..."real" artist the other day.

No right answers here, but if you would please offer "a seat of the pants" definition (in your own words, whatever pops into your mind) of a "real" artist, I would love to read it.

Is it based on talent?

Getting paid?

Passion?

Who enjoys the work?

To me it is a combination of having talent and passion.

It seems that the only real difference is popular recognition and financial support.

As long as you see yourself as a "wannabe" you won't be. Do the things that make you happy. Don't worry about whether anyone else likes it. If you're producing work that YOU like, then you longer "wannabe," you are.

Actually, all four of your suggestions have merit. But who understands talent; might just be craftsmanship. Passion can create true ugliness almost as often as true beauty, although some call it art anyway. Those who enjoy the work may just be dabblers, which is quite all right, but not art.

Art is when you have patrons who are willing to pay enough that you don't have to feel pressured to produce many variations on a single theme, but can really stretch and explore. Of course, those patrons may be your own family, if they are wealthy, but so what? It's the lack of pressure, the necessity to cheapen your vision, that allows for art.

Then you still need talent. And something even harder to define: inspiration. You look at a blank canvas, and you can see what you want to create. Or a lump of clay, or whatever.

Good question. I think the term "REAL" is what needs to be defined, never mind the term "real artist".

Assuming the term "real" refers to something authentic and tangible, then a "real artist" would be someone who devotes a great deal of their time and effort into making art, then repeatedly and successfully completes the task of making art.

The word "real", however, has many definitions in our language - and depending on who uses it (and their tone of voice!) it could mean a number of things, including your list above. If I were to use the term (and I wouldn't), it would mean someone who was greatly talented in their ability to convey their vision.

Other more descriptive terms would be "talented artist", "prolific artist", "renowned artist", "passionate artist" etc... but they don't all mean the same thing.

As for me - I'm a "joyful artist" :-)

what Jack said....

The trick is not to confuse the term "real artist" with "professional artist."

Many talented people do not get paid for their art. For some, it is a hobby or, even, a driving passion in their lives. These people can be just as much artists as the ones that draw illustrations for newpaper underwear ads.

Add to your considerations as to what constitutes an artist, the very definition of art. Of course, most would consider sculptors, musicians, dancers, writers and actor's as artists. But debate goes on about photographers fitting the definition, (I do consider a photographer as a candidate for the definition) and architects, landscapers, interior designers, art directors, clothing and costume designers.

I once watched a machine operator at a construction site. He was loading and filling trucks hauling away dirt from a hole being dug. I was watching, merely out of curiosity as he filled one truck after another. His scoop repeatedly dug up massive volumes of fill and deposited the loads into the truck's bins. Then, I noticed one little thing that really impressed me. By the end of each load, there would often be a bit of dirt, left on the edge of the truck's bin. This operator, with one or two deft flicks of his huge, powerful machine's "arm," would gently push the dirt pieces into the bin. Not once did he miss the dirt, or hit the truck.

I walked away, finally, knowing that I had been watching an artist at work.