FACING THE TRUTH

www.erinthomas.org

MERGING TRADITIONAL ART & DIGITAL ART

a digital mock up showcasing a printed version of "Facing The Truth" in a gallery space

I recently made a conscious decision to marry my varied artistic skills, mediums and ideas into one new process that implements a more seamless work flow, improving the confines of my small studio space and fully utilizing the resources that I currently have at my disposal.  

This new process allows me more room for experimentation with color, form and pattern and far more freedom for out of the box thinking that will hopefully open up new and progressive solutions for showcasing the finished work in the upcoming years.
With these techniques, I can work out the kinks and solve the problems before wasting materials or money by test-producing the final work as well as try different ideas with minimal interruption and mess.

Facing The Truth - from sketchbook

I started with a scan of a small pen drawing from my sketchbook that was originally created as an idea for a large mural on the side of a building.
I "painted" the image digitally as a vector in Adobe Illustrator CS6, which takes about the same amount of time to complete as a traditional painting on canvas.  

A vector file will allow the image to be reproduced and scaled easily as well as allow reproduction of almost any size, only to be held back by the limits of costs, equipment or human ingenuity.
This new exploration gave me a fresh approach to creating images while preserving that embedded ideology I hold so dearly with no loss of that signature stroke that should be present in any artists final work.

​I spent some time pondering if art purists or my recent collectors would be offended by a painter changing it up and utilizing tech and digital tools to create art after years of traditional materials, only to realize I've never quite been a puritan when it comes to art or problem solving 

Facing The Truth - Final vector created in AI CS6

anyway.  Image creation is always a problem to solve, and I remind myself of how many tools the artists used during the renaissance years.  The things that do meaningfully plague me during the creative process are of a more cognitive nature, rather than material, like making an effort to not have an identifiable culture or skin tone present in the finished work…. or questioning myself as to why the faces appear more feminine in the first sketch… (I near resolved the desired androgyny in the final work)

To me, right now, a meaningful and important work of art has little to do with the medium, and much to do with the message, and how that message can be successfully delivered and shared with many.

a digital mock up of what a "Facing The Truth" mural could potentially look like finished on brick

Utilizing the final digital file I am able to visualize how my final work can be produced and shown in many ways to further edit the final vision down to it's core, allowing me a more focused approach as an artist, and potentially a broader, and more appropriate market.

The ultimate wish for this particular work, "Facing The Truth" is to present it in a public forum as public art in a very large format, so it's not only viewed by gallery goers, but can be enjoyed and pondered by purists and art haters alike.  The digital format not only allows me the tools for the presentation needed to showcase those possibilities to potential supporters, patrons and galleries, but also afforded me the opportunity to offer prints of my work in progress in real-time to my online supporters, through partner sites, like Society6.  Although it may not be viewed as "pure" or "traditional art" it still exists from the heart and soul, and will also be a limited resource and option offered to collectors.