“Is There Any Value In ‘BAD’ Art?” by Richard F. Yates
I’m asking the questions here! Where were you on the night of March 10th? Did you know the victim? How many psychologists does it take to change a light-bulb???
DON’T CHANGE THE SUBJECT!
Let’s just calm down here… Brass tacks. Just the facts.
Let's establish a baseline: I like to make things, you know---drawings, photographs, drawings ON photographs, and other stuff, but the funny thing is, I’m not very GOOD at drawing. (Unschooled, sure…but also INTENTIONALLY wonky. Technical term, “wonky” means kind of distorted or amateurish or catawampus---mostly that last one.) I like to play. I try to draw QUICKLY, just slapping junk down, playing with colors, playing with contrasts, and because I’ve been drawing for so long (nearly fifty years) I have a handful of MOVEMENTS that I repeat---with variations---to create facial features or weird wobbly legs and arms… I like the way things look, usually, when I’m done…
BUT sometimes things DON’T turn out too good… It happens. Some junk just SUCKS! (Ha!) I know it---and I’m ashamed to SHARE that stuff---but I usually DO share it, even when it’s bad. The point is PLAY. I’m having fun. I’m LEARNING---even when I make something HORRIBLE… Let’s look at a pieces (and have a laugh, together!)
Bad Art 1 (28 Feb. 2020)
All digital. The background didn’t really work for me, nor did the rainbow outline on the ghost. However, I like the expression on the ghost’s face, and that’s something!
Bad Art 2 (9 Mar. 2020)
Again, all digital. This one flips the parameters from the previous one. I really like the background here, with the webby bits and the neon lightning bolts---but that FACE on the monster is just gross. It’s so ugly it’s almost not funny at all… (I’m not very comfortable with the darkness evident in some of my artwork, and this sucker is just yucky…)
Bad Art 3 (9 Mar. 2020)
I like the horns, the hands, and the background on this one, but overall, it just didn’t work. Something about the shape of the monster and the rather bland face… Boring. (But I do like the background quite a bit.)
Bad Art 4 (8 Mar. 2020)
The background, again, is my favorite part of this one, but I also like the monster’s face. The body shape, though, is just uninteresting. Again, this was all digital. It’s funny---I almost always like what I draw when I use a pen or pencil or Sharpie on paper or cardboard, but with these little digital drawings, usually made on my phone, there’s only so much room to move, and I think that restriction can sometimes lead to some interesting, simplified outcomes… But they don't always work. Nope.
As we can see, there are bad drawings and there are BAD drawings, but however bad, we can learn from them. (I mean, ALL of my art is kind of bad---by design. It’s how I like to have fun!) There are little bits of each drawing above that I enjoyed, even though the finished products, ultimately, weren’t satisfying. I’ll try to remember the techniques for making the backgrounds and to replicate the facial expressions from some of these creatures on new drawings, though. Useful. At least---and there's still some funny stuff here, though…
Now here’s the part that I always try to push: HOPEFULLY, you’ll see what I’ve done when you look at my art and say, “I can do better than that!!!” And then you’ll go make some art of your own. It’s okay to draw badly. It’s okay to make ugly stuff. It’s okay for your stuff to SUCK---a lot---for a long time, as long as you keep going. Eventually, you’ll make something that you think is funny! And maybe other people will think it’s funny, too! (That's a bonus!)
Don’t believe me that BAD art doesn't have a place in this world? Here are a few works of CRYPTO ART, made by me and tokenized by MakersPlace, that have SOLD in the last few months! (As in, people found them enjoyable enough that they transferred actual currency to me, some in USD and some in ETH, to own them! And if I can do it, so can YOU!!!)
“He Looked Almost Human…” (sold 9 Mar. 2020)
“Don’t Jump! (Desperate Chicken)” (sold 24 Feb. 2020)
“Ghost Guy” (sold 13 Feb. 2020)
“Coyote God Mask” (sold 7 Jan. 2020)
“Eye Remember” (sold 7 Jan. 2020)
See what I mean? People PAID ME for these!!! (To see more of my crypto art, check out my MakersPlace store / slash / gallery. You’ll see how WACKY artwork can be!) I love making silly, humorous, absurd, nonsensical, weird art. Some people like it. Some people don’t. Whether you like it or not, it should prove that ANYBODY can make “ART.” And I firmly, 100 percent, believe that everybody SHOULD make art. It’s fun (if you’re doing it right!!!)
---Richard F. Yates
(Primitive Thoughtician and Holy Fool)
SUPPORT INDEPENDENT FOLKS WHO ARE JUST MAKING STUFF BECAUSE THEY LOVE IT!!!
https://steempeak.com/@richardfyates
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