Really liked the thought on art being meditation, as it ties together a recent practice of mine. I've been working on visualizing what I want to draw by "sculpting" it out in my mind, and it has been a very fun practice. Before, this would always happen by accident if I worked on something right before going to bed, and then being flooded with images as soon as I closed my eyes.
A very good practice. I went through a phase for a while where if I was to draw for a half hour I would turn on a timer for 15 minutes and close my eyes and visualize my piece in as much detail as possible first. When the timer went off I would attack the piece like a mad man. I would go back and forth like this, always visualizing for as much time as I would draw. I don't do this any more, but I think the practice helps me visualize things in a mental "flash" now.
I discovered your channel recently with a big sense of joy! :) The things you put your focus on and what you choose to communicate to us is not only intriguing but it puts a relief on me as well! In some way your view on things and sense for art resonates more with me. I am just super glad to have found your channel, especially because I'm good at putting mental bars into my head. I just love drawing man, thanks for making it an even richer experience.
Thanks for the great answer! I'm glad I got my point across even if it was vague haha. And I have to agree, motivation isn't always reliable. I think my main issue was not knowing what I wanted to do, or not having something specific or new to learn; I just did "drawing" because, well, it's what I do. Now when I've tried out different things I realise that I really like painting landscapes and characters, so I practice those things. Drawing becomes more fun when you can say "I really want to get good at creating things that conveys character and mood" instead of "I want to draw well" (for no apparent reason). For a long time I kind of missed the whole 'communication' part of art which is like a huge part.
My pleasure! Truly. Uncertainty is a natural occurrence on the path of art- but it is an illusion. You are already certain that you want to be where you are- this must be the case as art is done for its own sake, especially before it's your job. Next time you feel uncertain about anything in art, remember it is only symptomatic of a mind fully engaged in creating- whether any is getting done at the moment or not. This may not be relevant now, as it sounds like you currently have a focus. Yes, don't forget to practice communicating, there are many world class technicians out there who no one will ever notice or pay.
Thanks man Amazing video , this Q & A really helped me. Now i know what to do and what to focus on, Steven You are an amazing man and an amazing artist.
Hi :) first of all, thanks for answering my question and picking me up at the end of the vid again. I found a lot of toturial stuff and exercises to working out the basics. For all: Drawabox covers a lot of absolutely beginnee question very well and there's something like a workout-plan you can go through. I bought both scott robertson books and made first few exercises but really stick into ellipses at the moment. So my next step would be to try simple objects constructed with basic forms. That's where I am and this raw stuff is fun to me, cause I love to see myself improving (yep slow but steady). So I try to start with perspective with the goal to can draw as precise in space as needed intuitively. I hope this is possible. To see room instead of just shapes and I really hope I don't getting lost with this goal and waste time. At my current point I'm far away from this goal but I'm sure I'm getting closer .. Sorry for the long message and possible repeating myself in it. Very cool video. Long and full of valuable information and thoughts. Inspired and motivated me a lot to keep my practicing going! Lot's of greetings from germ to you and the community. PS: Maybe a Discord would be cool cause the community is not too big at the moment and we could create a smaller core of people who wanna share their experiences and thoughts? .. just a thought of mine Your drawing looks awesome btw ! 💪😊 So, I'm out ✌
I will consider the discord recommendation, seems like a good idea. Very busy at the moment, not much time to start that with any momentum. Will give more thought to it soon.
Steven, I just subscribed... I've seen a lot of artists lately on the web, you're work is the best I've seen so far.. It's pretty badass... I've have not seen anything as great as your art since FF!
So um this isn't really another question but im just going to further evaluate and add some background as to why i asked you those questions in the first place so feel free to not answer this. So the first one was about when to stop drawing and what would you do afterwards if you did and the second question is about what the spark was that got you into drawing i feel like i asked those two questions because i never really felt like i had a concrete motivation or reason to draw in the first place i just kinda "did it" just because why not, for as long as i can remember with no real clear indication as to why, and so i wanted to hear from someone who discovered and pursued their passion through their entire life from one action, one ignition but thats where i've gone all wrong about it so thank you for answering them! i really really appreciate it. So back to my background, so i got envious, desperate and resentful from seeing countless artists like that knowing exactly what they want and so here i am wanting you to imagine what it would be like if drawing and art wasn't as clear to you, so im sorry for trying to project myself onto you i just needed a smack in the head, i just need to carry on and try to find what is essentially an unknown me and just stop whining so, again, thank you. About the performer or artist question i meant it literally whether you would enjoy being up on a stage using your body and voice more rather than the act of drawing physically on paper so um yeah that's about it, thanks for your thoughts on the question and thanks to all of the people that got their questions asked aswell! So anyway.. umm Happy Drawing everybody!
