(companion to Kaitlin Lara's post)

anyone who says they are.  Doesnt make them a good artist.

i am not an artist. I just play one on T.V. I have an artistic temperment, and I work on my arts from morning til night, but there are so many people better than me, that I hesitate to call myself an artist.

Who cares?

To me, an artist takes things that are already there (paint, a camera, a pencil, a guitar, a voice, words) and they show you the beauty in it...the beauty that you wouldn't have known was hiding there without their help. But of course...that's just what I think. Everyone else's definition is equally as valid as mine.

OK, I'll play. Yes I consider myself to be an artist specializing in figurative photographic art, mostly in monochrome. Why do I say that? Well my prints have been exhibited in fifteen states in the US, several times in Canada, in Italy and in Germany. Those exhibitions  include art galleries, museums and juried salons of photographic art. I've sold prints to countless serious art collectors along with those simply wanting to decorate the walls in their homes. My work has caused me to accepted as a peer by professional artists working in number of mediums. When working artists consider one to be one of them, when art galleries initiate contact to offer one and two person exhibitions and when museums request prints 'on loan' for longlong exhibitions, then I think  one has earned the right to think of oneself as an artist.

But outside of promotional material and suck, I refer to myself simply as "an old fart retired commercial photographer now doing figurative art". Some consider the label of "artist" as somehow "blowing own own horn", but if I don't blow it, who will?

that is for someone else to decide other than me.  I attempt to create art, but art is only art when someone else viewing it determines it appeals enough to them to be considered art.  (you should be impressed I used "art" 4 times in the same sentence!!) To some, I create crap.

Who is an artist?

What, is there a union violation going on here?

How about:  Anyone who makes their living at it?  That would be a professional artist.

As for amateur artist, doesn't that really just mirror the "pro tog" versus "GWC" argument?

i consider myself an artist
its a way of living, over what you produce. I dont think ive known anything else. i am in art school although going there doesnt make anyone an artist, its a great place to develop skills and gain access to new tools.
i paint and sell some commissioned works, i enjoy making video arts and stop motion films, my major is in printmaking. I played bass guitar for a number of years, I currently spin records as my musical outlet. I compose poetry among other works.
And i think cooking is definitely an art and a science that many people overlook. The art of craft... seems to weasel its way into our lives

I consider myself an artist because my grandma told me so. Happy 100th birthday grandma~! And yes, "I got if from you."

Someone that moves beyond being a mere craftsman is and artist.

In photography we see lots of work by craftsman. Said another way; we see work by people that know their craft. They produce technically acceptable photos. Their photos are well lit, in focus, exposed properly and may even be composed well. They are master craftsman but they may not be artist.

An artist's work move beyond the technically correct. In fact, some artist may not be all that great of craftsman; but, their images move us so much more deeply than the craftsman. They get all 1,000 words and often many more into a single image. We see what they want us to see, sometimes. Often we argue about what they want us to see and what the deeper meaning of the image might be. The images give us something we take with us and hold onto for a long time. Some images aren't pretty but we are compelled to look at them and study them.

Being and artist isn't something we decide for ourselves. Even when we decide to pursue creating, what we hope will be thought of as, art. The label of artist is bestowed on us by others. If the critic is important enough we may even be considered great artist.

I don't know if I'm an artist yet but I'll keep trying to create art. I'll let others decide if I'm an artist and I'll invite any and all to look at my work and come to their own conclusions.

Now for shameless self promotion.
Here you can find how I see and try to interpret my world
http://www.pbase.com/slowpokebill

Bill

...did someone say "artist" ?
Here.

An artist is a person who is active in any creative endeavor (creative meaning making things, not being "different") and who approaches the creative endeavor with a mind set centered on the process and statement of said endeavor.

When being creative an artist asks questions like:
Why am I doing this, as opposed to something else?
What am I saying with this?
What is the meaning of this?
What is the importance of this?
Why am I doing it this way?
WHo am I speaking to?
What does this say about me? about others? about humanity?

I guess the simple way to define an artist is someone who does it his way without the influence of someone else paying him to think and do differently lol.  The phrase "starving artist" has merit after all!  What is one mans art is another mans toilet paper!
G