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Question:

Do you like art that makes you despair ever being to make anything so great or makes doing it seem in reach?

I had a friend whose drawing skills seemed to hit a glass ceiling at a very simplistic level. He loved Monet. I always thought that was because it was extremely diffuse, with nothing definite going on in it -- kind of like his own work. And in Monet, he felt encouraged that greatness was within his reach, too. I think other artists, rigorous and brilliant draughtsmen, privately depressed him because they were blatantly very skilled, and had far surpassed his glass ceiling.

What think?


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:

Interesting question!

I think the value of "aesthetics," and one of the principles upon which we judge art, is in the many ways the same work affects different people.

Artists are generally fragile creatures. Their sensitivity to their environment and their selves are both (in the words of "Monk"), "a blessing and a curse." So, I know this advice is lame, but an artist should study all of the masters for their craft, and then go about expressing himself in whatever way he can imagine, and not worry about the effect of his art or the perception of his level of skill.

By the way, comparing oneself to others -- either favorably or unfavorably -- is the root of all evil.