Indeed, the front that artists put out online is engineered to to make them look sure- almost none of them are. I'm not! I'm constantly encountering uncertainty, doubt, and vagueness. As time goes on you gain the ability to operate well even when that uncertainty sits heavy on your shoulders. Yes go find your unknown self, and learn to make friends with every moment of uncertainty, every field of vagueness- these empty gaps are the pool of potential from which anything can spring. They are chances to reinvent yourself over and over and over again. That is an essential skill as an artist, otherwise you'd make the same drawing over and over until you were dead. I do enjoy being on stage and moving around and miss it these days, but I'm sure my future holds many opportunities for that.
What a great birthday gift this video was, even if it was 2 days early. Jokes aside, thank you for answering my question, and i will try to dwell on what you said as best as i can. I had some problems avoiding and repressing my feelings in general, so i feel like it will also help me in life. Glad that i could open myself with "some stranger dude on the internet". Again, thank you, and i wish you good luck! Ps: sorry about that broken english >.>
Don't avoid and repress your feelings, at least not as a default position. Take a few deep breaths, close your eyes, feel what you feel, and thank whatever is around you for the honor of having any experience at all. Then open your eyes, return to life, and fight joyfully.
Thanks for answering my question😊 Not a english speaker so i dont know the diffence between “overly positiv“ and “overtly positiv“. So if imy question came out sounding like a insult, it wasnt meant like that
Haha no worries, I knew you couldn't have meant it in an insulting way- that would be crazy! To insult Ross draws is online suicide, you would be ground to dust.
I often get overwhelmed by doing personal projects. And I barely draw for 'the sake of drawing - or - just for fun'. Trying to do so quickly results in me wanting to get back to learning more fundamentals, more perspective, more anatomy, practicing more figure drawing. Should I be more courageous and just try? Or should I aline what I want to draw with my current skill level? Do you think it's important to do 'personal' drawings as a beginner? Or is it alright to just practice and exercise all the time maybe just to find out someday that I don't even enjoy drawing that much and am just much more interested in the outcome than the process?
It could go either way, really. You won't know unless you try. Always veer towards courage. I think beginners should AT LEAST keep sketchbooks where them make tiny thumbnails that express their imaginative ideas. Some beginners can spend 6 hours on a drawing that would have worked better at an inch tall, and I don't think there's anything to regret in drawing- but if you're hell bent on skills those 6 hours are often better spent. Watch your interest carefully and let that guide you. You'll gain more long term data from being enraptured with an awful drawing for a few hours than feeling sick to your stomach over anatomy you don't even care about.
"Oh, that's one of the better foots I've ever drawn." HAHA! Really loving the videos you've posted so far. Glad you started doing this whole RUclips thing.
@@StevenZapataArt Not just in that I feel "deserves more views" but I find this immensely helpful, really reinvigorates the psychological, even spiritual side to drawing, something I've felt diminished in myself for quite a few years now.
Hi Steven ! I have a question. At some point, when talking about searching for free tutorials on fundamentals on youtube, you said not to worry too much if that is the ideal free content because it's not that important. As a person who worries too much, I wonder if you could elaborate on that a bit more please ? Why isn't the source among the main focuses here ? Thank you, and great video !
What matters is that you stay interested and get exposed to the ideas. No source for art knowledge is perfect or even exhaustive. The trick is to actually try the stuff and not worry so much about what you’re hearing
Is it beneficial for anyone to go to design school to learn concept art or is their a window for self taught artists to possibly land this job position at a top tier game studio? Just asking for a friend😉 Ohhh! Another question do you do critiques of commenter’s portfolio?
