Art versus the Internet

As I fumble through the baby steps of my painting journey, I frequently stumble across the difference between what my heart tells me, and what the internet tells me is "correct".

The picture below is of an original oil painting. It is a 13.5" by 18" oil painting on canvas, by Filipino artist Andres Cristobal Cruz, dated 1968. It is a view across the verdant foliage of the Philippines, past some settlements in the distance, and on to the hills and mountains beyond.

Andres Cristobal Cruz, 1968

In person, it is a wonderfully colorful and vibrant painting, evocative of the scene it is intended to represent, and just all-around mesmerizing.

In the past couple of years, I have watched an awful lot of YouTube videos on art theory and instruction, technique, composition and every other conceivable aspect of painting. It's overwhelming at times, and thus under the conventional wisdom approach to this painting I would note the following:

• Rule of thirds is followed vertically, in general, with the sky being the top third and the land being the bottom two thirds. Rule of thirds on the horizontal plane is not followed at all.
• Composition is flawed, since the bright yellowy-orange patch in the middle of the painting draws the eye to almost the exact center of the canvas.
• Another compositional visual focus is the orangey-red-brown strip along the bottom edge of the painting. This draws the eye to the extreme edge of the painting, which is not what you want. You are always told to draw the eye inward to a specific point, and not outward, and thus potentially off the edge of the canvas.
• Atmospheric perspective would demand that the distance is rendered in lighter/duller washed-out colors. The blues and greens in the distance are just as vibrant as the foreground.
• Color harmony is important. Rich and vibrant viridian blue-greens don't mix easily with dull reddish olive greens, and so on.

So... Is this modest little painting good or not?

The internet art-advice conventional wisdom on learning to paint would probably say "not so much".

I've seen it in person. I know better. It breaks conventional wisdom rules, and it is magnificent.

But I'm biased, so what do I know...

All that being said, it reinforces the point that it is important to remember to stay true to what you want to paint, enjoy the process, and leave it to others to tell you whether what you have painted is good or bad. And then perhaps more importantly, pay absolutely no attention to what they say. As long as painting gives you joy.