I Already Drew You A Picture

What is going on in so many of the digital art web communities these days. When did art stop being about expression and start being about collecting the most comments, most votes as favorite, or worse a contest to see who can post the most pieces in the shortest period of time. It gets worse, now you are measured by how many comments you make on other's art, whether you have something to say or not in any way beyond "nice pic dude" or "I like it" or "It sucks/you suck". The reason that I have submitted a relatively low number of comments, is because I don't comment if I have nothing to say, and I can also spend only so much time looking at things to find something to say and still spend time on creating, web design and all the other projects I am working on. I enjoy getting feedback and comments on my work, they help me improve or just make me feel good, but, I refuse to troll for them, or be guilted/extorted into balancing the numbers. I am also unwilling to change my style, method or media to increase how many votes my work receives. A long love of abstract art prior to doing it myself, made rejection or dislike of my style easier to accept. Abstract art does not appeal to everyone, in fact more people find it disturbing/unsettling or baffling than find it appealing. It an art of mood or feelings more than things, and moods and feelings are things that not a comfortable subject to dwell on for many people. Back to the main point. Rome was not built in a day. The mona lisa was not painted in a day. Great music takes time to write, as do novels. True journalists spend time writing. Good critics review a small number of things, to devote time to analyzing and organizing their thoughts. So Take your time creating your art, and say something when commenting on it. We all gain so much more that way.