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Arts & crafts

I am a digital artist

(82 Posts)
Yongy Mon 27-May-24 18:52:26

I was never artistic at school when it came to using a paintbrush. However, when I got my first computer in the late 90s it came with a digital art package. My children encouraged me to give it a go, at first I was reluctant, but soon got the hang of it, three months later I was having and exhibition of my work, which is mainly abstract. People seem to like it and have been willing to pay for it. As one can send it by e-mail, it people all round the world, including some well known celebs have it. Although it is encouraging that people like it enough to buy it, I much prefer to create a picture for free just to make someone happy.

CanadianGran Tue 28-May-24 18:20:41

Greyduster, thank you for introducing Giles Davis to me! I hadn't heard of him before and googled his artwork. Fantastic!
How creative and painstaking his pictures are.

Funny, I was just allowing my granddaughter to start cutting up some of my stack of magazines. She was very reluctant; kept asking me if I was sure it was ok! Now that I have seen his work (and watched a video), it has fueled my creativity, and will plan another collage session with my GD.

Beechnut Tue 28-May-24 18:32:16

CanadianGran

Greyduster, thank you for introducing Giles Davis to me! I hadn't heard of him before and googled his artwork. Fantastic!
How creative and painstaking his pictures are.

Funny, I was just allowing my granddaughter to start cutting up some of my stack of magazines. She was very reluctant; kept asking me if I was sure it was ok! Now that I have seen his work (and watched a video), it has fueled my creativity, and will plan another collage session with my GD.

I’m in agreement.

Greyduster Tue 28-May-24 18:35:18

He had the original of Porthcurno Beach on display at an exhibition of Peak Diatrict Artisans at Chatsworth and it just blew me away.

NotSpaghetti Tue 28-May-24 21:35:33

We all made magazine collage art at Art School during my "pre-dip" days.
It was interesting and involved a lot of searching through them for just the right texture/shade etc. It was harder than it seemed.

I have done it since with children and in my sketchbook.

M0nica Wed 29-May-24 07:49:14

Many of the great artists of the medieval and Renaissance periods employed teams of lesser painters to paint the backgrounds and some of the detail of their paintings under their direction. Nobody suggests that the paintings are not theirs because they had a team of little helpers.

keepcalmandcavachon Wed 29-May-24 08:17:07

Art, like beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I very much would love to see a Giles Davis exhibition, his work is wonderous, thankyou Greyduster.

Luckygirl3 Wed 29-May-24 09:02:42

All the great artists embraced the new materials as they arose - pigments etc. - and we do not bat an eyelid at that. Digital art is the same. It is a new medium and it requires skill and practice to achieve good results.

I worked as a photographer and one strand of that career was producing "art" photos for exhibition. I was given an Arts Council grant to do this and my work (abstracts created from photographs) was exhibited in many places, and enjoyed by many.

I think we need to keep an open mind and actually find out what digitally altered/painted works look like. It is to easy to dismiss them because they are using modern media.

Lovetopaint037 Wed 29-May-24 10:57:08

David Hockney draws directly on his iPad which are enlarged for exhibition. The app he uses allows for different brushes,different types of paint, colours, layers et etc. His drawings are directly by hand using a special pen(stylus). In no way are they not art.

RosiesMaw Wed 29-May-24 11:01:48

Just because David Hockney has produced digital artworks (after a lifetime as a more “conventional” artist) does not elevate all digital art to the level of a Hockney!

M0nica Wed 29-May-24 15:15:13

Neither does drawing a picture on a piece of paper or painting on a canvas.

My digital art would certainly not be up to Hockney's standard, but neither would any sketch I drew or picture I painted. All would be the same quality but just using different media.

JamesandJon33 Sun 02-Jun-24 06:50:40

A drawing is hand and eye. Digital art has a computer between those two.

PamelaJ1 Sun 02-Jun-24 07:56:47

Can you delete a brush stroke on a digital painting?

Imarocker Sun 02-Jun-24 08:09:30

BlueBelle

Sorry but I only recognise pictures that are made by a person not a computer

Have you not seen the wonderful and uplifting paintings made by David Hockney on his iPad? The technology doesn’t do the work - the artist does.

NotSpaghetti Sun 02-Jun-24 08:38:36

Here is a link to Hockney - it shows his photo collages, iPhone, iPad, Computer, Film work etc.
Lots of work here:

www.hockney.com/works/

JamesandJon33 Sun 02-Jun-24 13:15:41

Imarocker. Hockney was a trained artist before he attempted digital work.. Went to art school etc. Probably has a phenomenal link between hand and eye.

Retread Mon 03-Jun-24 19:44:51

PamelaJ1

Can you delete a brush stroke on a digital painting?

Yes you can.

NotSpaghetti Mon 03-Jun-24 20:29:29

...but maybe not so easily if you don't just "undo" it and have lots of things "on top"?

OldFrill Tue 04-Jun-24 00:25:55

Giles Davis' work reminded me of Sean Hillen
seanhillen.com/

biglouis Tue 04-Jun-24 00:49:02

Some very old fashioned views on this thread!

A compuer is just another form of tool or medium. The skill is in using the tool. There are some highly skilled people working in digital arts.

Are you saying that the technicials and artists who create special effects for films are not skilled? The computer can do nothing sitting there by itself. It requires human input.

I used to sell on Etsy and there were some very skilled digttal artists there. This may be a surprising view from someone who sells antiques but I also love SciFi.

NotSpaghetti Tue 04-Jun-24 05:33:20

I agree biglouis.
Has anyone looked at, say, the Tate digital collection?
www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/digital-art

Mizuna Tue 04-Jun-24 07:11:13

Well said biglouis.

Aveline Tue 04-Jun-24 08:28:49

Art is in the eye of the beholder.

Yongy Tue 04-Jun-24 08:34:20

Aldom

BlueBelle your response tells me that you have no knowledge or experience of Digital Art. Perhaps you should do some research before condemning this art form.

It is quite clear BlueBelle doesn't understand the digital art form

Maggiemaybe Tue 04-Jun-24 09:29:05

JamesandJon33

Like others have said I believe real art is hand and eye
Not a computer. Sorry but I had a five year art education.

And so did many, if not most, digital artists.

Greyduster Tue 04-Jun-24 10:10:33

“ Sorry but I had a five year art education”.
One of my favourite local artists studied for around the same length of time and produces both traditional paintings and the most stunning digital works. Here’s what she has to say about it.

“I discovered what a great drawing tool my PC was. I really love the way layers of translucent blocks of colour can build up an image.

“My passion for making images this way combined with a rekindling of my previous love of painting in oils on canvas and I really enjoy exploring both old and new technology in the development of my work. I often use an iPad as a portable sketchbook as well as using photographic references.”

It doesn’t do to be blinkered about any artistic media.