# Think yourself an artist? Or not. Give this a shot. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 21, 2005, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-yourself-an-artist-or-not-give-this-a-shot/322805 "2005-09-21T23:55:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![rexnervous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9c0ed/32.png) [@rexnervous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rexnervous)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2005, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-yourself-an-artist-or-not-give-this-a-shot/322805/1 "2005-09-21T23:55:52Z")
If you do - or even if you don’t but want to try - thought I’d throw this out here. [Try your hand at being a Surrealist painter](http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org/painter/) The Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford (a pretty damn fine museum) has its highly-regarded Surrealist exhibit returning after a two-year journey to other museums. Anyway - the link is pretty damn fun (for certain types of people - it ain’t Bejeweled 🙂 ) Note that a broadband connection is highly recommended, and you have to have Flash 7 to use the tool and view the gallery. Disclaimer: I work with the company that built this tool. But we have virtually no vested interest in how many people actually use this. It’s just that it’s pretty damn interesting and fun to use. If the Doper community and/or the mods deem this thread against board rules, please delete it. By my (not overly impressive) post count I think you can tell that I don’t want to do anything against the rules here. But sometimes you create or do something you just want to share. Also, am quite interested in feedback, positive or negative. Have fun! ---
**Author:** ![brownie55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f14d63/32.png) [@brownie55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brownie55)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-yourself-an-artist-or-not-give-this-a-shot/322805/2 "2005-09-22T00:20:58Z")
That was fun. Good job, but I never got how to add freehand work. ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheValley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@LilyoftheValley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheValley)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-yourself-an-artist-or-not-give-this-a-shot/322805/3 "2005-09-22T01:01:40Z")
Hmmm…I went to a lot of trouble to come up with a name my friends would appreciate, and wrote a note, but the send button is not clickable on my screen! (Cancel is…) Well, there goes my art. Is this a cruel performance art piece? Yoohoo… **Rex**? ☹ ---
**Author:** ![rexnervous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9c0ed/32.png) [@rexnervous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rexnervous)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-yourself-an-artist-or-not-give-this-a-shot/322805/4 "2005-09-22T01:10:39Z")
> [@brownie55](#): > > That was fun. Good job, but I never got how to add freehand work. Heh. We’re not trying to replicate Illustrator or Photoshop on the web. Just allow people to express their creativity within a limited scope. And, kudos, nice “painting” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![rexnervous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9c0ed/32.png) [@rexnervous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rexnervous)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-yourself-an-artist-or-not-give-this-a-shot/322805/5 "2005-09-22T01:17:39Z")
> [@LilyoftheValley](#): > > Hmmm…I went to a lot of trouble to come up with a name my friends would appreciate, and wrote a note, but the send button is not clickable on my screen! (Cancel is…) Well, there goes my art. Is this a cruel performance art piece? > > Yoohoo… **Rex**? ☹ Dammit. Lily, so sorry. I can’t tell you why this would’ve happened…we’ve tested this on multiple platforms/browsers. And Flash is (supposedly) platform/browser indepedent, so you shouldn’t have had that problem. I can’t imagine why one button would be unclickable while another would be. Yours is the first time we’ve ever heard of this. If anyone else experiences this issue… ---
**Author:** ![N.Sane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f19dbf/32.png) [@N.Sane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N.Sane)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-yourself-an-artist-or-not-give-this-a-shot/322805/6 "2005-09-22T01:22:51Z")
What a blast! I am a huge fan of the surrealists, and had a lot of fun with this. Here are my paintings: [http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org/painter/galleryView.php?paintingID=51](http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org/painter/galleryView.php?paintingID=51) [http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org/painter/galleryView.php?paintingID=54](http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org/painter/galleryView.php?paintingID=54) Thanks for passing this along! ---
**Author:** ![LilyoftheValley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@LilyoftheValley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LilyoftheValley)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-yourself-an-artist-or-not-give-this-a-shot/322805/7 "2005-09-22T01:34:06Z")
> [@rexnervous](#): > > Dammit. Lily, so sorry. I can’t tell you why this would’ve happened…we’ve tested this on multiple platforms/browsers. And Flash is (supposedly) platform/browser indepedent, so you shouldn’t have had that problem. I can’t imagine why one button would be unclickable while another would be. Yours is the first time we’ve ever heard of this. > > If anyone else experiences this issue… It seems to be working for everyone else – I must just have a magic touch. :smack: Thanks for the sympathy though! (BTW – I also was able to click on the invisible (?) company link under the “send” button. Did that one many times!) ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-yourself-an-artist-or-not-give-this-a-shot/322805/8 "2005-09-22T01:43:57Z")
