When I restarted painting seriously in 2020 I wanted to be able to replicate an image onto a piece of paper. It took me a long time to call myself an artist. Years of looking at art in galleries set an unrealistic goal for what was essentially a hobby.
I've realised that almost four years later I think of it much more as a craft which can be applied in lots of ways. Those Old Masters weren't painted to go in a gallery window to be bought by passing connoisseurs - they were done to fill gaps on palace walls or to inspire worshippers when they looked up in church. Artists thrived and gained fame through meeting their demanding clients's expectations and the production process was more akin to the factory. The Sistine Chapel ceiling may have been painted by Michelangelo but he was supported by an army of plasterers and assistants that transferred the sketched outlines onto the plaster.
From looking at my family tree from the 1800s I can see that original artwork was a thing for the wealthy only. I have read wills where a wooden bed was a large part of the estate being passed on. As home ownership expanded, as the middle class expanded, there was a growth in decorative items to furnish them. There were printing techniques deveoped for replicating original artwork onto mass market items such as pottery. I really like this view of art - as a decorative function with the artist trying to satisfy their audience and make a living just like tradesmen have done for years.
In our house we have a few original paintings - a few prints and some ceramics but my favourite is in the photograph above. It was done by Hannah Exall https://www.hannahexall.co.uk/. We had a new kitchen and wanted something on the wall. Our children talked us down from graffiti but as I was sitting having my hair cut in Wiggies I could see some wall art Hannah had done over my shoulder in the mirror and the germ of the idea was formed.
Each of the items on the restaurant-style menu means something to our family - associated with each of us and our nearest and dearest. I regularly look at this as we are having dinner and remember holidays, happy and sad moments, key events, people and places. There is an emotional response from each item and the whole thing is a relevant decorative piece in a kitchen.
If that's not good art... what is?