Big Dell Arriving!

I have a whacking great Dell 27" Touchscreen All-In-One computer arriving this morning (hopefully), so am very excited. I will write further about my wonderful journey into Digital Art as I go along. Yes, I am back, and promise to stay for a while this time!

I love painting and drawing on my computer, and for a while now, have used a Wacom Pen Tablet connected via a USB to my 15" laptop. Art Rage is a fabulous drawing/ painting program, simulating the process so closely, that with a bit of practice, you forget you are not scratching away on paper or canvas, and there no cleaning up or studio/storage space needed for your work.

Next, I lashed out on a 12.1" touchscreen notepad that swivels the screen around and converts into a tablet. I take that away with me on holidays and drives to draw and paint, to my Life Drawing group, and just for a quiet on-my-lap paint at home. People are fascinated, though the normal tablets, iPads and Android, can do that now. But mine is a bit bigger and the version of Art Rage is more comprehensive. Life Drawing has been a real buzz, and I have developed a method of getting a sketch down quickly, and have sold quite a few prints of my favourites.

So how to convert these computer files in to quality hard copies? I bought a beautiful Epson R3000 A3 printer, and now print on to Archival Artist paper with pigmented inks for longevity. This creates glorious prints with high definition and depth of colour. Calibrating my screen, colour matching and soft proofing has been a steep learning curve, and I still get it wrong sometimes, but I throw them away and practice some more.

We have an Artist Market through the summer months in Warragul, and I have been there for the first 2, and sold well at both. At around $20 - $25 for an individually signed A4 artist print, I am very happy with that. Selling art is harder work than it was a few years ago, and the friendly interaction with appreciative buyers has been really rewarding.

I am still working hard to spend my winnings on Hot Seat Millionaire (..... gosh, that's been fun!), and want a BIG touchscreen computer to paint on, so here comes the Dell. I think it will loosen up my painting process because it will mimic a canvas on an easel. So watch this space.