Huh. I always wondered what the various Dream Theater clones used to create their album covers. ---
**Author:** ![rexnervous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e9c0ed/32.png) [@rexnervous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rexnervous)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-yourself-an-artist-or-not-give-this-a-shot/322805/9 "2005-09-22T01:50:56Z")
> [@LilyoftheValley](#): > > It seems to be working for everyone else – I must just have a magic touch. :smack: Thanks for the sympathy though! (BTW – I also was able to click on the invisible (?) company link under the “send” button. Did that one many times!) Lily - I think I’ve discovered the issue. “Send” isn’t activated unless all of the first four fields in the Publish page (the one where you fill in First Name, Last Name, Email, and painting Title) are filled in. “Cancel” is always active. Hope you can give it another try - and just fill in the first four fields on the Publish page (even if they’re nonsense - though the title and your first name last name will be shown on the site - we only use email to send you the link to your painting, and you can un-check the opt-in link to receive the museum’s newsletter - which we have nothing to do with) Perhaps that was the issue? ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-yourself-an-artist-or-not-give-this-a-shot/322805/10 "2005-09-22T01:55:04Z")
[the smell of roses](http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org/painter/galleryView.php?paintingID=56) ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-yourself-an-artist-or-not-give-this-a-shot/322805/11 "2005-09-22T02:30:21Z")
[I am SO not an artist!](http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org/painter/galleryView.php?paintingID=60) But it was fun anyway. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Hung\_Mung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hung\_Mung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hung_Mung)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-yourself-an-artist-or-not-give-this-a-shot/322805/12 "2005-09-22T02:44:59Z")
That was too fun. Mine’s called Colonization, if you want to see. ---
**Author:** ![Hung\_Mung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hung\_Mung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hung_Mung)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-yourself-an-artist-or-not-give-this-a-shot/322805/13 "2005-09-22T02:47:34Z")
Or, hey, I can link. :smack: [Colonization](http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org/painter/galleryView.php?paintingID=61) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5ac83/32.png) [@The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mad_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-yourself-an-artist-or-not-give-this-a-shot/322805/14 "2005-09-22T03:21:13Z")
I could do this all day. [Too Deep.](http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org/painter/galleryView.php?paintingID=67) ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-yourself-an-artist-or-not-give-this-a-shot/322805/15 "2005-09-22T03:24:45Z")
[Well that was a nifty little time killer.](http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org/painter/galleryView.php?paintingID=68) ---
**Author:** ![fessie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c37758/32.png) [@fessie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fessie)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-yourself-an-artist-or-not-give-this-a-shot/322805/16 "2005-09-22T03:28:05Z")
Cool! Mine’s not terribly complex, but creating it was fun. I had trouble getting the “send” button to work – until I went ahead and gave a last name. Then it activated. Thanks for sharing! ---
**Author:** ![Hung\_Mung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a88e4f/32.png) [@Hung\_Mung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hung_Mung)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-yourself-an-artist-or-not-give-this-a-shot/322805/17 "2005-09-22T03:33:08Z")
> [@N. Sane](#): > > What a blast! I am a huge fan of the surrealists, and had a lot of fun with this. > > Here are my paintings: > > [http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org/painter/galleryView.php?paintingID=51](http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org/painter/galleryView.php?paintingID=51) > > [http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org/painter/galleryView.php?paintingID=54](http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org/painter/galleryView.php?paintingID=54) > > Thanks for passing this along! Ooo…I liked both of those. **Mad Hermit** , that one’s pretty cool too. ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-yourself-an-artist-or-not-give-this-a-shot/322805/18 "2005-09-22T03:51:49Z")
[Here’s mine.](http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org/painter/galleryView.php?paintingID=71) Quite fun. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Idlewild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8491ac/32.png) [@Idlewild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idlewild)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-yourself-an-artist-or-not-give-this-a-shot/322805/19 "2005-09-22T03:56:23Z")
Good fun! Here’s my effort: [http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org/painter/galleryView.php?paintingID=72](http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org/painter/galleryView.php?paintingID=72) That’s definitely an awesome timewaster and looking at other people’s paintings was entertaining. I like the objects. Good scope for silliness or seriousness. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2005, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-yourself-an-artist-or-not-give-this-a-shot/322805/20 "2005-09-22T03:59:02Z")
omg it’s art [http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org/painter/galleryView.php?paintingID=73](http://www.wadsworthatheneum.org/painter/galleryView.php?paintingID=73) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/think-yourself-an-artist-or-not-give-this-a-shot/322805.md?page=2)