"...there'll be dozens of "OMG's!!! that's perfect!!!!!..." And damn me if I didn't see that recently, on an image which contained a huge mistake. And by an artist who should know better. I could not ignore the image - my pal would have been offended if I had - nor could I give it unreserved praise (I'd have been lying at best if I had) so I had to do the decent thing and point out the flaw. Now, as for me and my pics, If I fuck up, tell me. If you see something which could be improved, tell me. And tell me how or why. I'm not here to have my ego stroked, I'm here to show my work in the hope someone "gets it" and to maybe gain some technical insight on the way. There's a damn fine artist here by the name of pookah69 who doesn't get anything like the hits and comments he deserves, simply because his stuff ain't viewer friendly. But, man, can he tell a story. And, to his eternal credit, the gent has always commented honestly on my images. Which is what we really need. It's the burden of proof on the critics, maybe, but it's a two way street. Like, don't be crying if someone says your picture bites the weasel's gonads. IMO, we need more trust around here. We see it in the forum, where we encourage newcomers and tell people "There's no such thing as a stupid question". Maybe we should be as charitable in the galleries. Let me explain... I think honest critique would be better received if the person on the receiving end was sure that the opinions expressed were genuine and well intentioned. For example, pookah69 can usually find something wrong with my images - and most of the time he's right. Does it make me want to hide away? Nope, it makes me want to improve. If an artist can be sure that they may not get an easy time of it, but they will get something helpful, maybe they will be more inclined to enable comments and listen to honest advice. That's where trust comes in. If people don't comment on your image, don't cry about it. If they give it a round of fucks, take your medicine and shut the hell up. If they like it, accept the praise and move on. Don't think you're a great artist. You aren't, and none of us are. That applies equally to Picasso, Dali, Ernst, Magritte and Boticelli, BTW. Nobody - but Nobody - is a great artist if they think they are. Just do what you do, post up your work and take your lumps like a man. Or camel, if you'll forgive the pun. :)

Coppula eam se non posit acceptera jocularum.

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