For me, bad art is boring, ho hum, and lacks imagination. It’s what I’ve seen a million times before (and sometimes what I wished I’d never seen). Good art, then, is intriguing, inspiring, and something I’ve never seen before or, if I have, it’s done in such a way that it makes me pause and become curious.

Common Characteristics of Good Paintings

• A Strong Focal Point. A focal point is not like the big, bold “X” that marks the spot on a treasure map.
• Layers of Color. When it comes to painting characteristics, color is key to keep in mind.
• Changes in Direction.

9 Qualities All Great Artists Share

• They Have Passion. “I personally feel that painting is just as much a necessity as eating and breathing,” says painter Lola Gil.
• They Have the Desire to Grow.
• They Are Flexible.
• They Try New Things.
• They Are Dedicated.
• They Are Self-Critical.
• They Are Vulnerable.
• They Persevere.

A piece of art needs to connect. It needs to have some element of truth to it that resonates with the viewer and leaves them something after they’ve left the piece. A good piece asks questions and teaches you something you didn’t know or shows you something you didn’t know you knew.

The purpose of works of art may be to communicate political, spiritual or philosophical ideas, to create a sense of beauty (see aesthetics), to explore the nature of perception, for pleasure, or to generate strong emotions. Its purpose may also be seemingly nonexistent.

Ultimately, the use of live animals in art is unethical as it not only puts individual animals at risk of physical and psychological trauma, but also reproduces the structural assumption that non-human species hold intrinsically less value than us.

Animalier, as a collective plural noun, is a term used in antiques for small-scale sculptures of animals in particular (animalier bronzes), but also paintings of animals.

Are they trained? Elephants love to do creative things. As long as they are not pressured into doing anything they don’t want, they will quickly develop their skills in many aptitudes, including painting.

So yes, some animals can create art but it has always been under guidance, not done on their own volition. Art making is just not inherent in the animal kingdom although some ornithologists may disagree. Speaking of dogs, while some animals can churn out art, some humans document them, like William Wegman and his dogs.

Lion

Research shows that animals too can be creative. By inventing new behavioral patterns and adjusting their behavior to new contexts, as well as to changes in social and ecological environments, researchers show that animal innovation too can be diverse.

Chances are you’ve seen one of the many videos of an elephant grabbing a paintbrush, dipping it in paint, and producing a painting similar to something a 5-year-old could create. There’s no way this could be real. The intelligence of elephants is comparable to primates.