For the past 6 years I have worked on my art in a more professional manner. Professional meaning basically I am selling now, instead of creating to create. In those years I have had to also endure and work with the agonizing accusations of not being accepted into the traditional world of art. So many people would say to me "yeah, I can play with a computer too" and it would hurt deeper than my first tattoo. It is a pain beyond physical, but more on my esteem of who I am. If Picasso, Rembrandt, Monet, and Van Gogh played with a brush...what is so wrong about my play with a mouse? Is it really play? Is it that easy to do? I sat with myself for months at a time wondering if what I was doing, was really art? Well, six years later I can stand up for myself now and say...YES IT IS ART!

In my opinion, I think most people fall into that "fear of the unknown" syndrome. Not to mention fraudulent people out there that take a photograph, add a watercolor filter in Photoshop or Jasc, and then say "Original Watercolor". But more I feel is the fear. Maybe even a fear of change and evolvement towards a more technical world. A digital artist does not just mean playing with one filter in a program and calling it a day. I think that is where the biggest misconception comes to play with most. Speaking for myself, I generally use 7 different software programs at the same time during my editing stage. That stage can take anywhere from an hour to a month depending on the complexity of the piece. I have done pieces in under an hour, and that was only because I had "seen" it. It was mentally there in my mind; I simply had to recreate it on a screen. Being as fluent as I am with all of my software, I have been able to have a turnaround of 30 minutes with some pieces. But, you are talking 6 years of using these programs between 12-16 hours a day, seven days a week, WITH NO FORMAL EDUCATION I may dare to add, so imagine the possibilities if I was trained!

Another aspect people don't realize, in my opinion, is the various forms of digital art. Just as there are various forms of brushes to produce different stroke results. Or various media to mix with your paints to produce different textures. Digital artists have various methods and forms as well. To name a couple: Photo Manipulation, Fractals, 3D Computer Generated Models, Photo Collages, Digital Animations and the list can go on. We have so many sub categories, that it can take days to just name them all. And by that time, there will be a new category added to the list. Do you realize that Fractal Art is created by Mathematical Logic Formulas, which has become easier by ways of computer software? Being able to recognize each and every different form is a task. It is a full education just to learn all the labels of sub categories before beginning to understand what they all mean. But, if you take the time, I can promise you it is worth it. Maybe you might look at another piece of digital art in a different light.

Digital art can be amazingly intricate. Not to say that traditional art is not intricate. If it wasn't for traditional work, I would not be or have had an interest in art. It is my history that has built my future. History of the true masters, true thinkers, true talent, which has helped me find my strong points in art. My strength of being able to see an image in my mind and recreate it on a screen with a mouse and various software. Just as a painter can see his/her piece in his/her mind and pick up that brush, dip it into paint and recreate it on a canvas. We have value...not just monetary, but value of the passion in each of us, that creates with what we are true in, no matter by brush or by mouse.

So...are we artists too?

Absolutely!

Tina M Maravelis, Digital Artist/Photographer

Please browse our many digital artists in the EBSQ Digital Gallery.