HOW I MAKE MY ART

Generally I begin my art by making several drawings in pencil or ink (lining them up using tracing paper and a light board so that they fit together), and then I scan them into the computer. Sometimes I also scan in abstract watercolor paintings, fabric, leaves, or other things with textures or colors I like. Digitally I pile up my drawings and paintings, add and adjust colors and manipulate the way the layers interact.

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THE PIECES THAT MAKE "EARLY SPRING"

THE FINAL IMAGE

WHY I DO IT THAT WAY

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I've never been able to decide what medium I like best: I love the lines of an ink pen, but miss the color; love the colors of acrylic paints and watercolors, but miss the detailed lines; love the unpredictability of mixing watercolors, but don't have the technique to make them do what I want; love the solid blocks of color in screen printing, but lack the patience to make the screens.

I first considered using the computer to make art in a digital illustration class in college. I'd never liked "digital art"- it was too flat and emotionless.* However, I discovered that if I scanned drawings into the computer, I could use it to add colors -- essentially make a mash-up between the detailed lines of a line drawing and the blocks of color in a screen print. I've been working off that basic concept ever since. 

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*Note: that these days I'm amazed by what people can do purely digitally, but there wasn't much to see then