Ends are also beginnings

(Photoshop=PS, Painter X=PX)
As the 'Technology and Art' class draws to a close I hope that Art will continue on. That all of us find the time and inspiration to continue to learn and create. Time is always the biggest problem. Though this is my second time taking essentially the same course I never felt that I was wasting my time. From each class I seemed to pick up something new or get reminded of things that I had not mastered the first time.

I am improving my abilities to use both PS and PX on works and sometimes go back and forth. I find that PS is excellent for doing preliminary work with photos, cropping, light dark adjustments, transforms, and selections. After these processes, PX is a powerful fine- art tool box which I have barely opened. I mostly keep going for pastel brushes so far.

I have been using my cheap home scanner for getting sketches digitized so that I can work with them in both PS and PX. The quality of the scan hardly matters since I merely want a rough layout sketch that I can work over.

Like anything sophisticated, PS and PX will require practice to increase abilities and to learn to work fluidly which is something I now struggle with. When using real materials it is satisfying to work very rapidly when in the mood. The technology is still often a stumbling block in this. I know practice will be the solution.

I will keep a look-out for ideas and will try to make something of them. This will be a means of getting my practice time in. Though digital projects are fun in their own right, and I will find many uses for these skills, I am still thinking that ultimately I want to use this technology to do studies for creating tangible paintings; half paint, half sweat with occasional finger prints. Elements the virtual creations lack. Perhaps these are romantic notions I will out- grow and I will ultimately become a digital artist. These are thoughts I struggle with. Working digitally is easier to set- up to work, the work can go faster, it is far less messy, it is far more flexible-if only my real paint brush had an undo button!

I would love to think of a way to earn some income using art; perhaps a second career. Real painting is probably not a way to do that, especially with my bent for abstraction which is not marketable. Clearly digital art technology is the fast road to commercial art applications.

As a part of my ongoing art practice I am thinking I will continue to make entries into this blog. It makes a useful reservoir of efforts including exercises with new techniques and tools. My notes are helpful reminders to myself and may be useful to others. It is also fun to have interested friends look at the site.