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Originally Posted by Unregistered
Unfortunately, nothing in this poll will influence or change the rules here.
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Actually, feedback on the perceived "painting/drawing from life" registration requirement has led to repeated advisories -- more than once in this thread alone -- that such a requirement has long been removed for application. It's a non-issue as far as posting membership is concerned. So an inability to secure or afford models isn't an impediment (to registration, I mean -- hoping to become a professional portrait artist without learning to work from life has its own built-in brick wall.) The administrators have actively sought input through this sometimes painfully open thread and have worked to respond in many ways, often in the background, in considered, subtle ways that may not be apparent. And really, it's quite remarkable, I think, that the tireless owner of the site would provide this access to the Forum so that those who wished to critique it could freely do so. I may not have been able to muster so much grace and equanimity. Who wants to be told that their kids are ugly? Kudos are in order.
Anyway, yes, it is slow. All sites that matter are. Not much of a kaffeeklatsche, usually, but in fairness, it isn't intended to be; lots of other sites do that, and there's no need to replicate it here. More of a library and a reference site. Some cheese and wine is taken, but that's all off-site, and is occasionally reflected in posts.
I assume that by elitist you mean "attitude" and not quality. Hardly unique to this site are a few who misguidedly believe that aspersions cast upon their perceived adversaries and lessers will naturally steer sentiment toward the strident vocalists' preferences, but it always backfires, eventually. Always. I wouldn't spend a lot of time there. When you hear "shrill," adjust the equalizer on your set. Perhaps you've noticed that I don't always follow my own advice. I can be like that.
If by elitist you mean that the ideal is vainly pursued, well . . . the point of the site is to achieve facility in execution as "the best and the brightest," if you will, who are carrying on the traditional portrait tradition. It's a standard worth holding up. Admittedly, it's fairly muddied of late -- which I think accounts for some of the pace of participation -- and visitors could be forgiven for a little confusion about the focus.
As for having a full-time job, that's also been so much addressed in this thread. Almost everyone here has a full-time job, and almost all of them earn their living and their expense accounts in a vocation other than portrait painting. It's always been so. The ones who want it, will work to get it. The rest -- and I include myself in this group -- will stand outside the mansions and the galleries, looking in the windows, and wishing we had been invited to the party.
But -- we were. It's just that many who hold invitations in their hands never show up.