Frivolous_Beatnik [comrade/them, any]
Having to start learning from scratch as an atomized individual stuck behind tool & material prices, free time, isolation etc. sets makes that process of learning to represent one’s imagination on the medium take so much longer and feel so much more stressful than it should.
It’s actually funny; what you said is completely accurate - so many of the techniques that are artificially by medium, community, initial costs, are really just the same principles applied across mediums. The most recent progress I’ve made in improving my digital 2d technique were from applying painting methods I learned while mini painting
I had so much trouble with illumination, shadow, and reflectivity before trying different mediums and applying techniques both ways. Realism is absolutely fine to pursue, I just wish more people had the time & opportunity to express themselves without sacrifice & worry about precarity and the omnipresent pressure of profit motive 😔
I agree - I think individuals can have the potential to learn some things faster or take to them easier, but the larger part of improvement in the arts is practice rather than “talent”.
I’ve known people who struggle greatly with 3d visualization, and I personally have difficulty with perspective in 2d art; practice can help to a huge degree, along with some teaching & direction to tackle stuff that may be more fundamentally difficult to wrap one’s head around. “Demystify” is a good term for it.
I get more Mammon vibes from old Joe
You’re just going to detain the bosses of our parasitic extraction industry and leverage them against us!?! Yes.
reinforcing realism as the only way of creating art
I see this as the big problem. I don’t think there is anything wrong with not seeking to significantly advance one’s personal artistic skill or vision beyond a plateau, but Ross did contribute to the current orthodoxy of photorealism being the highest aspiration of an artist. Unintentionally of course, but the compound effect is there. As a hobbyist artist, I often struggle with trying to escape this mindset thanks to the prevailing cultural pressure that comes from corporate and profit driven motives to create, but I can’t personally fault a Bob Ross type for enjoying remaining in certain niches (he certainly had more technical skill than I, so I figure I shouldn’t judge on that aspect at least.)
some asshole wearing a Bob Ross shirt walks into your class and says “Picasso paints like shit.”
Not every artist has the dedication or inclination to create works like Michelangelo or Picasso and that’s alright IMO, but we hate to see something like this happen lol
Aside, if people haven’t seen Brazil it is quite good. You probably already know it from the soundtrack