An Artist?

[10 ball]

Just a few thoughts on being an artist.

Are we all artists? Whats the criteria? Do you have to get paid?

Im terrible at drawing by hand, but I'm a graphic artist of 20 years by profession, I can not paint a picture on paper or canvas but I'm not that bad at minis.

Are you an artist if you get a 9.5 but not a 3.5? Do you need to paint at all? Sculpting is art, so is doing conversions art?

Ive seen some great ideas on here, but sometimes they are poorly executed, but are the ideas art themselves?

If someone said to you "are you an artist?" would you say yes because you paint minis?

My first response would be no, but Im becoming to realise that I am an artist and Im bloody proud of it!

So to all you 9.9 people and all you 3.5 people, you are all artists and be proud of it!

Damn right


Lee (10 ball)

Graphic Artist (who can not draw)

 

[Tommie Soule]

I find it easier to declare myself as 'an artist' when asked my profession but i don't think I'm an artist In general in the 'load of Pollocks' kind of way
I can't draw either.

T

 

[kathrynloch]

hehe..good post 10! I used to be quite good at drawing but like most things - don't use it, you lose it. It would take a lot of practice for me to get back where I was in high school/college. I have zero talent for graphic arts. But I do call myself an artist.

So what about writing? That's considered an art but writers refer to themselves as writers - not artists (generally they are writers if they are not published - if they get published then they are authors - I get a kick out of that one).

I personally think that most talents requiring an extensive amount of creativity should be considered art. So yes, to me if you make a genuine attempt at this or drawing or graphic arts, etc., enjoy the work and strive to improve and learn then you are an artist.

 

[Einion]

Are we all artists?

I'd say yes.

Are you an artist if you get a 9.5 but not a 3.5?

Quality isn't a criterion - whole can o' worms! - it's just the nature of the work.

Do you need to paint at all? Sculpting is art, so is doing conversions art?

Technically I suppose so, although some levels of it might be considered just craft-work (difficult question about where the dividing line might lie, discussions on this go back to at least the 19th century).

If someone said to you "are you an artist?" would you say yes because you paint minis?

Depends on the context of the conversation. Probably not if painting minis is all I did, but it would depend if they asked based on knowing about the hobby.

I find it pretentious to describe yourself based on your avocation - imagine if someone insisted on calling themselves a computer gamer just because they like to spend a couple of hours a day in COD or BF3...

Einion

 

[PegaZus]

Me Caveman Ugg, me draw on wall. Draw big meat. Ugg like meat. Meat pretty.

Ugg's son's son's .... son look at wall. Use magic take cave draw and put on smooth white skin. Make many smooth white skin things. Show Ugg's other sons and daughters. Say Ugg artist.

Ugg don't know. Ugg just draw.

 

[RuneBrush]

Personally I'd say no - we're not all artists.

My justification for this is pretty straight forward. As some of you know I'm a webmunki by trade and one of my biggest annoyances is somebody who knocks out a site in Dreamweaver or FrontPage (*shudder*) and then claims that they're a web designer - no, no you're not, you've just created something in a package that generates a specific output you have little to no knowledge of the area of expertise. In the same way as me doing my business accounts doesn't make me an accountant, nor does writing a short story make me an author.

However, I do believe that most of us do create art in some form or another and art is one of the most subjective subjects about Plus most of us also have a great depth of knowledge on paints, painting techniques etc.

 

[ischa]

as runebrush says, its not as simple as we paint=we artists be. but quality doesnt make an artist. being an artist is in the act, if you paint with the goal of creating art, you´re an artist, if you paint to create an army to play with, youre a hobbyist. creating display pieces makes you an artist, according to me. you can create awesome 9.8 gaming pieces, but since the purpose is gaming and gaming only, they dont bring you closer to being a artist.

 

[skraaal]

as runebrush says, its not as simple as we paint=we artists be. but quality doesnt make an artist. being an artist is in the act, if you paint with the goal of creating art, you´re an artist, if you paint to create an army to play with, youre a hobbyist. creating display pieces makes you an artist, according to me. you can create awesome 9.8 gaming pieces, but since the purpose is gaming and gaming only, they dont bring you closer to being a artist.

This. It's all about context, how you view what you do in relation to how others view it.

 

[AndyG]

1. Does your work have aesthetic value?
2. Did you create it?
3. Does it make you money i.e. are you a master?
4. Is your work highly skilled?

If yes to all these criterion and indeed if these criteria are an appropriate means of judging then maybe.
For myself the answers would be
1. Dunno
2. No
3. Nope
4. Compared to what?
So myself no I'm not.

Also here's another thing to consider, for years as a scientist I had a fairly low opinion of artists. Then when I bothered to find out I realised the huge amount of hard work dedication and raw talent required. When I compared people who I thought were good artists to myself on the hard work dedication and raw talent bit it was an annoyingly chastening experience!

So to sum up being a true artist damn hard and who decides, critics? Yeah right!?! Other artists? Who told them they were?

 

[ischa]

So to sum up being a true artist damn hard and who decides, critics? Yeah right!?! Other artists? Who told them they were?

critics have no say in who´s an artist, if they did, picasso, van gogh, and loads of other wouldnt be artists. be sure to recognise the difference between artist and artisan. being skilled doesnt make you and artist, and being a lousy painter doesnt hinder it. the artist self decides wether he creates art or not. there are many amateur artists and many artists who do not strive for aesthetic value, that doesnt make them less of an artist.

 

[Bloodhowl]

1. person who creates art as an occupation.
2. A person who is skilled at some activity.

