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I'm a professional muralist and while my spelling may be imperfect when I'm having fun on FR, everything that goes into my murals' preliminary sketches is checked and triple-checked before I accept a dime- it's easier to deal with errors early than it is to touch up later. That goes for spelling, historical accuracy, correct breeding plumage of any birds for the season of the year depicted, correct plants species for the locale or time period depicted, proper markings on vehicles aircraft for the era, etc. When in doubt the work is shown to three or more people who are reasonable authorities on the subject to get their opinion, and of course the client has the final input. That's BEFORE anything goes on the wall, and while it's actually being painted. And if something that should be obvious does slip past us all, I will correct it at my expense without making snotty artist excuses, though I'm not obligated to do so if the client has signed off on it.

Doesn't that artist know diddly squat about good customer relations? The old adage "Measure twice, cut once?" Sometimes even if it isn't your fault it's better to just fix it so the client will be happy and will direct more business your way. At least if they're happy they are less likely to drag your name through the mud. I did one porta-mural to the size the museum requested and then later found out they had just guessed the dimensions instead of getting in and actually making sure it was correct to the half inch. The thing ended up being two feet longer than the wall. My lesson? Never trust just the client's measurements. Always double check. And always double check your own!

There have been occasions where I have had to do things incorrectly because the client didn't care or didn't know as much about the topic as they think they do and insisted on something that was historically inaccurate- or they changed something to make it PC, but in that case I make sure they sign for it if I cannot persuade them and then usually won't sign my name to the work when I'm done if it is a big thing I'd be embarassed by. They don't notice that it's not signed and that's OK with me.

I guess I didn't get the memo that I wasn't accountable because I'm an artist.

The mistakes wouldn't even register with a true artisan, Alquilar said.

What an arrogant snot Alquilar is, blaming it on everyone else.

That goes for spelling, historical accuracy, correct breeding plumage of any birds for the season of the year depicted, correct plants species for the locale or time period depicted, proper markings on vehicles aircraft for the era, etc.

Thank you.

Parrots show up in a lot of artwork, including advertisements, and one of my pet peeves is that nine times out of ten they're depicted with "chicken feet" -- three toes forward, one toe back. I see this even in artwork which is otherwise accurate as to anatomy and plumage.

Unfortunately, all birds in the parrot family are zygodactyl -- their feet have two toes (the first and fourth) facing forward and two toes (second and third) facing backwards. Woodpeckers have feet configured the same way.

All the following are wrong:

What's so annoying about her reaction is her comment that the names were merely signposts meant to inspire conversation so it didn't matter if they spelled incorrectly.

That is the epitome of why so many people dislike most modern art. When the artist is told their work is pure crap, their reaction is: well, it doesn't matter if it's good or not, as long as we're talking about it.

WRONG!! If you are trying to convey a message and in that message you attempt to paint a flower to serve as a symbol but it looks like a firecracker that has gone off, then the artist must assume his message has not been communicated. And the audience can never trust what they believe to be the artist's message...until the artist proves they have control over the medium. Words are part of the communication medium she chose. Spelling is important and is one of the foundations upon which artist/writer-audience trust is built.

Tom Wolfe in "The Painted Word" couldn't have been more correct.