I do really like his work. It really shows he had a lot of talent in observation and characterising accurately.

What I was most… well, what stuck out to me most, not his work, but on the program, was how incredibly snobbish the art world is. I mean I read up a lot of stuff on Greyson Perry, and it seems a lot of people don’t like the ‘artists’ world’ because it just is very snobbish and critical.

Also, how he wasn’t even recognised in the art world until he was in his 50s.

And that most artists get the most recognition after they’ve died, and it really shouldn’t be that way - what they create is still the same before and after, it’s just people don’t really take notice if a person is out there and creating. Once again, this could be ‘snobbery’, people refusing to notice what’s good because the person is just an artist and there are hundreds of them, thinking they’re better than anyone else because they sit there doing nothing and watch people, and make a few dabs with their paintbrush. Until the person isn’t around to create anymore, and for some reason that is when trends in inspiration and brilliance are noticed in the art, and it annoys me that a lot of the time artists don’t get noticed in the same way they do once they’re gone.

But then, art was never really about the money. I have no idea what it is that drives me. I don’t know if it’s wanting people to notice it that makes me create, but my lack of being able to keep on time or really minding if it’s not the same outcome as the commissioner wanted makes me think otherwise. Is it wanting to show the world my opinion? My lack of ability to show the world that through verbal uses is kind of off-putting in that, but then verbal and visual aren’t the same. So that’s questionable. Is it that I want to put my own thoughts down onto paper, and the easiest way for me to interpret them is through art? Maybe, I don’t know. Thing is, I never really think that my work is my own in that it shows my opinion. It just shows an opinion that some people could have, or maybe one that people don’t know they have.

Heck, I do a lot of art just because I like the subject I’m working on and so it’s fun. Be that a person or an anatomy study, it’s fun to learn it.

Like I said above, art really isn’t about what benefits become the artist. Sure, money brought in from selling pieces would be nice, and the attention and knowledge that your work is liked is nice, but without those things, it wouldn’t stop someone making art. It wont stop me, not at all. There’s also something about some people seeming to believe that artists have that holier-than-thou attitude. Because they sit around all day and watch people like it’s not rude and dab a bit with a brush, and then think what they’ve done is a masterpiece. (Unfortunately, this is the actual view of someone I once met).

No. As an artist, all I can say is that I never, ever think my work is good. At first, I will be proud of a piece. I did well on it, it looks good. That lasts about a week. Once that’s over, I begin to notice little faults. After a month I have noticed a lot more and get annoyed that I didn’t notice them earlier. After a couple of months I really dislike my work because all I can see in it are the faults, and I would do it over if I could, but by then I’d have forgotten the feeling that came over when making the piece. This is also a reason I try to finish my work as soon as possible, because the feeling will always fade and I’d be stuck with half a picture, if it were one based around emotion.
A person is their own harshest critique.

And then when that horrible moment arises when a friend of mine brings out something I’ve done, and then proceeds to try to show it to everyone in sight to say how good it is, I hate it. And I try to point out that no, it’s not good, look, you can see so much wrong with it, it’s not accurate, the anatomy isn’t right, the lighting isn’t correct, the feel isn’t right. And they just pass over it and it annoys me to no end. I hate it when people show my work to other people. Yes, I like it when my work gets attention, everyone does. It gives you a sense of pride. But I only like it to be shown when I’m in control of that. I don’t know, I get very possessive over things, and that extends to my art, especially if it’s something emotional, or even a topic that’s just close to my heart. 
I don’t mind showing you guys on the internet, but I even try to get away from showing my stuff to people I know anymore because they make too much of a big deal out of a freaking doodle that took 5 minutes, and I don’t want to have to go through being told that my art is more amazing than it is, because it isn’t.

So… yeah, that’s my view on a small group of other people that think artists are snobs or whatever. No. The fact that I dislike my work is the reason I do more.

Sigh. I had so much written up on this, and then my internet lost the tab and only half it restored. I may come back to this.

I love Lowry’s work.