Well, all I can say is 1) thanks for calling me brilliant, 🙂 and 2) yes, it is political. I've had similar problems here. Usually, when I post in a threat in the discussion section, the "main" members simply ignore it, moving right on to answer the last "main" member who posted. It's irritating. That's one of the reasons I stopped posting my stories here: I prefer to put them out under my own terms, and not just have the posts slip off the page in a day or two.
As for judging talent, we obviously don't agree completely. Yes, there is objective quality that goes beyond personal taste. I do, however, feel that ranking is not possible among the best. I mean, I'm not going to say Vermeer is a "better" artist than Rubens, just because I happen to like Vermeer better... if you see my point.
As for your own art, I agree, you are growing, and quickly. I was just looking yesterday at the picture you posted early on in your group, of the babysitter tied up with the kids about to tickle her feet. I still love that one, actually, but its illuminating to compare it to your latest drawing. Your work had quality then, but you've gotten much, much more sophisticated since. I actually think the feet in your newest pic are the best example. You've never drawn the feet with such naturalistic, convincing detail before. It's very impressive.
And no, silence never helps. Unfortunately, I don't think it's going to change much. Your friends will always tell you they admire your work. Hopefully, new people will continue to crop up who do so. But the "established" members probably won't. All I can advise is, don't let the neglect of people whose opinions you needn't value anyway affect you so much. I know I've said that before, and you've said that such platitudes aren't good enough... I know they're not, but they're kind of all there is.
Oh, one other thing. You said that people should appreciate the artistic quality of your work, even if they don't like the theme. Yes, ideally they should. Unfortunately, most people are here for one thing and one thing only: instant gratification of desire. They aren't interested in pausing to admire artistic quality. Sad, but true.
