, 2019 by Pamela Galli

[ThorinII]

1 hour ago, Pamela Galli said:

Criticism is almost never helpful.

I think it depends. There's positive criticism on one side, and negative - even harmful - criticism on the other side. The latter one, unfortunately, is the most used one, that's why criticism almost always has the meaning of "negative criticism"

However, the positive way, as I've learned to realize since showing my works (both written and drawn) to others, is always well-meaning, supposed to be helpful, constructive. Take my drawing  for example, "I like the picture in general, but I think it would be better if the bonsai were turned towards the tree outside", or "These characters in your novel are really believable, and the story is inspiring and well-written, but I would find *chapter soandso* better if it weren't so fast-paced. In my opinion, you could describe the setting in there more detailed, something in the ballpark of (example text based on the chapter 's setting)." Such positive critiques show that the person put some thoughts into it, saw potential in the artist and their product, and made suggestions about where and how to improve it. The artist doesn't need to adapt these suggestions, but it wouldn't hurt doing so.

On the other hand, the negative way is always meant to be denigrating and hurting, and can be really harmful. So much so that the artist might even give up this path of doing art entirely. With that, I mean stuff like "How dare you to show us this utter piece of ***, my 3y old child draws better than you!" or "It shows that the author is not a native speaker: Spelling, grammar, and word usage are like ***!" etc. etc.

I've learned that artists (me included) can be very sensitive at times when it comes to their babies. And especially when one's inner perfectionist is full of bashing anyway.

[ThorinII]

12 hours ago, Matty Luminos said:

As a concept, it's very nice (though personally, I would flip the bonsai dish around and have the little tree leaning towards the big one, to make a more interesting composition).  Coloured pencils are not the easiest medium to use; while you can get fine detail with them, they're not great for filling in large areas of colour; watercolour paint is better for that, and this would be a much better picture in watercolour.

To be honest, when I began this drawing, I didn't even have an idea of what to draw. I doodled some curved lines, and somehow the bonsai tree evolved from there. Once that small tree was finished, I decided to make it a bonsai and added everything else to it. 😅

And about the medium: over the decades I've learned that, in spite of all practice, I'm not good at using watercolor at all - at least not good enough for *me*. That's why I stick to pencils. ✏️

I'm mainly a writer, after all, and draw rather seldom: When I draw, then mainly to illustrate some scenes of my stories, or to even take a break from writing or other computer-related stuff.

[Selene Gregoire]

1 hour ago, ThorinII said:

I'm not good at using watercolor at all

Watercolor is generally considered the most difficult medium to work with so no worries.

[Shudo]

A Youtube on "imposter syndrome", something I really suffer from.

I grew up in a family of artists, and although I do keep telling myself that I am just as skilled as them in my own medium, it's still hard to judge one's art alongside one's mother, one's grandmother, one's great grandmother, one's stepfather's art. Their work is published, they have the renown of their peers, they have travelled the world teaching, exhibiting and more. What have I done worthy in comparison?

It doesn't matter that my mesh, my textures are seen and enjoyed by so many people from all over the world, doesn't matter that I am technically always trying to improve myself, doesn't matter that people give me compliments and buy my art - this is just a game, the mesh I make and the textures I create are just game assets. Not real art.

Then I stop the self doubt and destruction and think - hang on, this feeling of inadequacy, this is exactly what makes me strive to be keep learning, to keep creating, to keep improving. Every day I see improvement in what I do, if I look at something of 6 months ago, of a year ago, of 10 years ago I see nothing but greater ability today, and I see how I could have done that older piece better.

I hold my art up to my mother's glowing candle and I see the scribbles of a mere child compared to hers, but she has 30 years of art on top of mine. Just where will I be in 30 years? So, if I look at that work from a decade ago against something I create today and I focus just on  my own improvement - that's the real  benchmark.

Imposter syndrome is hard, and it's so tempting to judge your art to other's standards. But you can't - you can only judge it against your own prior corpus.

[iamyourneighbour]

On 3/30/2019 at 7:53 AM, FairreLilette said:

How do you know if your art is good or not?

 

When people start stealing it or paying for it

While the former is a form of great flattery, I really prefer the latter. 

Edited April 2, 2019 by iamyourneighbour

[Maitimo]

10 hours ago, Selene Gregoire said:

Watercolor is generally considered the most difficult medium to work with so no worries.

It's harsh; it leaves very little room for error. Once paint is on the paper it's very difficult to remove it.

[Selene Gregoire]

12 minutes ago, Matty Luminos said:

It's harsh; it leaves very little room for error. Once paint is on the paper it's very difficult to remove it.

http://www.elainegauthierart.com/blog/2016/2/1/is-watercolor-the-hardest-medium-to-master

https://www.theartistsroad.net/articles/whywatercolor

[Madelaine McMasters]

22 hours ago, Rolig Loon said:

I decided long ago, that's true of most things.  I can be truly invested in a project -- artistic, scientific, writing, scripting --- but once it's finished, I lose interest almost immediately.  The process of creation is the exciting part.  The finished product is ... well, sort of a static reminder of the process at best.  That suggests that for me art life is not a "noun" but a "verb," if that makes sense.

I made a slight modification in your post.

It's the same for me, for virtually everything (including marriage). I actually lose interest before things are finished, at the point where I think I understand what I'm doing.

I should embroider "The Journey is the Reward" on my undies.

[Arduenn Schwartzman]

On 3/29/2019 at 10:53 PM, FairreLilette said:

How do you know if your art is good or not?

You know your art is good when your yacht scheduler has a nervous breakdown over the increasing work load.