HL

This inspired a bit of a rant.
I've noticed people tend to be obsessed with photo-realism, as though it was the best thing since sliced bread.
The thing is, when you draw straight from ref, not even trying to make interesting brush marks, or not even thinking about the composition (ie you don't re-arrange the objects and shapes to better them) etc etc, you just mindlessly copy what in front of your eyes then you're just being a copy machine. You're not creating anything. You're just trying to get pixels filled in a way they'll look like something else that was already there. It's mathematic. Where's the art in that? Where's the creativity in that? Where's the *you* in that? After all, art is a way of expressing oneself or an idea and you're not saying anything by just copying a picture a photographer took.

It is extremely valid for learning purposes, that's for sure! It trains your ability to see proportion and color and value relationship and limitation of medium etc etc etc. But it's not exactly art. The fact that you have the skill set to copy something is awesome! Kudos to you. It'll help a lot in making your art. But unless that's put together with picture-making skills, what's the point?

I'm not, by this, at *all* saying or implying that portrait artists are not artists. Because when a portrait artist makes a portrait they won't be just copying a photo like a printer. They'll be making decisions, choosing colors, shapes, light, marks, grouping, composition. And therein lies the art.

I say this, because it annoys me to see awesome artists around here on DA that are just amazing, amazing and amazing. Yet their art is not considered 'good enough' because it's otherwise stylized. I mean I heard it loads before "Oh, this-person paints like that because they don't know how to do anything better". Better? How is realism better? What is 'better'? And funny enough, a lot of artists of different art movements throughout history could probably render a photo-realistic picture with their eyes closed, yet they chose to stick to their own way and thinking of what 'art' and 'expression' means to them.

Anyway, I have ranted.
I have decided to submit this to the contest "I love my art"
freepm.deviantart.com/blog/308… by cause this painting stirred all sorts of thoughts and discussions about what art means to me.

Lastly:
23 hours
Photoshop CS3
Ref picture ( Hugh Laurie as Gregory House from House MD amamosamobilia.files.wordpress… (I took the hand out cause I got bored)