I disagree with you about the drawing itself having no meaning. Do you also believe a book has no meaning? I think the idea which the art form communicates has intrinsic value because by mapping symbols into paper or through whatever medium you choose, your making the decision (consciously or not) that the idea being portrayed contains value. I think if you deny this you have to also deny the whole concept of value.
I deny that art forms, and ideas as you say, have any intrinsic value. Whatever meaning you imbue into a drawing exists outside of you only if the audience happens to gather the exact same meaning. Books, also, do not have an intrinsic meaning that is communicated equally to everybody. Some people love Catcher in the Rye, others hate it. They can even understand the themes equally- completely- and for one person it will be a nauseating slog and for the other it is a life-defining work of art. Did JD Salinger anticipate both of those outcomes in the "meaning" he crafted? I doubt it. Between artist and audience there is this gap of emptiness, where whatever meaning or value the artist has intended to create disappears completely and it is up to the viewer to reconstruct it brick by brick- or not. Sometimes they recreate it exactly, other times they make a grotesque. The breadth of possibilities is not insignificant- for that to be possible there must not be an inherent, solid, immovable value. Where would it be anyway? You can't point a finger at it. I know this is probably "obvious" to most artists but most seem to then take it for granted and create delusional self constructs that ignore this "obvious" substrate. We will likely disagree on this on a level that is beyond argumentation because I suspect these points grow out of different fundamental intuitions. To sum up: I do, basically, deny the whole concept of value. Observe, however, that this does not prevent me from making work about myths and symbols with the hope of healing some amount of pain in the world. To me these actions and my outlook are not contradictory, in fact they enrich each other because the lack of a concept of inherent value allows me to operate with absolute freedom and a minimum of insecurity in a field almost defined by insecurity and angst. Thank you for the kind words about the video, I was very happy to make it! And thank you for engaging my ideas, it makes me feel alive and it is greatly appreciated.
@@olibianchini2472 My pleasure, I love chewing this stuff over as well! I'm very sorry to hear you've been made to draw on toast, I can't imagine it's a good medium. I think we are probably saying similar things when we get it down to practicality, given I am not some iconoclast running around telling people not to care about the arts- quite the opposite. Indeed, I think our confusions came from your use of the word intrinsic, as stated in your edit. To me intrinsic implies an inviolable quality of the work itself once it has been created, I did not think you meant intrinsic to the individual. I would consider that more a subjective value. And I certainly don't believe value is only a valid concept if it works for other people other people or the collective. To me that is more a relative value, as it fluctuates wildly, is totally undefinable, and births other relative valuations like monetary worth. To be clear, I am denying that art has intrinsic self value that is always present, not subjective or relative value. You would have to be a raving solipsist to ignore the way people feel about art when consuming it or making it and I'm not denying the reality of the art market or people's love for pieces of art. That said, I don't believe I can find any intrinsic value to a piece of art on an individual level, either. Not when I consider the way my feelings about even my own art change through time. I can be enraptured with a drawing while making it one day and wake up the next to find I loathe it. Now where is that seemingly joyful intrinsic value it presented yesterday to this individual outside of any collective concerns? I have also often experienced the opposite, being utterly bored by a drawing while spending a few days on it, and looking at it after a couple weeks to find it's one of my absolute favorites I've ever done- full of personal meaning and quality seemingly from nowhere. So I think my position is possibly more extreme than you are interpreting- I don't believe in an intrinsic collective OR individual value, thus leading me to not believe in any intrinsic value at all. Even the physical materialist value of a drawing is problematic since, for 99% of artists, drawing on any sheet of clean paper reduces its value on the market of sales, and it's the rare artist indeed who can sell a drawing on nice watercolor paper for more than the paper cost at the store. My views are lensed- I am trying to communicate particular ideas to artists who are paralyzed with fear, experiencing angst, and drowning in uncertainty. I encourage artists to focus only on how they feel while they work on something, not before, not after, and to not think of anyone else's viewpoint or opinions. Aspirations but no expectations, complete detachment from accolades, approval, validation and success. You might, then, point a finger at that moment to moment experience of creation and say "There! THAT is the cash value of art! That's the value, idiot!" To that, I would smile, agree, and wish a few more people thought that way. And as to things without egos.....well....for another comment thread I suppose....
@@StevenZapataArt Ok, this clears it all up I guess. By your definition of intrinsic value (being, if I understand correctly, something which has constant and undeniable value), I think we're on the same page. Thanks again for the response.
