Autumn Leaves photo card

This features a digital painting by artist Kim Hutchinson. For more information visit www.artfulsiren.com. TECHNIQUE: A digital painting, as I define it, is a work of art created using technology - a digital camera, scanner and computer - in lieu of traditional materials such as brushes, paints and canvas. I start by taking a digital photograph of my subject matter. This picture acts as a base for the painting. I use the pixels of colour within the photograph as paint. Playing with each photo, I alter the focus, colour and form. Some elements are added for visual impact, while others are smudged out. Each picture dictates the painting style. Some compositions, for example, remind me of an Impressionist painting, so I use quick strokes of colour or maybe tiny pixels of colour, to render the image. The technique is essentially the same as conventional painting but with a few distinct differences. One, the materials are quite different and two, digital painting is far more forgiving. Conventional painting has no 'undo' function. (I wish everything in life had an undo function!)