An article came across the news wires the other day about the growth of digital art, it’s acceptance, and growing prices. Thomas Kostigen writes:
But the agent of change may be the product of change itself: Virtual art is becoming big business, with artworks created online fetching thousands of dollars, and pixel space selling for millions.
You can find the article here. I am not going to comment on the merits of this form of art, but rather answer a question many of my friends have often asked me.
First a little background. For years I worked in the computer industry, starting around 1969 when the only computers were huge mainframes tucked away in large corporate vaults processing vast amounts of data. In the early 90’s, I started my own company and we made Macintosh and PC/Windows software. All those years I painted on the side. So the question leads to:
“Why don’t you do digital or computer art? It would be so natural since you are a computer guy”
Yes, it might be natural, but I need balance! Everyone needs or should have balance in their life! I worked so many years in the “virtual world”, aka typing on a keyboard, that working with something tactile was always an outlet. Producing old and traditional paintings was a counterpoint to producing new and cutting edge software. The local newspaper wrote an article about me several years ago and entitled it “From High Tech to High Touch”. They nailed it just right! You can read the entire article here.
Another case in point is my Harley-Davidson motorcycle which I purchased after retiring from the computer business some years ago. It has been lots of fun just getting my hands greasy changing the oil, doing maintenance, etc.
Well, I always like to include some form of graphic in my blog entries, so here is another miniature of Yosemite in the series I am currently working on.
