Birthday present

Rob Sullivan · 03-06-2005, 03:10 PM

Okay, the re-opening of the Forum has nothing to do with my birthday, even though the dates have coincided... But, it reminds me - and should remind us all - that the very existence of this Forum is a gift to us as artists. It is a gift to all who uphold true craft and skill in the arts, whatever your aesthetic may be. Let us not take it for granted.

I have learned a great deal here. And I am not just referring to technical things, nor insightful forays into art history with regard to the portrait. Those things are here for all to see, and are thankfully archived like a wonderful encyclopedia of portraiture and painting. What I hadn't counted on learning about was pride, ego and disaffection. This is an arguable point, but recent disagreements have had little to do with learning and teaching, therefore - nothing could be gained by them, save the forming of factions and cliques.

In this day and age where kindness and comportment are no longer rewarded (as hostility has become sport and prime-time entertainment), it still does not give us the "right" to conduct ourselves according to vox populi. If we are to truly uphold the ideals of craft and skill in the arts, then we are no less obliged to put forth these things in a manner befitting their importance. By that, I mean professionally, if not humbly; with the intent to teach, and not lord it over others with less skill or knowledge.

My thanks to Cynthia and the Moderators for their time and efforts. Again, I speak for many in my sincere appreciation of your gifts.

Cynthia Daniel · 03-06-2005, 03:29 PM

Very well said, Rob. I sincerely appreciate your post!

Allan Rahbek · 03-06-2005, 05:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rob Sullivan

My thanks to Cynthia and the Moderators for their time and efforts. Again, I speak for many in my sincere appreciation of your gifts.

I totally agree, thank you.

Allan

Tom Edgerton · 03-06-2005, 05:49 PM

I have to agree with Rob. I think it

Cynthia Leininger · 03-06-2005, 06:15 PM

I am so very grateful to have the forum doors opened again.

Cynthia, I would guess that this sort of thing will happen again. Although I certainly hope it doesn't. Will you consider just closing the topic or temporarily banning the offending party(s) rather than shutting down completely? It must be very frustrating for those of you who donate your time to have to deal with unpleasant issues.

I love this forum and the insight it provides. I am very grateful for the work that goes into maintaining it.

I was a little shocked to see the meager list of members who have donated thus far. My donation was very, very small but I was convinced that many others would contribute and together we would provide the funds that were needed to keep this forum alive.

Cynthia Daniel · 03-06-2005, 06:56 PM

Thank you, everyone for your input and expressions of appreciation. There were 4 or 5 more donations between the time the doors closed and now.

Cynthia, as Tom said, after the twentieth time it just gets to be too much. Normally I would not have shut things down completely, but I needed a break from this and time to sort through things. It's unlikely I will completely shut it down again unless there's maintenance going on, or as happened a couple of times, a hacker.

Chris Saper · 03-06-2005, 07:37 PM

I can attest, firsthand, to the professionalism and import that Cynthia places upon portraiture in general, and specifically, upon her own business, including this Forum. I also know how very stressful it is for her to have to get side-tracked in order to put out fires.

Rob, how very gracious of you to have started this thread (hey! Happy Birthday!) . Despite the difficulties of the past days, in many ways I think the events have resulted in a clearer understanding about the role of this particular Forum, and the setting of good policy to advance that role.

Tom, like you, I have valued my participation here tremendously, both in what I have learned, and in the people I feel that I have come to know as friends, whether or not I have actually met them face-to-face.

Thanks, Cynthia.

Mike McCarty · 03-06-2005, 08:48 PM

Very well said to all above.

Michele Rushworth · 03-06-2005, 09:00 PM

I can't thank Cynthia enough for what she has given us all in this Forum. I do my small part as one of the Moderators just to give a little bit back because of what she has given me.

Quite literally, this Forum has been life-transforming and career-creating. Less than four years ago I really had very little clue how to paint (I thoughtI knew how!) and I had very little in terms of professional experience. Now I have a consistent one year backlog of portrait work, have had opportunities to have my work featured in the media, and now have contracts with some very high profile clients, too.

I owe ALL that to this Forum, truly. Thank you, Cynthia. I do hope, after all that you've done for me, that I'll finally get to meet you and thank you in person at the PSA conference this year!

Linda Nelson · 03-06-2005, 09:54 PM

Some thoughts that relate to this thread -

1.) Thanks Cynthia - I think you made the right move for the site and yourself buy putting SOG on pause. As mentioned above, I was appalled by how short the list was of donating contributors, and ashamed more names were not on it, including mine. I, like probably 90% of the readers here have $ issues, but I think we all need to make the commitment to carve out SOMETHING over the next month to show our support to the value of this site.

2.) As I don't stop by too much,I wasn't aware of the tiff that was happening to cause this "time out" of SOG, but I would like to say that, as I read the announcement by Cynthia, I could predict in my head who the personalities were that created the problem, and sure enough, to my disappointment, I was right. To the "experts" on this site I would like to point out that I would never take a workshop from someone who has developed such tunnel vision as to argue to the point demonstrated here. If I sign up for a workshop, it's to learn what you know, not to become who you are. If you demonstrate here that you can't even find room to appreciate another experts' approach, then that tells me you would probably lack the respect for my right to have an individualized approach either.

3.) On the positive side of this little drama, it 's nice to continue to see, through SOG, just how many people in this world who are deeply impassioned by art as we are. We are all wonderfully and tragically infected... congratulations to us ALL.