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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dausuul" data-source="post: 6326074" data-attributes="member: 58197">Art is subjective, but that doesn't mean there is no such thing as artistic quality and no possibility of making mistakes. I'm not a professional artist, but I am trying to make it as a professional writer, and one thing I can tell you: The dumbest response you can make to a critique of your work is, "Well, it's art. It's all subjective."You can say: "Well, I see what you're getting at, but I think it's a necessary sacrifice to achieve this other effect." Or: "No, you're wrong, it works like this and here's why." That's fine. You don't have to agree with every criticism, but you do need to be willing to engage criticism and consider it. Saying "It's all subjective" is an excuse to avoid reflecting on what you could be doing better. It's like an unfalsifiable hypothesis in science. It shields you from ever having to improve.The Palin's Test piece is good, but it has this lighting issue. Some people are bothered by it. Other people aren't. The question is, if the piece had been done with more realistic lighting, how many people would like it less? If the answer is "almost none," and if Elmore himself would like it better that way, then the lighting issue is a mistake. That's how it usually is with artistic mistakes. Some people are bothered by it, some aren't, but in very few cases does the mistake result in someone liking it better than they would have otherwise.You'll note that when Elmore himself received this criticism, he didn't hide behind saying it was subjective. He realized he'd screwed up and admitted it. And I'll bet the next time he painted a torchlit scene, he got the colors right. That's why he's a good artist.</blockquote>

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