![Tee Grizzley - Detroit (Feat. 42 Dugg) [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/aeKfTtt0x14/mqdefault.jpg)
It's pretty fun to draw while listening to your videos.
That letter to anxiety somewhere past the 1 hr mark rlly spoke to my soul. Finding ur channel is truly a gift, thank u steven 💕💖💓
More dissecting into peoples souls please!
Oh I can't help it, don't you worry about that.
Really liked the thought on art being meditation, as it ties together a recent practice of mine. I've been working on visualizing what I want to draw by "sculpting" it out in my mind, and it has been a very fun practice. Before, this would always happen by accident if I worked on something right before going to bed, and then being flooded with images as soon as I closed my eyes.
A very good practice. I went through a phase for a while where if I was to draw for a half hour I would turn on a timer for 15 minutes and close my eyes and visualize my piece in as much detail as possible first. When the timer went off I would attack the piece like a mad man. I would go back and forth like this, always visualizing for as much time as I would draw. I don't do this any more, but I think the practice helps me visualize things in a mental "flash" now.
Zapata talking for an hour and a half? Xmas in the summertime?
Haha bottle some of that enthusiasm for my prattle and send it to my wife.
RIP Xander Jake de los Santos.
We hardly knew ye.
That being said though, these videos are incredibly helpful.
These videos are awesome. He has an interesting viewpoint on life not just art, I’m binge watching all the videos
I discovered your channel recently with a big sense of joy! :) The things you put your focus on and what you choose to communicate to us is not only intriguing but it puts a relief on me as well! In some way your view on things and sense for art resonates more with me. I am just super glad to have found your channel, especially because I'm good at putting mental bars into my head. I just love drawing man, thanks for making it an even richer experience.
Thanks for the great answer! I'm glad I got my point across even if it was vague haha. And I have to agree, motivation isn't always reliable.
I think my main issue was not knowing what I wanted to do, or not having something specific or new to learn; I just did "drawing" because, well, it's what I do.
Now when I've tried out different things I realise that I really like painting landscapes and characters, so I practice those things. Drawing becomes more fun when you can say "I really want to get good at creating things that conveys character and mood" instead of "I want to draw well" (for no apparent reason). For a long time I kind of missed the whole 'communication' part of art which is like a huge part.
Hopefully you find more things to get inspired by and get better with characters and stuff tread lightly on your art journey and Happy Drawing!
@@stardustobserver7454 I hope so too. Thanks for the encouragement! :)
My pleasure! Truly. Uncertainty is a natural occurrence on the path of art- but it is an illusion. You are already certain that you want to be where you are- this must be the case as art is done for its own sake, especially before it's your job. Next time you feel uncertain about anything in art, remember it is only symptomatic of a mind fully engaged in creating- whether any is getting done at the moment or not. This may not be relevant now, as it sounds like you currently have a focus. Yes, don't forget to practice communicating, there are many world class technicians out there who no one will ever notice or pay.
Thanks man Amazing video , this Q & A really helped me. Now i know what to do and what to focus on, Steven You are an amazing man and an amazing artist.
You honor me. Thank you for dreaming me into existence.
I am so thankful for the wisdom that you share with us
Oh wow I'm so happy I found your channel through moderndayjames's channel. I just started watching from the beginning but will catch up soon!
That Asura looking guy looks amazing. Hope you find a Studio Job soon.
Thank you! Currently on a gig at a studio- a nice dose of that familiar creative environment.
Hi :) first of all, thanks for answering my question and picking me up at the end of the vid again.
I found a lot of toturial stuff and exercises to working out the basics. For all:
Drawabox covers a lot of absolutely beginnee question very well and there's something like a workout-plan you can go through.
I bought both scott robertson books and made first few exercises but really stick into ellipses at the moment.
So my next step would be to try simple objects constructed with basic forms.
That's where I am and this raw stuff is fun to me, cause I love to see myself improving (yep slow but steady).
So I try to start with perspective with the goal to can draw as precise in space as needed intuitively.
I hope this is possible. To see room instead of just shapes and I really hope I don't getting lost with this goal and waste time.
At my current point I'm far away from this goal but I'm sure I'm getting closer ..
