NEW STUFF

I reckon if Beethoven were alive today he’d be very digital: cochlear implants and MP3 buds jammed in his ears. He’d compose wonderful symphonies on his laptop and chat to his agent on a mobile phone.

I also reckon it’s reasonably self evident that, at this point in time, the artist’s traditional tools have been made obsolete by digital tools - in exactly the same way the horse drawn carriage was made obsolete by the automobile. Sure, some folk prefer the old ways but grinding pigment went out the window when some bloke figured out how to stuff paint into a tube…likewise animal and vegetable glues have been replaced by synthetic glues…and linseed and poppy oils have been replaced by PVA and PVC…and so it goes…

To hell with all the purist’s nonsense, artists have always used available technology - Leonardo used a camera obscura, Degas used photography - in the final analysis art is about what you do, not about how you do it

In November 2006, I hung up my paintbrush forever to play with the new stuff.

Learn more about the technical stuff and provenance.