It seems to me that an artist is someone who adheres to the rules of art... artfully projecting something appealing or unusual to the layman by the proper use of perspective, shadowing etc.
It has me baffled why many want to have everything so artistically correct (which is the nearest to the definition of an artist) and yet seem to have problems when someone shows creativity and incorrectly stamps them with the label "artistic." Imaginative or creative maybe but definitely not artistic.
Some of my posts have been called artistic and it blows me away. I twist, turn, warp, colour until I find something that looks like it could be built into an image. There are very few source images that inspire me without first going through the ritual of a twisting, flipping excersize. I find most source images boring...not saying they are bad; they just don't inspire.
To summerize, there are people here who seem to have it backwards...trying to create a realistic pic from emerged photos is in essence artwork when they are striving to copy the realities of shadowing, perspective, reflection; being that these attributes are all essentially art rules and conformities.
Also, whether or not you should comment or make suggestions to something that does not follow the restrictions of art. A prime example would be the "time traveller" that I posted. I would agree with Eve when she mentioned reflections, but then where to put them? There were light scattered randomly throught the pic...by the time I got finished putting reflections where they should really have been, the time traveller was lost in the muttle and the overall sense of his being was lost. I decided against the reflections. Anyway, who's to say light would reflect in the same manner as in real life? Also, someone suggested the hands would have made the pic more appealing to him/her. The suggestion was possibly use the hands for antennae. I thought about it and came to the conclusion that a being capable of time travel merely by using his big brain this action would reduce him to an insect or some comic alien...then the whole idea of what I was trying to get across would be totally lost. Also, I was striving for and did accomplish making the whole entry from merely one piece of the source ( the dial).
Commenting and making suggestions makes one think about what they were trying to achieve and therefore is great. It's kinda like two heads are better than one. I may not always agree but everyone is entitled to their opinion. I'm glad they cared enough about the post, in the first place, to even bother commenting and suggesting. You can say what it is that you like about it or what you don't like, but in the end it comes down to how the the submitter feels toward the would be changes. Sometimes I'm not trying to achieve anything; I'm just chopping to chop
I don't like my posts to be labeled "artistic." I am not an artist!
I usually prefer a post where someone saw something different in the source and worked to manipulate it until it resembles something more exciting or different. Real life is boring when you've been around for a lot of years, I guess. It's very hard sometimes for me to vote on a pic that shows a lot of work and good skill if it is a reality theme. I'm bored to death when I see them and have a hard time getting past my first reaction to the pic.
Abstract Art: I think abstract art is a way of avoiding the confines of true art or merely not wanting to encumber oneself with the realities of life and all it's daily humdrum. Some abstraction from real life is good for the soul...some people can pull this off "the true artists" and some can't.
Some is appealing and some is trash; depending on preferrences.
Abstracts are most often gaged by colour and texture etc. and will provoke different feelings in each individual. Also, the way you are feeling, when first introduced to an abstract, will have an affect on how you percieve the work. Emotion plays a great roll in perception.
There is not much sense looking for meaning in an abstract because it would kinda be like travelling through the artists fleeting mind with disjointed thoughts, meaningless obstacles and obscures bit of nothingness thrown in to side track your inquisitive journey; like a dab of paint splattered here or there just to make it look more balanced or appealing. Probably, sometimes the artist just is thinking of nothing and just does it cuz he has nothing better to do
As far as updating chops go, I don't agree with it either. It's kinda like when you play cards...once a card is played that's it!
I've updated one pic that was pixelized and I shouldn't have done even that. I will not change a picture just to conform to someone else's idea. I will, however, consider the comment or opinion and maybe use the suggestions in future posts.
I see nothing wrong with requesting external source pics; but I may request it from all entries in the specific contest that were suspicious looking...either that or not comment and definitely not vote.
I did however get a little perturbed by a suggested improvemtent by Marco where he took it upon himself to explain shadowing **which was great* but then reconstructed the pic "which really was better than mine" and posted it in the comment section of my contest entry. I should have flipped out but I restrained from such childishness... if you ever do it again, I'm gonna rip yer frikken lips off
LOL LOL You show me up with your chops on a regular basis but your'e kinda like the Japanese...take someone's shitty idea and make it spectacular right in front of God and everyone! You oughta be ashamed!
i dew it). When they say you have to learn to "ROLL WITH THE PUNCHES", that means even if they punch and roll you into a corner....your only option is rolling over. They don't mind kicking ya in the BACK.
...ponder that. 