Sorry for the long message and possible repeating myself in it.
Very cool video. Long and full of valuable information and thoughts.
Inspired and motivated me a lot to keep my practicing going!
Lot's of greetings from germ to you and the community.
PS:
Maybe a Discord would be cool cause the community is not too big at the moment and we could create a smaller core of people who wanna share their experiences and thoughts? .. just a thought of mine
Your drawing looks awesome btw !
💪😊
So, I'm out ✌
I will consider the discord recommendation, seems like a good idea. Very busy at the moment, not much time to start that with any momentum. Will give more thought to it soon.
AWESOME.
Thank you!
i hope you start doing podcasts man, rerally enjoy listening to you. And this is great content to listen to while taking a walk
Thanks for my answering my questions Steven!
My pleasure! I hope it helped.
15:15 the misery part really resonated with me.
I keep coming back to this
That's great to hear! Thank you.
Evan is here
Thanks alot !
And the piece turned out just great !
Thank you! It was a pleasure to draw.
Steven, I just subscribed... I've seen a lot of artists lately on the web, you're work is the best I've seen so far.. It's pretty badass... I've have not seen anything as great as your art since FF!
Thanks Steven for answering my question! missed having your videos come out weekly lol! Looking forward to more
Your channel was all what I needed. Thank you
So um this isn't really another question but im just going to further evaluate and add some background as to why i asked you those questions in the first place so feel free to not answer this.
So the first one was about when to stop drawing and what would you do afterwards if you did and the second question is about what the spark was that got you into drawing i feel like i asked those two questions because i never really felt like i had a concrete motivation or reason to draw in the first place i just kinda "did it" just because why not, for as long as i can remember with no real clear indication as to why, and so i wanted to hear from someone who discovered and pursued their passion through their entire life from one action, one ignition but thats where i've gone all wrong about it so thank you for answering them! i really really appreciate it.
So back to my background, so i got envious, desperate and resentful from seeing countless artists like that knowing exactly what they want and so here i am wanting you to imagine what it would be like if drawing and art wasn't as clear to you, so im sorry for trying to project myself onto you i just needed a smack in the head, i just need to carry on and try to find what is essentially an unknown me and just stop whining so, again, thank you.
About the performer or artist question i meant it literally whether you would enjoy being up on a stage using your body and voice more rather than the act of drawing physically on paper so um yeah that's about it, thanks for your thoughts on the question and thanks to all of the people that got their questions asked aswell!
So anyway.. umm Happy Drawing everybody!
Indeed, the front that artists put out online is engineered to to make them look sure- almost none of them are. I'm not! I'm constantly encountering uncertainty, doubt, and vagueness. As time goes on you gain the ability to operate well even when that uncertainty sits heavy on your shoulders. Yes go find your unknown self, and learn to make friends with every moment of uncertainty, every field of vagueness- these empty gaps are the pool of potential from which anything can spring. They are chances to reinvent yourself over and over and over again. That is an essential skill as an artist, otherwise you'd make the same drawing over and over until you were dead. I do enjoy being on stage and moving around and miss it these days, but I'm sure my future holds many opportunities for that.
So happy that i stumbled upon your channel
I do enjoy your videos, very insightful. Thank you Steven!
wow im surprised my comment made it in the q and a. Well you know what they say great minds think alike!
Haha, I couldn't resist pointing out how well you phrased it.
Fabulous
I color by number, Sirius color by number books. It is my flow to practice drawing.
Now picture this drawing on a huge canvas in oils or acrylic 🤩😍
What a great birthday gift this video was, even if it was 2 days early. Jokes aside, thank you for answering my question, and i will try to dwell on what you said as best as i can. I had some problems avoiding and repressing my feelings in general, so i feel like it will also help me in life. Glad that i could open myself with "some stranger dude on the internet". Again, thank you, and i wish you good luck!
Ps: sorry about that broken english >.>
Don't avoid and repress your feelings, at least not as a default position. Take a few deep breaths, close your eyes, feel what you feel, and thank whatever is around you for the honor of having any experience at all. Then open your eyes, return to life, and fight joyfully.
Phenomenal video Steven. Phenomenal.
Thank you! I'm glad you liked it!
Was about to say "welcome back" as soon as it started, but I looked and it's 2 years ago😩
Great video xD. Can you give us a strange yet relatable metaphysical examination of art?
