39. Yellow Flowers on the Edge of Darkness, 18 x 12, digital photograph

Yellow Flowers on the Edge of Darkness by Bob Bickers, digital photograph

I read that the original Tron movie was excluded from consideration for an Academy Award for animation back in 1983 because any use of computers was considered by the Academy back then as "cheating", even though most of the movie itself was animated by hand.  Now we view computer-generated images (CGI) as an art form all it own, one that incorporates the skills and talents of hundreds of individuals during a major production.

Given that apparent shift in people's attitudes, I present you with the image at left.  Is it a painting?  Is it a photograph of a painting?  Is it "true" photography?

It is a computer-altered digital photograph made to resemble a painting.  Is it art?  It did take some effort to set up, photograph, and work out my vision on the computer.  It is not an accident or a random creation, like throwing paint at a canvas, but is the end result of an idea or image that first existed in my head and with some effort, was made into a form that could be seen and shared with everyone.  From that perspective, it clearly is art and I am the artist.   

Still, if I were take a brush and painted the exact image by hand instead of using a camera and computer, how would you feel about it?  It is obvious that while we may admire the technical and perhaps even the artistic skills of photographers, and to a lesser extent, computer geeks, we still have a prejudice for the painter who uses his own two hands to create a beautiful image. 

Perhaps it has something to do with the miracle of a person transforming blobs of mere pigment into something that can not only be recognizable, but even move the human heart.  In that sense, and as the late television artist Bill Alexander often said, being an artist is probably as close to being like God as mortals can ever come. Maybe.  And if that is true, then maybe all that comes with being an artist, the ability to acutely observe, see, appreciate and express all the beauty (and the ugliness) in the universe around us, maybe that is a unique and special quality in God that we all should seek in ourselves.  Click on the image to enlarge.

38. Snow Trails, 12 x 18, digital photograph

Snow Trails by Bob Bickers, digital photograph, 2009

This was the inspiration for the painting of the same name posted below.  Images like this make me want to go outside and paint all winter, or at least take my photos and run back to the studio to paint in warmth and comfort.  Taken in Export, Pennsylvania last January.   Click on image to enlarge.

37. Fallow Field, 12 x 18, digital photograph

Fallow Field by Bob Bickers, digital Photograph, 2010

Like the photograph in the previous post, this too is a digital photograph altered to resemble an oil painting.  This was taken in a field in Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.  I was originally drawn to the tangle of limbs and roots in the tree in the foreground, but later discovered the fascinating tree that appears in the center background of this image.

This photograph is also currently on display at the East Suburban Artists League's annual exhibit at the gallery at Penn State New Kensington, Pennsylvania through the end of December, 2010.  Take a look at it and other fine artwork while you are there.  Here is the article that appeared in the Valley News Dispatch on this show. Click on the image to enlarge.

36. Gold Vision, 12 x 16, digital photograph

Gold Vision, by Bob Bickers, digital photograph, 2010

This is one of my photographs I have altered to resemble an oil painting.  Since many have created paintings to resemble photographs, I though turnabout was fair play.  I am not really sure how I feel about the idea of altering a photograph in this manner, but I figure that as long as I am not trying to deceive anyone, there should be no problem.  Is it art?  Well, it looks good to me, and it didn't exist before I went to the trouble of making it, so I say yes, it is art, and maybe a sub-category of art from altered photographs, something that has been with us since cameras were first invented. What do you think?

This photograph is currently on display at the East Suburban Artists League's annual exhibit at the gallery at Penn State New Kensington, Pennsylvania through the end of December, 2010.  Take a look at it and other fine artwork while you are there.  Here is the article on the art show that appeared in the Valley News Dispatch.  Click on the image to enlarge.

35. Snow Trails, 16 x 20, oil on canvas, 2010

This painting is based on a photograph I took in January near Export, Pennsylvania, when I noticed trails left in the snow by cows wandering across the hillside.  The original is on display during the month of December, 2010 at The Gallery Space, located at the Monroeville, PA public library, and is available for sale.  It is part of an exhibition featuring the works of members of the East Suburban Artists League.  Click on image to enlarge.

On another note, I am completing my association with Michaels as a Grumbacher Certified Art Instructor at the end of 2010.  My last classes will be at the Monroeville and Greensburg stores on Saturday, December 18th.  It has been a pleasure being able to teach art classes once again and I look forward to doing something similar at some point in the future. The acrylic fine art program will go on and Grumbacher is presently looking for my replacement at these Michaels stores, so be sure to check with them to see if Acrylic Fine Art Classes are being offered at these locations after the first of the year.  Be sure to keep your brush wet and your mind open!