When asked to identify our favourite artist of all time, painters generally are as diverse in their choice as they are in their individual styles. As an art instructor, in a "get acquainted" questionnaire I often use with my eighth grade students, I ask the same question. The results are both surprising and at the same time, depressingly mundane. Below are listed the top ten favourite artists of the baggy-jeans set:

10. Gilbert Stuart

9. Grant Wood

8. Pablo Picasso

7. Charles Schultz

6. Mr. Jennings (their elementary art teacher)

5. Norman Rockwell

4. Jim Lane (from those who know which side their bread is buttered on).

3. Jim Davis

2. Michelangelo

1. Leonardo da Vinci

The moral to this story seems to be a disturbing lack of depth in teaching art history coupled with a penchant for comic strips involving funny friends and furry friends. Beyond that, it would seem to hint at a broader truth: It would seem we don't know what we like; we merely like what we know.