::holds up a sea shell::
Love your art man! Just discovered your youtube channel! Ive beens mashing through them while working!
its amazing
I'm so lucky to have discovered you I'm improving by imitating😊
Amazing wowwwwwww
Thanks for answering my question😊
Not a english speaker so i dont know the diffence between “overly positiv“ and “overtly positiv“. So if imy question came out sounding like a insult, it wasnt meant like that
Haha no worries, I knew you couldn't have meant it in an insulting way- that would be crazy! To insult Ross draws is online suicide, you would be ground to dust.
You are so talented!!! 🤩👌
freakin amazing, I am NOT drinking the kool aid!!! im not a part of your system!!
I often get overwhelmed by doing personal projects. And I barely draw for 'the sake of drawing - or - just for fun'. Trying to do so quickly results in me wanting to get back to learning more fundamentals, more perspective, more anatomy, practicing more figure drawing. Should I be more courageous and just try? Or should I aline what I want to draw with my current skill level?
Do you think it's important to do 'personal' drawings as a beginner? Or is it alright to just practice and exercise all the time maybe just to find out someday that I don't even enjoy drawing that much and am just much more interested in the outcome than the process?
It could go either way, really. You won't know unless you try. Always veer towards courage. I think beginners should AT LEAST keep sketchbooks where them make tiny thumbnails that express their imaginative ideas. Some beginners can spend 6 hours on a drawing that would have worked better at an inch tall, and I don't think there's anything to regret in drawing- but if you're hell bent on skills those 6 hours are often better spent. Watch your interest carefully and let that guide you. You'll gain more long term data from being enraptured with an awful drawing for a few hours than feeling sick to your stomach over anatomy you don't even care about.
@@StevenZapataArt Thanks, I'll keep that in mind
"Oh, that's one of the better foots I've ever drawn." HAHA!
Really loving the videos you've posted so far. Glad you started doing this whole RUclips thing.
Keep up the good work!
amezzing bro 👍
Vastly underrated art channel.
Well thanks! I don't feel starved for ratings, though. I'm happy to provide a little joy to anyone I can.
@@StevenZapataArt Not just in that I feel "deserves more views" but I find this immensely helpful, really reinvigorates the psychological, even spiritual side to drawing, something I've felt diminished in myself for quite a few years now.
Haha! Love this shit man, thank you.
Hi Steven !
I have a question. At some point, when talking about searching for free tutorials on fundamentals on youtube, you said not to worry too much if that is the ideal free content because it's not that important. As a person who worries too much, I wonder if you could elaborate on that a bit more please ? Why isn't the source among the main focuses here ?
Thank you, and great video !
What matters is that you stay interested and get exposed to the ideas. No source for art knowledge is perfect or even exhaustive. The trick is to actually try the stuff and not worry so much about what you’re hearing
Every time I notice someone discussing motivation, I always reach out and say hello. How long have you been producing videos?
26:30 Steven's favorite masters
Is it beneficial for anyone to go to design school to learn concept art or is their a window for self taught artists to possibly land this job position at a top tier game studio? Just asking for a friend😉 Ohhh! Another question do you do critiques of commenter’s portfolio?
Is that the guy from Mudvayne and Aquaman?
Steve Huston is your Teacher probably...👋
35:50
What pencil are you using?
rotring 500, i just dont know what lead
what kind of pen is that is it a brush?
that black pen
I never met you but i love you :3 wish to talk to you sometimes
I disagree with you about the drawing itself having no meaning. Do you also believe a book has no meaning? I think the idea which the art form communicates has intrinsic value because by mapping symbols into paper or through whatever medium you choose, your making the decision (consciously or not) that the idea being portrayed contains value. I think if you deny this you have to also deny the whole concept of value.
