Just to address this...

I tire of seeing the SAME AOM on the newsletters after three years.   There are more than 10 artists at this site for heaven's sake, can we see something new?

As of this year, Artists of the Month have to have not won AOM in the last five years, to discourage this very problem. (I probably phrased that badly but hopefully you know what I mean.)

I also do wish that a lot of the false modesty would be dropped.  Again I wont make friends, but the "art only for myself"........ doesn't that contradict the creation of art?  If it was only for ourselves, why would we belong to an art community?   The "i don't care what people think of my art"......... is probably the largest thought against human nature I've ever seen.  Everyone likes to be told they are doing a good job.   And if no one cared, why would you put it up for others to comment on?

I agree with this. Of course I want comments on my art, otherwise I would not post it. There are a very few pieces which I have made "just for me" (or sometimes for someone else) which I haven't posted because they're private (or too rude, hahahaha!) Everything else is on public display; ergo, I want the public to see it, and hopefully comment. That said, "Wow it's great hun xxx" is a nice ego-stroke, but I really value something like "The lighting is much better than your last pic, well done" - because it shows me specifically where I've grown, what I've got right, and what I can bring to my next image.

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"you are terrifying
and strange and beautiful
something not everyone knows how to love." - Warsan Shire