art painting--Wind Turbine

Wind Turbine. Artist:Martin Plant(c)2007. my catalog number 3540

I like the idea of a wind turbine which you connect to a generator. Along comes some wind. The turbine turns and you get electricity. A satisfying method.

I was watching a documentary about wind turbines, and I made a painting of one. I made one turbine only and placed it in a far off site all by itself to give it a sort of unworldly look. I added my 3 moons in eclipse to give the painting a mystical effect and the painting was finished.

Martin Plant: Illustrator , Fine Artist, Cartoonist
Magazine illustrations and book cover art
portraits,surreals,still lifes.
bcoreyman@gmail.com
http://www.bcoreyman.googlepages.com

The Truth About Art Critics

The Truth About Art Critics
by
Martin Plant
(c)2007. All rights reserved.



It seems that the entire world has this great respect for art critics. Their word is sacred. What they say about an artist and his/her work,goes. If an art critic likes your work then you have it made. If the art critic doesn't like an artist's work then the artist may as well pack up and go back to wherever he came from and quietly disappear.

It's amazing that the art critic can be allowed to wield all this power over artists or the art world. Frankly,art critics should be ignored instead of slavishly listened to. Why so? Because the art critic isn't an artist.
You didn't know that? Well,it's true. The art critic doesn't know how to draw. He doesn't know how to paint a picture. He doesn't know how to think up or create a picture.Hmm.

The art critic doesn't know any of the thousand-and-one techniques an artist must know,hasn't taken any drawing or painting courses,hasn't practiced at learning any art skills until they become perfected--which can take up to ten years for an artist to do until his work looks professional.

To make matters worse,newspaper and magazine editors--the people who hire art critics-- are as naive as the public in recognizing that art critics are not artists and have limited skills in explaining an artist's work or his exhibits.

So what does an art critic actually know? He knows art history. This means he knows who painted what art style,where it was done,and when. And that's about it. Not very useful stuff for explaining an art exhibit to the public.

Often,an art critic's review has a lot of mumbo jumbo to it. He makes up a flowery story about a picture to explain it. He uses flighty phrases and long sentences. He has to. After all,he doesn't know anything about composition,or color mixing. He isn't familiar with viewpoints or size relationships and the myriad other techniques that go into the making of a picture.He doesn't know how to explain why a picture is good. But he will gladly tell you that,according to him, the picture is or isn't good. Quite often he leaves the reader confused.

Why don't artists write the reviews instead? Because most artists aren't writers. Artists stick to their art. After all,that's what artists do best. And so we let the art critics do the reviews.

So now all you artists and the public know this little secret about art critics. Ignore them. Don't bother much with their reviews or critiques. They are mostly unreadable anyway. If an artist's work seems that it might be interesting then just go to the art gallery and see the work for yourself. You'll do a better job than the art critic of deciding whether the work is good or not.

(How about some of your comments on art critics. Do you agree or disagree with them? What if they give you a thumbs down?)

Martin Plant: Illustrator , Fine Artist, Cartoonist
Magazine illustrations and book cover art
portraits,surreals,still lifes.
bcoreyman@gmail.com
http://www.bcoreyman.googlepages.com