Artist Profile
I am currently studying for a Masters Degree (MSc) in Psychology at the Open University. I usually complete a module and then take a break for a few months to pursue my art (which I find just as intellectually demanding).The name of 'Qualia' for this website does have a special meaning. It is a philosophical term describing the subjective quality of conscious experience or perception, such the pain of a headache, the taste of wine, or the redness of an evening sky. It can be described simply as 'the ways things seem to us'. I believe that this subjective quality especially applies to our appreciation of art. When we look at art, our response is instinctual and below the threshold of conscious words, ideas or concepts. Of course, there is no reason why we should not 'intellectualise' about art, and learn to deepen our appreciation – but that always comes after the initial impact and after we have opened our hearts and minds to the emotions which art can generate.
People sometimes ask: why use a computer, why not use a paintbrush? I think the reason lies in my temperament. I am a perfectionist and this perfectionism is something I always have to struggle with to keep it within sensible limits. Perfectionism can be a good thing or a bad thing: as it is said about 'fire' – it is a good servant but a bad master. When I picked up a pencil or paintbrush I wanted to create something that I considered pleasing, but I was never satisfied, and felt compelled to change or alter it constantly until it looked like a dog's dinner.
With the advent of computers I found I could change, alter, or go back as much as I wanted and indulge my perfectionism to my heart's content without spoiling the work (of course, I will often scrap something and start over again). I am not suggesting that using a computer for art is easy. You still have to struggle and persist with learning how to use the applications and tools but, with perseverance, art eventually becomes a joy instead of a labour. It becomes exciting to explore the wide range of possibilities which are now available to the digital artist. I have a range of tools at my disposal in the same way that traditional artists have a range of different types and sizes of brushes, different types of paint and papers or canvases which they use to achieve the effects that they want. Furthermore, modern technology means that I can send the digital results to my printer who will produce a beautiful high-quality Giclée print.
The computer itself (and I cannot emphasize this enough) is NOT creative. It can do the millions of tedious, repetitive calculations which may be necessary and it will follow instructions perfectly, but it can do nothing until it is told what to do. It is not aware, it doesn’t know what is artistic and what is not, nor it is trying to communicate or express itself. The computer merely calculates the choices the artist makes, and the end result is created by the artist who is bound by the aesthetic requirements of selection, expression, composition, balance, rhythm, form, shape, texture, colour, lighting, etc. in the same way as traditional artists or photographers. Real art comes from the heart of the artist and can never come from the computer alone.