What is considered art? I look at Piccasso's work and think my kids can draw better....yet he is considered one of the best artists in the world. Then I look at some art pieces and they look identical to the real thing and you don't know if it's a photograph or a painting? And I ask myself: What's the purpose of painting if it looks like a photograph?

So, in your opinion...what makes a good artist...a true piece of art?

To me it can be either as long as it conveys a thought or feeling in a creative way...a photograph can be very artistic and creative

I like that Rev.Kathy. To me an artist is simply one that expresses in physical form what they observe....with that said I don't think there is good art or bad art : )

Agree....

There are artists that come to be revered in history, either because they are recognized by art critics, or because so many respond to them over time, or because they were simply the first in a new wave of art exploration and provided inspiration to others.

Is there a standard to judge whether art is "good" or "bad"...? Yes. But it has to do with many considerations: composition, technique, color relationships, balance, form, just to mention a few. And then there's the "gestalt" of the painting (where the painting is a true "whole," greater than the sum of all these things) which no one can quite put a finger on.... it's just "recognized." After studying many thousands of paintings, it's easier to at least point out the ones that are more important, more developed, and more skillfull than others of the same genre.

That being said, there is nothing like standing before a work of art and falling in love. It could be a master work or the drawing of a 4-year-old. Infact, Picasso once said "When I was five, I could draw like Raphael, but it took me a lifetime to learn to paint like a child."

Ahh...thanks for your reply Angeleyes. I sucked up every word!

Lately, I have been painting up a storm. When I see other people's paintings I see that each artist has it's own "style"....I don't see mine and doubt I have one....or not yet. Yet if I can see a style in others....that reflects them...can I know my style simple by knowing that theirs is different?

With other words (and this is exactly what Maharaja teaches) can we know ourself ....by knowing what we are not?

Art is a very diverse concept as one man's art could be consider as garbage by another.
The merits of art are as varied as the number of critics.
People can look at the technical aspects, or the emotional side and how it makes you feel which is what many artists are all about.
Even the so-called bad artists are sometimes brilliant in that they are shock artists seeking to elicit an emotional response, albeit a "bad" one.
I don't like such art and equate it with gothic punkers, body piercing and horror films, which I also do not like.
But I will respect an effective artist who can actually achieve an emotional response even if I don't applaud their work if it is unappealing to me.
Most art really is about emotional response.
If one wants realism then digital technology renders artists obsolete and transforms them into little more than technicians.

Art is so subjective.....the response to it is determined by place, time, and circumstances. In the backwaters here people prefer either sentiment or nature, most times the two combined, and in a picture that will match the color of the sofa.

A local state park sponsers an art show every autumn that's well attended. All the locals come to look and applaude but not to buy tho they are fond of saying..."you have such a god given talent never give it up", with some humor i am tempted to put a jar on the table with a slot in the lid and a sign on it saying " your opportunity to support god given talent". No one sells anything much to support thier habit.
But one show left one artist stunned. From somewhere came a busload of Japanese tourists...wandering around the show they bought up all her American Primitive style....she wandered the aisles with a dazed smile on her face.

So what is a good artist? Perhaps someone who feeds the birds?

( all above said with tongue in cheek )

Great post chippingaway and so true. I love to paint, but don't paint for a living and I am one of those people that look but don't buy. For one art is expensive and two, it's hard to find a piece of art that "fits" in.

What do others think about buying art?

i hear you about buying art viv. At the shows i used to price everything within what i thought were the peramiters of affordability for the average person. Have always done this with the things i felt the ordinary person might need or enjoy, the goat milk we sold, the strawberries we sold, even the garage sales we've had. There is this democratic streak in my mental make-up that there should be no noses pressed against my window, longing for what is unaffordable.

Am lucky in the respect i have an honorary daughter-in-law who is also an artist, semi pro. Tho it's more in the modern inpressionism school she seems to have finely tuned to what i might like and i've recieved two pieces from her. One is that modern impressionism and the other is a family tree done in a whimsical manner. The latter is a conversation piece, everyone who sees it has to examine it and talk about it.

Do you have a favorite artist?

I think that a piece of true art creates a bridge between the artist and the observer. It can evoke an emotion, direct the observer's imagination in new directions, or portray something commonplace in an unexpected way.

Some years ago, I saw a fascinating painting at a restaurant down the street. It was brilliant in its simplicity: The legs of several chrome kitchen chairs as seen from down near the floor, with overlapping multi-coloured lighting such as one might see near the stage of a nightclub.