# Was Hitler a Good Artist? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [September 17, 2003, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-hitler-a-good-artist/202185 "2003-09-17T18:16:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2003, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-hitler-a-good-artist/202185/61 "2003-09-25T14:08:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Spavined Gelding \* > I am, Madam, the very image of mediocre art. I specialize in local color watercolors of potted plants, smudged charcoals of dead luminaries, and over worked oils. I do saggy pots, too. And lumpy sculptures without any pretense to grace or emotion. The mail order art supply trade would go bankrupt if it were not for the likes of me. OK, OK, I’ll take your word for it! 😉 But please tell me you don’t do smudged graphite portraits. Please! Anything but that! ---
**Author:** ![Spavined\_Gelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2003, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-hitler-a-good-artist/202185/62 "2003-09-25T17:01:59Z")
**y-babe,** [Here you go](http://www.art-exchange.com/art-exchange/ArtResult.asp?ArtistLN=Updegraff&ArtistFN=Jim&ArtistMN=). Not a smudged graphite in the bunch. Lots of over worked oil, though. I’ve shown you mine, now you show me yours.:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2003, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-hitler-a-good-artist/202185/63 "2003-09-25T17:27:21Z")
You can overwork oils? I mean, I invented overworked watercolors but I always thought the advantage to oils is that they stand up to fiddling better. BTW, you can tell people that you are a better painter than Hitler. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2003, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-hitler-a-good-artist/202185/64 "2003-09-25T22:23:59Z")
Spavined Gelding, you are way too modest. What is this bullshit about “overworked”? Your work is great. And _no_ smudged graphite! You are true to your word! 😉 > [@](#): > > I’ve shown you mine, now you show me yours. :rolleyes: Well, since you asked…my website (see my profile) has some decidedly _non_-smudged graphite. I’m a big fan of crosshatching. (Not much else on that page yet.) dropzone—oh yeah. You can overwork oils. Oh my word. It can certainly be overworked until it’s a big muddy mess. (Not that I’ve ever done that back in the day…oh no, not me…) 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Spavined\_Gelding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/958977/32.png) [@Spavined\_Gelding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spavined_Gelding)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-hitler-a-good-artist/202185/65 "2003-09-26T02:07:26Z")
At the risk of turning this into some sort of sloppy mutual admiration society, **y-babe** , I am impressed. I had hoped to see some watercolors.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2003, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-hitler-a-good-artist/202185/66 "2003-09-26T07:24:17Z")
Thanks Spavined! We are getting far too civil and complimentary of each other though, aren’t we? 😉 Ah, the watercolors. I will have to dig up the graphics for those. Don’t have that many scanned. They are not _that_ great, but they are certainly better than Hitler’s work! 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-hitler-a-good-artist/202185.md?page=3)