Hey guys. I was stunned by the thoughtful responses you left at my last journal about what you think makes great art. When I wrote that, I was expecting lists of things that could be combined to make a (theoretically) great picture. Like sunsets, and horses, and waterfalls, etc., that I could try to combine in an actual piece. That's the only way I can imagine a painting turning out horrible, as in the example scenario. But everyone responded with more abstract qualities that I thought answered the question much more intelligently. I wanted to respond to each of your comments, but I think it would get redundant and I don't entirely know what to say to everything. So I'm just making a new journal.

It's kind of hard to decide, but I think composition is more important to me. And I'm using that word to encompass several things people mentioned: how objects are positioned in a piece, how light and color are used to create flow and an emotional impact.

I think details are the least important, if only because many people seem to get bogged down in them and neglect how the image works as a whole. I know when I paint fur, for example, I get too much into the minute process and wind up with something that looks repetitive and flat. I think it's easier to get caught up in painting detail in digital art, because it's more difficult to step back and look at a piece as a whole. It's also more difficult to make loose, splotchy painting/brush strokes look good in Photoshop (I don't think it's as much a problem in Painter). On the other hand, I think digital media makes it possible to add more detail to a piece without it competing with other design elements. Oh, but I don't want to get into a discussion of traditional vs. digital art. P:

I noticed that many people said good art is something they can connect to and empathize with, something with emotional character. I agree. I like that too. X3 I also suspect that it's the most common human response to art, and that that's why representational art is generally more popular than abstract art. I had a teacher this year who emphasized learning formal design and how doing so made it easier to appreciate the latter. Honestly, she was right. I didn't like any abstract art until I took intro to design and art history classes. At the same time, I'm most attracted to abstract art than conveys an emotion or some kind of atmosphere (see Chuck Gumpert). I feel guilty because a critical part of me thinks that an OMGTRUEARTIST isn't distracted by that indulgent emotional/story stuff, even though or maybe because it's a natural human instinct.

Anyway, I'm losing my train of thought so I think I'll stop here. Thanks for reading it all. And I really appreciate the great comments you guys left before, even if I don't reply to them individually.