The brave new world of digital art is somewhat divisive amongst those of us who endeavour to paint and draw with the good old-fashioned pencils, paint, and brushes and it has come under a lot of speculation and criticism as to whether or not it is a valid form of image-making or not.
With the dizzying array of creative software that can transform the simple phone snapshot into what looks like a poor impression of hand-rendered art with a few clicks of a mouse, it is little wonder that the wider digital art-creating community is under suspicion as to if what they are doing can be considered 'real' or not.
Having come from the old school of trial and error (mainly the latter) of chucking copious amounts of paint onto canvas and pushing it around until it starts to look like something valid and feeling every bit of the frustration that creates, I was also in the camp of the skeptic whenever I heard the term 'digital' applied to anything to do with art.
But thankfully, not anymore! I am a fully converted artist of the digital age as I know from extensive experience that creating works with a tablet and pen is every bit as challenging, heartbreaking, and elating as traditional painting and drawing but just without the need for a studio or designated area, the expense of the materials, or the strong smells! ...which apart from anything else, has got to be better for the environment.
I can literally paint whilst sitting on the sofa, watching Netflix with a glass of wine...dog and husband right next to me.
What's not to love!?
These three works will hopefully demonstrate what can be achieved.
Enjoy.
