So here’s a thought and a question that’s been going around my head. Over the last 30 days in my sketch a day challenge I have probably moved more towards realism in some regard, obviously a long way to go 
but is realism drawing art? What is art? Is Drawing something that looks real art in and of itself?
What do you think?
I think that realism is a style of drawing, and it is indeed art. However, realism doesn’t necessarily mean perfection. Your realistic rendition of a piece will come out different than another artist. Both of your outcomes may still look EXTREMELY REAL, but if you compare your pieces, you’ll probably spot differences. After all, realism is us replicating the world that Jesus has created as we see it. So, the way you perceive objects, how you hold your tools, where you start at on the page, these all influence how your piece will turn out, and ultimately, defines your style. That said, realism is not the only kind of art. I speak from experience, as most of my art lies within the cartoon-ish category, and there are SO many styles in that genre alone. In my opinion, there’s no “right” or “wrong” way to draw. As long as you persist and are passionate about art, you’re going to go places! That’s my two cents… 
To me art is everything that is created by the artists. Everyone has there style and that is how they come up with impressionism, realistic, stylistic, drawing pointillism.and so forth. It is all art.
Art is not something that can be defined one time and that is it, Art is a moving target. Art is defined and accepted as art by the culture it is produced in and the times at which it was produced and not at all by the artist. An example is Van Gough, at the time it was not accepted and was crap but today it is art and accepted. Society changed.
In general, an artist does not change art but merely reflects what the current culture is ready to accept. However what was produced in the past as crap may be accepted today or tomorrow. Specific artist may provide a pivotal influence in the direction of art and be recognized for it but it was not the artist changing art but society’s acceptance of it as art. Culture changes as time goes by and art adjusts. Art may be ephemeral, or it may last a long time. But it is never defined fully.