Digital Art Versus Paints & Brushes

What is Art?

Dictionary definitions include, "creativity, skill and craft". "A process using materials to express concept, form and creativity." The materials (or media) can be anything.

For centuries, artists experimented with new materials and methods to create their art forms. Often criticized at first, new medias were eventually accepted as legitimate. Picasso′s famous "junk yard" sculptures would certainly have been scorned by critics a century earlier. Painting with acrylics was even considered cheating at first. Fast drying acrylics allow the building of paint layers in a fraction of the time it could be done with oils.

The New Media.

New medias give artists an opportunity to experiment and discover new ways to express their creativity and skill. Just like all pioneers, digital artists are struggling for legitimacy. A computer is just a tool. It offers no skill, craft or creativity. Anyone can buy a computer and create images- just as anyone can buy paints and brushes, or for that matter, a camera. The media is not the art. Legitimate art comes only from the creative mind of an artist.

A Digital Advantage.

Unlike the tangibility of a canvas, digital creations reside in a virtual world only accessible with a computer. A fine art printer is the only way to give art a real surface that can be framed and brought into galleries and homes. Ron Bomba′s current and recent work is created digitally.

Art is for all people to experience.

Hoarding a one-of-a-kind painting in a New York penthouse does the artist a disservice, where as several copies can be experienced by many. Some collectors may not agree, having more interest in art's monetary value than its aesthetics. True artists really want their work to be seen and shared much more than the money it may be worth.