There’s been a lot of noise lately—some of it oddly beige—about Ralph Rumpelton’s alleged overreach in comparing his digital output to the emotional intensity of Van Gogh. The outrage, largely centered around Gerald Thimbleton’s piece in Beige Canvas Quarterly, reads less like criticism and more like a defensive reflex from a man who’s never opened MS Paint without calling tech support.
Let’s be clear: no one is claiming Rumpelton is Van Gogh. What’s being said—boldly, and with full digital swagger—is that the emotional gesture, the raw intuition, the act of seeing through one’s own fractured lens still matters, no matter the medium. Van Gogh had brushes. Rumpelton has a mouse and time to kill. Both made it count.
To dismiss MS Paint as a lesser form is to misunderstand art itself. Were cave paintings in Lascaux invalid because they lacked proper canvas and oil pigment? Should we disqualify a punk band because they didn’t go to Juilliard? The soul doesn’t care about format. It cares about force. And Rumpelton has force in spades—often jagged, always honest.
So yes, maybe Rumpelton is the barefoot cousin at the family reunion. But if Van Gogh could see his work, he wouldn’t be insulted. He’d nod, take a drag of something smuggled, and say, “You kept it real.”
Follow Rumpelton across the multiverse:
Facebook From The Mind Of Me Ralph Rumpelton – “Painting What the Earth Can’t Comprehend” RalphRumpelton User Profile | DeviantArt The Rumpelton Continuity (aka Zapple100’s Grumblings) Instagram Ralph Rumpelton | Substack
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