Rocket Science # 1 - Painting

It was very clear to me as a young child that I liked to paint and make things with my hands. I became serious about making fine art during high school and have continued to the present. Since 1970 I have been painting and sculpting with presentations in one man and two person group exhibitions. I began my involvement with the computer, exploring Auto Cad in 1991. I immediately realized that although it was a very powerful tool, it lacked the freedom and expansive ability to work with not only photographs, 3D digital objects, but also to simply paint in the virtual realm, which was my main calling since finger painting as a child. I am currently working with the application Paint Book on an Apple iPad as my anchor program, coupled with Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. Working on the iPad offers me total freedom to work almost anywhere. The images can also be modified instantly and enlarged to any size, even huge, maintaining all sharp edges with no degradation. My style has changed to reflect a similar appearance as I worked in the late 60's. I find it an overwhelming challenge to comprehend and keep up with our software, hardware and worldwide communication upgrades. It is wonderful and yet amazing how we are constantly challenged to import and store more data into our minds. If I can keep up with one tenth of one percent of all these developments, I feel fortunate. I have also started to work with oils, acrylics or watercolors again after about 25 years. I must say that the computer has changed my life in a very profound and positive way. Even though the paints are appealing and a normal reflection of the old days before I learned about digital exploration, I prefer the digital. The new tools are also far more sophisticated than anything I have ever worked with and allow me to produce a far superior and varied array of art work. I do plan to set up a new painting studio in the future. There is something important about that process as well. The paint is actually wet, tactile and the product has physical properties unlike anything possible with the computer. So for me, it all boils down to the fact that it all matters and makes a difference. The most important thing is to make it, regardless of what it looks like. The act in itself is the part that counts. It makes life worthwhile and keeps me sharp.