I don't really know how to introduce this

[Jeff Lebowski]

I bet he makes a decent living painting what he does.

I am sure this little dust-up with the bookstore resulted in a bunch of new sales for him.

[Viking]

I'll admit I'm having a little bit of fun with it, but it is a horrible painting. Could I paint it? No, but that doesn't make it decent.

My vitrol is at the black/white nature of the people in the painting. It stinks of correlated hogwash. Plus, he put all the non-whites in the back, which speaks volumes.

I'm serious that it's so bad, Colbert would put it up over his mantle on set

[creekster]

The well-deserved vitriol this guy is receiving is only partially because his views are right-fringe. I imagine that if he had painted a completely neutral scene of a bunch of people you've never heard of doing nothing of interest but mostly just lining up for the camera and then providing ham-fisted explanations of who among them is good or evil and why, it would be equally worthless as a piece of art. None of us would know about it, of course.

The fact that his art is shit isn't based on his wrong-headed beliefs; it merely makes it more funny.

And yeah, Tooblue has a point that the guy seems to be really good at painting historical figures doing nothing of interest. I just don't think that's the mark of a good artist. I bet he'd make a decent living doing portraiture.

Vonnegut once wrote a book trying to draw the distinction between art and illustration. This guy is an illustrator, not an artist, IMO. They are not the same thing.

[Jarid in Cedar]

Vonnegut once wrote a book trying to draw the distinction between art and illustration. This guy is an illustrator, not an artist, IMO. They are not the same thing.

Absolutely correct.

[Surfah]

Absolutely correct.

Agreed.

[Jarid in Cedar]

Vonnegut once wrote a book trying to draw the distinction between art and illustration. This guy is an illustrator, not an artist, IMO. They are not the same thing.

The way that i would differentate the two is that an illustrator draws the artwork for the Campbell's soup ad in the newspaper. An artist does "Starry Night" or "Mona Lisa". Having good sketching skills does not make one an artist.

[BigFatMeanie]

Not really. I don't really like the painting, but is all the vitriol really deserved just because folks here don't like what the artist is expressing?

Of course, I'm not a sophisticated art patron, unless wanting a painting of Foghorn Leghorn hanging on the wall in my den meets that criteria.

I say, I say, Foghorn Leghorn rules!

[tooblue]

Vonnegut once wrote a book trying to draw the distinction between art and illustration. This guy is an illustrator, not an artist, IMO. They are not the same thing.

They are both art to varying degrees. But, if we are to adhere to your premise as borrowed from a wayward Vonnegut, Robert Batemen is an illustrator and McNaughton is an artist principally because the first strives to recreate the beautiful through the application of remarkable painting techniques while the other strives to make a statement in a medium that happens to be painting, relying upon time honored painting techniques.

As far as his craftsmanship is concerned McNaughton's style, layout and design is reminiscent or modeled after the Italian renaissance painting tradition. I guess if you are ignorant, all those painters of the Italian renaissance could be accused of "painting historical figures doing nothing of interest." But only if you are ignorant and not well read or cultured.

[old_gregg]

They are both art to varying degrees. But, if we are to adhere to your premise as borrowed from a wayward Vonnegut, Robert Batemen is an illustrator and McNaughton is an artist principally because the first strives to recreate the beautiful through the application of remarkable painting techniques while the other strives to make a statement in a medium that happens to be painting, relying upon time honored painting techniques.

As far as his craftsmanship is concerned McNaughton's style, layout and design is reminiscent or modeled after the Italian renaissance painting tradition. I guess if you are ignorant, all those painters of the Italian renaissance could be accused of "painting historical figures doing nothing of interest." But only if you are ignorant and not well read or cultured.

i can't believe people get college degrees in this shit

[tooblue]

I say, I say, Foghorn Leghorn rules!

Nice boy but he's got more nerve than a bum tooth.

I love Foghorn Leghorn!

[DU Ute]

They are both art to varying degrees. But, if we are to adhere to your premise as borrowed from a wayward Vonnegut, Robert Batemen is an illustrator and McNaughton is an artist principally because the first strives to recreate the beautiful through the application of remarkable painting techniques while the other strives to make a statement in a medium that happens to be painting, relying upon time honored painting techniques.

As far as his craftsmanship is concerned McNaughton's style, layout and design is reminiscent or modeled after the Italian renaissance painting tradition. I guess if you are ignorant, all those painters of the Italian renaissance could be accused of "painting historical figures doing nothing of interest." But only if you are ignorant and not well read or cultured.

Ha! Y'all's ignorant!

[Viking]

Yes, he is analogous to the painters of the Italian Renaissance (do you say it:aye-talian? Just askin')

This is the point, TB, where you tell us you're just pegando nossos pés and later we all laugh about how well you suckered us

[tooblue]

i can't believe people get college degrees in this shit

What are you wearing today? What packaging, if any, did the food you have eaten come in? Describe the decor in your home. Do you live in a neighborhood? That thing you drive, is it aesthetically pleasing and not merely a fine piece of engineering? Do you own a toothbrush? What are you reading this post on—is it aesthetically pleasing? Does your OS running on said device rely upon icons to ensure your user experience is intuitive?

Answering the questions above will give you the answer to your question.

[tooblue]

Yes, he is analogous to the painters of the Italian Renaissance (do you say it:aye-talian? Just askin')

This is the point, TB, where you tell us you're just pegando nossos pés and later we all laugh about how well you suckered us

Great avatar Viking ... now, is that art or illustration?

[tooblue]

Ha! Y'all's ignorant!

"Smart boy, got a mind like a steel trap—full of mice."