JPetty wrote:
Top notch as always. You set the bar for excellence in digital work!!!
Not to besmirch Brad Buttry (sorry Brad)... but the bar for excellence in digital work
should include thought provoking images and content, don't you think?
Excellence in art should transcend technique, imo.
Can't help but agree, Cheryl. But it's a new business, this painting-on-a-photo, and all we can hope for is technique. Artistry and vision will come with time.
Oyster wrote:
Can't help but agree, Cheryl. But it's a new business, this painting-on-a-photo, and all we can hope for is technique. Artistry and vision will come with time.
Thanks for commenting (and agreeing) Oyster, but I beg to differ. There is artistry and vision happenning in the digital art world right now... not all is painting-on-a photo such as this. Take my work for instance (modesty aside)... all painted to a blank 'canvas'. Or Jordan Dill's work.. brimming with serious, meaningful content and direction; far, far beyond this painting-on-a photo business (commerce).
There is excellence in digital art right now, this is the time. Some of us are working very hard to bring digital painting to the next level, to paint with meaning and garner respect in the art world, to have a voice as artists in our chosen (and contoversial) medium.
The glut of photo-to-portrait art is hindering this progress... that is what the vast majority (non digital artists and gallery owners) think of when digital painting is mentioned. Take a look beyond the pale... there is much more going on out there. The bar for excellence has already been set much higher.
And aren't we absolutely glad that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and that art, photography, and opinions are completely subjective.
Thanks for your input. I stand by my earlier statements. You are entitled to stand by your opinions as well. After all, wouldn't the world be a terribly bland place if everyone thought and acted exactly the same.?
Cheryl, I can't find any of Jordan Dill's work on the web; there's a commentator on Indian matters with that name, but no images. If you can provide a link (and another to your own work), I'd be obliged. And JPetty, if you can't see an absolute difference between, say, a movie like *Rage of the Vampire Coeds* and *The Seventh Seal*, you have my sympathy.
JPetty wrote:
And aren't we absolutely glad that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and that art, photography, and opinions are completely subjective.
Thanks for your input. I stand by my earlier statements. You are entitled to stand by your opinions as well. After all, wouldn't the world be a terribly bland place if everyone thought and acted exactly the same.?
Hi JPetty...Oh, yes... variety is the spice of life.. and my words are just that..my opinion.
Oyster.. Jordan and I both have work in this Digital Art sub forum, just outside this thread.
Brad:
I think your work is really great. I am definitely going to check out your tutorials as I'd be thrilled if my images turned out this nice. Both technically and artistically you've really done fantastic work.
Thanks for posting this image.
Thanks for the kind words. I believe art is really a subjective thing. My clients simply love the canvas prints I create. They make wonderful virtual oil prints in their homes. Also, I embellish my work with actual oils and acrylics to add a real feel to them.
cbliss wrote:
The glut of photo-to-portrait art is hindering this progress... that is what the vast majority (non digital artists and gallery owners) think of when digital painting is mentioned. Take a look beyond the pale... there is much more going on out there. The bar for excellence has already been set much higher.
Cheryl
I agree 100%; the photo-to-portrait process is so dominant on this forum that it occludes the sorts of innovative artistry that this forum would really benefit from. A visit to ConceptArt.org would really open people's eyes to what is possible in the digital medium. Not knocking Brad's work per sé, as I find his work to be a strong example of the technique, but it wouldn't get a lot of attention at conceptart. Of course, ConceptArt is not a paying client, so I can understand the commercial compulsion motivating this sort of work. Moreover, this is a photography forum primarily, so perhaps the audience is unusually receptive to this sort of thing (by contrast, for all the raw talent floating around ConceptArt, the photography section is just awful).
I would really like to see some digital content creators on here. By creator, I mean people that are doing more than converting an existing photograph to a painting, but people who are adding, creating, or compositing multiple elements in an interesting, unexpected, and transformative way. We have a handful (Jordan), and even more that we've lost (Rob Chang is one person I miss...).
As an artist, raised by an artist, I agree that art is definitely in the eye of the beholder, or the brush of the artist, as the case may be.
I recognize the "art" of Dill, but I don't like it. That is my personal opinion.
I think that may be why I chose the camera as my art medium; I like things to be recognizable! I'm not into the mystic and imaginary and weird.
Just my opinion.
And I do like Brad's beautiful work of art.
With regard to the merging of photography and painting, the genie is out of the bottle! Digital tools have leveled the playing field—media that were once mutually exclusive now co-mingle effortlessly.
Both hand-created and photo-interpreted art are here to stay—and evolve. Who knows what path expressive hand-created art will take with the addition of photographic imagery as another "color" in its palette?
I'd venture to guess that if we could glimpse into the future, we would probably not recognize the directions and forms visual artistic expression will have taken.
In terms of digital art, we're still scratching on the cave wall—albeit a nice digital one!
Very cool. I do the same thing. I originally added oils and it worked great. I changed to a new print provider and his canvas/ink combination makes the oil dry up and not flow nicely. I tried acrylics and they work great. I liked the look and ease of use and blending with the oils but the drying time was painfully slow. The acrylics take a bit more work to get a nice look. I am blending the acrylics with a semi-gloss gel to add texture and protection. I'd enjoy hearing about what you have discovered to work.
A few words about the Virtual Oil technique on the DVD tutorials -- I am a graphic artist with 23 years of professional experience. When I created the DVDs, I created them specifically for photographers looking for a simplified way to convert their digital prints into virtual oil paintings because many of them saw a real opportunity to create a niche in their market with the virtual oils. So, they are just that. That's why photographers and artists alike love the effect created with the tutorials.
