The "Painter" metaphor just doesn't work for me because there is a difference between "art" and "craft". The sound
engineer is a craftsman (IMO of course)
Ah, then this is where we differ. In my experience, the audio engineer ends up an artist whether he wants to admit it or not. Making a record of audio events is like a group art project, with every person adding his or her own personal touch and style on it--whether or not they are claiming to try and avoid this.
You are correct, though, with your points on distortion. As sounds exist within the atmostphere, which is constantly changing, it is never really the same twice. So your points are quite valid. I should ammend myself to say "your hifi is a giant heap of distortion that passes on more distortion, some of it pleasing to the ear and some not; it's up to you whether or not you want to add what I consider to be superflous amounts of the displeasing stuff."
Now I see why we are posting!