Grumpy anonymous comments

Check out this humorless and grumpy comment that I received last night:

I made cutesy drawings when I was 10 years old too. My mom put them on the fridge. It's great that he's participating in AOM, but please give him time to mature into a trained artist before pimping him out to the art world. Saying he's your pick shows that you value gimmick over substance.

This Grumpy Anonymous Blog Commenter (GABC) is trashing this post, in which I named Connor Glenn, an 11-year-old artist exhibiting work at Artomatic, as my favorite emerging artist.

I should have explained that I didn't pick Connor for his skills as an artist, which are completely consistent with being 11-years-old, rather I picked him for his impressive composure and enthusiasm for art. More importantly, GABC, Connor has the guts to put himself out there and subject himself to criticism. I admire anyone who does that and particularly so when it's an 11-year-old. I couldn't have done it at that age and I find it difficult to do even as an adult. In fact, I admire ALL the artists at Artomatic for doing this and every artist who's ever exhibited his or her work ever. That takes guts. I should also note that Connor is exceptionally articulate and self-possessed. This kid may never become an artist of note, but whatever he does, he's going to be a huge success at it.

So it's not really a gimmick GABC. I just think this kid is fantastic and I am sorry I made light of him as an emerging artist. In reality, he's my favorite emerging person at Artomatic.