Is a Golden Retriever Portrait Art?

Stick around while I rant about art. At the end you get to watch a nice video of me creating a portrait of a Golden Retriever.

I got into an argument a few weeks ago after posting one of my digital paintings online. An artist who works solely in traditional media told me my work wasn't really painting.

He implied I just fill in areas with color like a kid with a coloring book.

A bit of an asshole about it, he didn't care about my views. Sadly, I wasted a couple hours of my life trying to convince him of the validity of my artwork. To no avail.

These arguments pop up every so often.

I can understand how insecure traditional artists see new methods of creating art as a threat.

They have no cause to worry. The truth is that traditional media will always have value because they are "one of a kind" works. Whereas digital painting can be reproduced in unlimited quantities, making the final form more of a "print" than a painting.

Does that mean digital art as I create it is not "painting"?

It's true that a digital painting doesn't exist beyond bits and pixels on a screen until it is printed. But the act of creating it is, in my view, definitely a form of painting. Instead of a canvas there is a monitor. In place of the brush there is a stylus. And instead of physical paints I use light.

In the end I don't really care what artistic snobs think of my work. I paint digitally for my own pleasure and that of my customers. They have the final say. And they've been unanimous in their appreciation and enjoyment of their portraits.

But don't take my word for it. Watch the video below (it's only three and a half minutes) and decide for yourself if what you see is anything other than painting.

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