When an artist creates a piece of art, he or she usually has some sort of plan for how the piece will turn out. Often times however, the piece will come out differently than imagined. This piece could then turn out to be a masterpiece, a work of art that has endured and been regarded as an excellent piece of art, in the eye of the critic, and the artist would receive praise for creating a masterpiece even though the end result was not what was planned. An artist's intention in is not always seen in the final piece, but still plays a factor in starting creation, and beauty in art is defined on an individual basis, therefore it is independent of intention.
In "The Accidental Masterpiece On the Art of Life and Vice Versa, " Michael Kimmelman tells the story of Bob Ross, a painter who hosted the TV show The Joy of Painting. Ross instructed his viewers on how to paint with the motto that "you may feel hemmed in by work or by family, but before and easel you are your own master. "1 Kimmelman says Ross touched on a basic reason for making art, "to have a place to indulge your id and comfort your ego, an area of authority, where perhaps, secondarily, with luck and a little effort, you might make something good enough to have on the wall or show to strangers. "2 This belief was central to the chapter that anyone can make a masterpiece, and it can be unintentional. The viewer at home has the intention to have fun and just create a work of art that according to Ross' directions, and as an amateur they are not likely to replicate what Ross painted. However the end result, which could look nothing like Ross said it would, could still be a beautiful and exceptional piece of art; an "accidental masterpiece. " .
An amateur photographer can take a picture without any intention of it becoming a famous snapshot. Kimmelman explains "Sometimes art works that way. It appears unexpectedly. It doesn't arrive through the front door.