... so the reason why this painter is 'not an artist' is because when he describes his journey in prose, he doesn't sound sufficiently woeful and depressed? If the tone of the article had focused more on the downsides and the setbacks, blowing them up out of proportion, his painting would have more meaning?
Getting good sucks. It sucks, a lot.
An anecdote I remember reading of the lives of famous musicians:
"[A fan] once came up to Fritz Kreisler after one of his concerts and said to him, “I’d give my life to play as beautifully as you do.” To which Kreisler replied, “I did.”
Positive spin might feel nice to read in a blog post, but I don't think it reflect the reality of the endeavor.
Also I agree with you, just replying here for, whatever.