Even great artists don’t hit the mark every time. But what makes good art good and bad art bad? Believe me, this is a topic I know about. Read my blog to find out.

 https://www.drawhoorah.com/blog

     When I was 13 I wanted to be a writer. I was going to be like one of the Bronte sisters and pen out a novel or a set of deeply romantic poems or sonnets and change literature forever.

     “That’s so ambitious!” my first boss exclaimed, “But today I need you to take out the trash and clean off the tables.”

     Other people thought it was cute or maybe even a bit stupid.

     My Dad laughed “If you want to do that you’ll need to find a rich husband. I don’t see too many of those hanging around so maybe find something more useful to do.”

     O.k., got it, but at the time that was his answer for everything.

     Exasperated by the lack of public support I decided to radically change my career goals and become an artist. Because what’s worse than being a writer?

     I thought I had planned a certain revenge but ten years later there I was in the middle of a mid-term painting class at the end of the week critique and it was not going well. Our paintings were all lined up in the front of the creatively beaten studio wall ready for discussion. One girl had already fled the studio in tears. Even after someone quietly suggested, “Should someone go and see if she is ok?” we all remained unflinching and competitively in our seats. Dario and Dan, who shredded each other’s work in a savage verbal discourse every single class, were now glaring at each other from opposite sides of the room and it was my turn.

     The Professor looked at me.

     ”Sometimes you have good ideas,“ he nodded.

     He paused and it raised my hopes ever so slightly but I could feel the breeze of the axe near my kneecaps.

      He breathed out, “But it doesn’t matter if the idea is irrelevant. “ He glanced back at the class, “Does anyone understand what is going on?”

     Crickets.

     He looked at me, “Can you explain?” I rambled out my emergency explanation. It went on for a minute.

     I really thought I was a fast talker and although the Professor was looking cozy and grand-fatherly in yet another sweater vest that his wife knitted for him, I sensed he wasn’t buying a word of what I was saying. As I spoke I scanned my classmates desperately for a life raft but today it was every man for himself. I finally stopped.

     He looked at me blankly and unmoved.

    “Does anyone have anything to add?” He turned to the class.

     No one did.

     He coughed, “Whose next?”

     I died. I wanted to crawl into the peculiar black and green box that was painted in the middle of Dario’s painting and stay there.

     We all filed out of the class dejected and headed to the metal bin to throw our paintings away.

     “I hate that guy,” said Dario angrily as his painting clunked down to the bottom of the metal bin. I did not know if he meant Dan or the Professor. My painting landed on top of Dario’s, face up unfortunately.

      Sometimes our classes were exciting and full of new ideas and we raced out of class back to our studios like a troop of monkeys to a giant banana pile. Sometimes they were cold, hard, learning experiences where failure was necessary. Just because you make something doesn’t mean it’s good. So, what makes art good or bad? Whether a piece of art is good or bad is subjective to the viewer. However, art is also a form of communication and if there are gaps in the communication the artist will not succeed in translating the message. To communicate effectively art must contain four elements. Technique, Emotional Impact, Concept and Originality.

     Technique is primarily visual like getting proportions right, dealing with light and shadow, and using colours and design effectively. Design is about arranging shapes, values and compositional lines in a way that directs your eye, balances visually, and grabs your attention. Strong design causes you to experience the work in a more meaningful and specific way, according to the artist’s intention. Think of it like creating a rhythm or flow that pulls you into the work and keeps you engaged with a unique point of view. Good design creates a visceral experience, something that you can feel and it touches something deep inside you and leaves a mark that you can't shake off. On the other hand, bad technique and design is distracting, confusing and can leave you feeling exactly the opposite of what the artist intended.

    All art must have a concept and the concept can either be relevant or timeless. A beautiful landscape might be easy to understand but it is also a concept and it is also relevant to our daily lives. Some pieces of art might have a more abstract concept like love; an example would be The Pieta by Michelangelo, one of many Pietas by many artists that are an ode to a mother’s undying love for a child.  The concept of love is more expansive than a landscape but timelessly built into our experience as humans. Even abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock had a concept because he considered himself as the essential subject of his splatter paintings. If the art concept is not relevant or timeless it is like a damaged satellite floating out in space, just too far out for people to try to connect with or care about.

     Great art isn't just about copying what's in front of you or copying other artists; it's about revealing the world through a unique set of eyes. Artists who can tell a story or make you emotional are the ones who create a fresh point of view that helps you encounter the world in a new way.