"Creation Process" is an exploration of the artistic process in the digital age.  The juxtaposition of layers of artist's mark with technical precision, computer work and classical painting invites an examination of the artistic process. What is the artist’s mark when computers are involved?  Where is the touch and spirit of the artist in such work? What is a copy, an original, an interpretation? 

This particular piece began with a rough sketch of a Reubens painting (Leda and the Swan) where I focused entirely on the composition and contrast. My interpretation of that technically detailed work created a different work entirely- one I felt was powerful enough to become more.  It kept coming back to me that the piece needed to be larger, and almost a year later, an idea formed.  I then scanned the image (a  2”x 3” sketchbook study) into a computer to enlarge the size.  I could have printed it onto the canvas in such a way as to hide to the digitalization, but because it is the process that is interesting I decided to highlight it, assigning different levels of pixelization to different parts of the sketch- effectively using the computer as another drawing tool.

After some initial tests and mock-ups, I printed this file onto canvas and began to paint. Once again I developed some areas of the painting more than others, leaving some parts transparent to maintain that the hand is a painting and not the illusion of an object within the piece.  Although I use many layers and classical painting techniques, I also kept the mark visible to maintain the look of paint and to integrate it into the print.  The piece was generated from a cycle of processes- going from Renaissance painting, to rough sketch, to digital file, to print and then back into painting.  The result is an integrated spectrum of rough and natural to technical and meticulous.  

The investigation of these elements is the focus of the piece- the process of artistic creation. The hand is a symbol of that creation at work, the smoke a residue of those fires. How the individual viewer interprets those elements, and how they choose to see that interaction, I leave to them.