I will like to start an exhibition of images for people to tell me mostly what they don't like about it or what they will do to improve it. We as people who love art like to encourage other by seen the good in their work. But for me it is hard to get the real opinion of the things that will make a piece from good to great. I believe you all have an eye for this please help me out to see the areas of what you belive you don't like about the images I will post. tell me you don't like the color...need more texture..the subject...anything. I love to hear it all.
Also by the way if you wish to do so you can also upload your pictures so we can talk about it. I will gladly give my honest opinion of yours images in a very respectful way.
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For me ultimately, it comes down to the emotional response a piece generates in the viewer. And that's certainly going to be different in different people, or even in the same person at different times. Bigger emotional response, better piece. How you got there doesn't really matter in the end, as long as that emotion is deeply conveyed by what ever means you used to achieve it.
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Like, i'm listening to Killing Joke on the stereo right now, and your 'urban stuff' piece really calls out to me personally more at this particular moment. Purely because it pulls much more of an emotional response out of me (especially in this particular moment).
Now, if i had been listening to mellow trip hop for the last hour, or sitting watching the sunset at the beach, maybe my response to the 2 pieces would be totally different.
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I guess one comment i've heard from various people over the years related to some Studio Artist pieces is the notion of creating the perception of depth in the finished painting. Which is easy to not do if you just grab one or 2 paint presets and run with them, end of story, finished painting. I'm not sure that's depth is the right term or not, but what they are getting at is that in real world imagery the textural characteristics of an image change as a function of the depth of the objects in the scene. And really great painters are really good at picking up on that and reproducing it in their painted work.
So maybe by working with different edited variations of a preset in different parts of the image, or creating a virtual depth map in another layer, and then using it to modulate parameters in the paint strokes themselves, you could pull more apparent depth out of the finished painting. The textural characteristics of the individual paint strokes working together in different parts of the image to convey more apparent depth in the finished painting. So that's my comment on how you might be able to enhance this particular painting.
Assuming that's really a detail you would want to focus on refining in this painting. Maybe you really want to go for a flat textural quality to create a certain response in the viewer. There are no right or wrongs. And they may change depending on the circumstances of what you are trying to achieve.
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We were kind of poking fun at a particular artist's real world paint on canvas minimalist abstract art that is being displayed at an un-named gallery the other day in the office (cruel i know). But then i mentioned Mark Rothko as someone who had originated that style in a much more interesting way, and we googled some of his images online, and someone pointed out that even though they are very simple, they would work really well as mood inducing large paintings to hang on a living room wall.
And in fact those particular images (even though they are very simple) did convey some interesting emotional output in the viewer. Not angry or intense or chaotic emotions, but perhaps really soothing harmony, or peace, for lack of a better world. Kind of boring in some sense, or perhaps meditative, but maybe that's really what someone wants on their living room wall for their day to day life. As opposed to something that conveys the horror of living, which might be an incredible piece of moving intense great artwork, but maybe not something you want to be reminded of everyday.
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So context of where a piece is going to be displayed can also be a factor in evaluating what is working or not in any given piece.
The only real rule is that there are no real rules. And that rules are meant to be broken.
Ty for your thoughts John. I learn from it.
I'm not really looking for approval on the art but believe it or not I do enjoy the other side of the spectrum. To be able to hear the mind of people about any piece of work with out self censorship help the artist to see beyond his own vision, it gives the opportunity to evaluate his piece from many levels.
About (" listening to Killing Joke on the stereo") I love to take my mp3 player to the museum and art galleries. When you mix many art forms like visual art and music. is almost like an spiritual experience it is a whole new world.
Always nice to here your 2 cents of things.
once angain ty.
One thing really great about our user forum is that the people on it are all so nice and well mannered. So in general people go out of their way not to be impolite (baring a few heated discussions in the past on the nature of art or creativity).
But Especially when it comes to commenting on other user's artwork posts. People make a point of not posting something critical if they don't like a piece of art, they just ignore it and move on to something they do like to make a comment. And i think that is a good philosophy in reality for the photo section posts.
So because of that philosophy, you may find it difficult to get critical forum posts with a negative viewpoint of your work. The goal of the forum is really for everyone to be supportive of each other in a positive way. And i would hate to see that devolve. So many forum discussions on the internet in general get ridiculously nasty. The Studio Artist User Forum is very unique in that respect, it's a friendly place to present your work, and interact with other users.
You could always email specific artists you like for critical feedback, asking then to be brutal in their personal opinion. You might get more detailed negative feedback (if that's really what you are looking for) that way in a private communication. Hopefully constructive feedback.
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Another approach is to look for people who's artwork posts you really admire, and ask them questions about their process. Then try to learn from that and bring it in your own work. Hopefully in a unique and personal way (as opposed to just straight copying their style).
I do see your point and for that matter... I think I will leave this project here. I don't wish to start a different or controversial point of view. I do enjoy the people in this community and the learning experience most of all.
After some really nasty devolutions of "brutal honesty" back in grad school I'm skeptical of the efficacy of such a mentality. As John said The Studio Artist User Forum is very unique in that respect, it's a friendly place to present your work, and interact with other users. IMHO It would be a shame for that to change.
I was recently on a panel talking to college students and I kept coming back to the point that one needs to follow their own inner compass to achieve any meaningful degree of success. FWIW I find that to be equally or more true with positive reviews than negative ones. Pandering to one's assumed audience is as dangerous aesthetically as not taking risks. I digress. But, in a forum like this, keeping a positive tone seems best for maintaining the helpful character of the technical discussions about the software.
ty lucas.
Like I mention before I will stop here.
I do see what you and john bring to my attention and truly is not worth the risk of changing such a wonderful place of learning.