But the video was great, thanks for making it
I deny that art forms, and ideas as you say, have any intrinsic value. Whatever meaning you imbue into a drawing exists outside of you only if the audience happens to gather the exact same meaning. Books, also, do not have an intrinsic meaning that is communicated equally to everybody. Some people love Catcher in the Rye, others hate it. They can even understand the themes equally- completely- and for one person it will be a nauseating slog and for the other it is a life-defining work of art. Did JD Salinger anticipate both of those outcomes in the "meaning" he crafted? I doubt it. Between artist and audience there is this gap of emptiness, where whatever meaning or value the artist has intended to create disappears completely and it is up to the viewer to reconstruct it brick by brick- or not. Sometimes they recreate it exactly, other times they make a grotesque. The breadth of possibilities is not insignificant- for that to be possible there must not be an inherent, solid, immovable value. Where would it be anyway? You can't point a finger at it. I know this is probably "obvious" to most artists but most seem to then take it for granted and create delusional self constructs that ignore this "obvious" substrate. We will likely disagree on this on a level that is beyond argumentation because I suspect these points grow out of different fundamental intuitions. To sum up: I do, basically, deny the whole concept of value. Observe, however, that this does not prevent me from making work about myths and symbols with the hope of healing some amount of pain in the world. To me these actions and my outlook are not contradictory, in fact they enrich each other because the lack of a concept of inherent value allows me to operate with absolute freedom and a minimum of insecurity in a field almost defined by insecurity and angst. Thank you for the kind words about the video, I was very happy to make it! And thank you for engaging my ideas, it makes me feel alive and it is greatly appreciated.
Maybe we are saying the same thing essentially, but I don't understand how what you wrote is grounds for the denial of value.
@@olibianchini2472 My pleasure, I love chewing this stuff over as well! I'm very sorry to hear you've been made to draw on toast, I can't imagine it's a good medium. I think we are probably saying similar things when we get it down to practicality, given I am not some iconoclast running around telling people not to care about the arts- quite the opposite. Indeed, I think our confusions came from your use of the word intrinsic, as stated in your edit. To me intrinsic implies an inviolable quality of the work itself once it has been created, I did not think you meant intrinsic to the individual. I would consider that more a subjective value. And I certainly don't believe value is only a valid concept if it works for other people other people or the collective. To me that is more a relative value, as it fluctuates wildly, is totally undefinable, and births other relative valuations like monetary worth. To be clear, I am denying that art has intrinsic self value that is always present, not subjective or relative value. You would have to be a raving solipsist to ignore the way people feel about art when consuming it or making it and I'm not denying the reality of the art market or people's love for pieces of art.
That said, I don't believe I can find any intrinsic value to a piece of art on an individual level, either. Not when I consider the way my feelings about even my own art change through time. I can be enraptured with a drawing while making it one day and wake up the next to find I loathe it. Now where is that seemingly joyful intrinsic value it presented yesterday to this individual outside of any collective concerns? I have also often experienced the opposite, being utterly bored by a drawing while spending a few days on it, and looking at it after a couple weeks to find it's one of my absolute favorites I've ever done- full of personal meaning and quality seemingly from nowhere. So I think my position is possibly more extreme than you are interpreting- I don't believe in an intrinsic collective OR individual value, thus leading me to not believe in any intrinsic value at all. Even the physical materialist value of a drawing is problematic since, for 99% of artists, drawing on any sheet of clean paper reduces its value on the market of sales, and it's the rare artist indeed who can sell a drawing on nice watercolor paper for more than the paper cost at the store.
My views are lensed- I am trying to communicate particular ideas to artists who are paralyzed with fear, experiencing angst, and drowning in uncertainty. I encourage artists to focus only on how they feel while they work on something, not before, not after, and to not think of anyone else's viewpoint or opinions. Aspirations but no expectations, complete detachment from accolades, approval, validation and success. You might, then, point a finger at that moment to moment experience of creation and say "There! THAT is the cash value of art! That's the value, idiot!" To that, I would smile, agree, and wish a few more people thought that way.
And as to things without egos.....well....for another comment thread I suppose....
@@StevenZapataArt Ok, this clears it all up I guess. By your definition of intrinsic value (being, if I understand correctly, something which has constant and undeniable value), I think we're on the same page. Thanks again for the response.
recommends proko for perspective but forgets moderndayjames :'(
Poor monster.
skip tthe philosophers and try listening to OSHO. You wont need any one else
Somewhere around the 42min mark you used the term 'irregardless', and I'm somewhat ashamed of you, LOL.
What kind of mechanical pencil is that?
I know tools don't matter as much as skill, but I always love playing with a new art toy.
That’s a pentel sharp .5