The Oxford English Dictionary defines the older broad meanings of the term "artist":

• A learned person or Master of Arts
• One who pursues a practical science, traditionally medicine, astrology, alchemy, chemistry
• A follower of a pursuit in which skill comes by study or practice
• A follower of a manual art, such as a mechanic
• One who makes their craft a fine art
• One who cultivates one of the fine arts – traditionally the arts presided over by the muses

A definition of Artist from Princeton.edu: creative person (a person whose creative work shows sensitivity and imagination).

If you fit into any of the above definitions, you just might be an artist!

 

[AndyG]

critics have no say in who´s an artist, if they did, picasso, van gogh, and loads of other wouldnt be artists. be sure to recognise the difference between artist and artisan. being skilled doesnt make you and artist, and being a lousy painter doesnt hinder it. the artist self decides wether he creates art or not. there are many amateur artists and many artists who do not strive for aesthetic value, that doesnt make them less of an artist.

Critics, hah, all ways liked R E Heinleins treatment of them in his stories though possibly a tad brutal!

Yep I do tend to equate artisan with artist a failing of mine maybe; instilled (re verbally beaten in) by my old art teacher who I always admired very much; he used to bang on about master craftsmen and aesthetic worth. But that was his criteria to judge by one I think many other people would use maybe wrongly and I'm no artist so who am I to judge?

 

[freakinacage]

I'd say if your creations spark emotion, then yes

 

[lono]

Interesting to see this thread now. After the Iron Painter entry I just did a few people commented that the model made them react to an emotional degree and had crossed the boundary from painted toy to art, so that would indicate I am an artist I suppose. It's the first time I've heard that about my work directly and was an odd thing to read. While it was very flattering, I don't consider myself an artist in any way when it comes to painting.

1. Does your work have aesthetic value?
2. Did you create it?
3. Does it make you money i.e. are you a master?
4. Is your work highly skilled?

I can answer yes to all of those. There is clearly an aesthetic value created by me. Painting is my job and it involves a great deal of skill... but still, I don't think I'm an artist...

Yet I can't put my finger on why!

It's not that I see it as a dirty word. There are many people who create art in all kinds of disciplines (including mini painting) who I greatly respect. There are also a lot of people who consider themselves artists who I have no respect for whatsoever in the same disciplines (including mini painting), and calling their work art would never cross my mind. And I think that all comes down to:

I'd say if your creations spark emotion, then yes

Which puts me back to where I started, because I'm now an artist again... bugger!

But at the same time, I see that I don't give my all to what I do, I don't strive for perfection, I don't try to make art, my painting is often a product, a service... a comodity even. I have to paint at a speed that stops me from attaining true excellence, I have to paint to market desires. Others have factors that stop them from being artists too: a certain amount of points to grind out, a need to move on to the next project, etc.

Perhaps I'm overly assessing my own approach to painting and ignoring the wider level of things, but I reckon most people who paint toy soldiers have some limitations of their own on their painting and creative process that stops them from being artists... Sometimes though, even for those people, hell, even for me, things may come together just right - the perfect storm of circumstances - that lets them create a piece of art. And that's quite an awesome thing, and what makes this mini painting lark so wonderful.

 

[ischa]

i´d say you are an artist if you create and you consider yourself an artist, its another thing wether it´s good art or not I do not consider myself an artist either lono, but I´d sure as hell say that for example Matt Cexwishs turning diorama is art!

 

[Dragonsreach]

Oh its a long argument here about ART and ARTIST, some would argue that what we do is little more than paint-by-numbers, some that every choice to paint away from preconcieved colours is making us Artists.

Personally I no longer care if I get classed as an Artist because I can Draw (a little) or apply Paint to a model or canvas all I do know is that ART is too large a subject to not be able to include our toy soldiers somewhere.

 

[t77mackie]

Hmmm... Such a subjective thing. I guess an artist is anyone who makes 'art'. Makes sense. Reminds me of a thing I once heard: A person who acts 'odd' and is poor is called "crazy" while a person who acts 'odd' and is rich is called "eccentric".

=)

 

[Chrome]

I call myself an artist. Mostly because I can't create unless it sparks some kind of emotion in me. As soon as it becomes a task I lose interest, I realised this for real when trying to do commissions, I just wasn't up for it. BIG mistake on my part since I now have tons of work lying about that need to be done that I have absolutely zero interest in which leads me into a negative spiral. Just because those creations are work and not art.

When I create I don't really see a finished product, I feel the emotions a setting or situation sparks in me and I get inspired and as soon as that fades the creation is of no interest to me. The end result means nothing to me in itself, it is just the process of creation and the way that makes me feel that I really care about. Of course it's nice to have something finished and looking good in a shelf somewhere but in the end it's just the act of creation that matters to me.

That's why I call myself an artist.

 

[cassar]

I think Chromes hit the nail for me (welcome back by the way), If you create something and it has an emotional significance for you then i think you qualify as an artist even if you are paid to do it as a job or as a hobby. The commissions aspect i would empathise with too thats why with what i do i try to put that little bit extra into the builds (even if it costs me) to placate the art gods and maintain my enthusiasm tho jesterzusmc did test my faith lol and as for Mephs helmet, well i think part of my brains still shut down after that one they say the customer is always right personally the customer is right when he agrees with me and is lucky to have the good fortune that i live on an island in the back of beyond

 

[tomusannonymous]

I consider myself an artist. Instead of just drawing fantasy scenes I create them in 3d with minis and terrain, all fully rendered. It's like a creating painting you can move around and view from all angles, also play games with... yeh painting minis is an awesome hobby and I think it falls under the catagory of 'art' for sure.

most of my supplies come from the art shop too