How would you describe "digital art" as an art form?
Can you provide an overview of the tools and processes that are used in your creations?
What themes do you like to explore and depict as a digital artist? Where do you draw your inspiration?
As an artist with 'classical' training in fine arts and photography, has it been easier to get your digital art accepted by the established trade community?
Digital imaging is still relatively unknown to the mainstream public. Is it challenging to market this kind of art to the average consumers?
How would you describe the type of audience that your artwork appeals to? What are some of the memorable public reactions that you’ve received for your digital art?

How would you describe "digital art" as an art form?
Digitally created art involves such a wide range of plastic expressions that it is very difficult to summarize it in just a few words. As a general introduction, digital art involves the use of one or more digital processes or technologies for its creation. [Page Top]

Can you provide an overview of the tools and processes that are used in your creations?
My “art palette” consists of a digital camera, a pressure-sensitive tablet, a computer with specialized software (Corel Painter and Adobe Photoshop) and a wide format printer for its final output. The pictures I create are a composition of figures and characters created in Corel Painter combined with textures and images captured with my digital camera. Unless suggested by someone, as in the case of “Snapping Lines,” the main image comes to me as a loosely drawn sketch. I also carry my digital camera wherever I go, and store the images taken in CDs for later use; however, at this point in my process I have nothing specific in mind. I later select a sketch that grabs my attention and use it as the foundation for a finished picture of the main figure. The process of selecting the images that will enhance this figure is more intuitive. I look through the pictures from my photo library and put those that fit in a folder. Then it is a matter of blending and placing the layers together in Photoshop until I achieve the desired composition.[Page Top]

What themes do you like to explore and depict as a digital artist? Where do you draw your inspiration?
Undoubtedly, the use of bright colors and the type of imagery and symbolism that I find attractive is heavily influenced by the sounds and sights of my Caribbean upbringing. I grew up admiring the works of Latin American artists from the Dominican Republic, such as Candido Bidó, and Venezuelan painter Hector Poleo, to name a few. Both artists’ work relied heavily on the use of vivid colors and interplay between flat and modeled surfaces. My digital imagery also finds inspiration in the work of Gauguin, the “Fauve” painters, David Hockney, and surrealistic painters such as Magritte.[Page Top]

As an artist with 'classical' training in fine arts and photography, has it been easier to get your digital art accepted by the established trade community?
You can call the matter of acceptance by the art business community a “work in progress.” On the positive side, the sales of digitized reproductions of traditional work, or “giclée” as they are popularly known, show no signs of slowing down (290 million in 2003 and a projected 600 million by 2007). The giclée market has allowed many galleries to reach a sizable audience that may find prices of original work prohibitive, but would invest in a high quality reproduction of such work. The print-on-demand technology is an important marketing feature, already incorporated by important Museums (such as the Smithsonian or the National Gallery of London). However, the Art establishment has been far more reluctant in accepting original digital work that is work created and printed directly from the digital matrix. This too will likely change with time as gallery owners find an agreeable business model, more artists choose the digital medium over traditional for important and compelling work, and demand by a more sophisticated audience increases.[Page Top]

Digital imaging is still relatively unknown to the mainstream public. Is it challenging to market this kind of art to the average consumers?
Marketing the artwork has been difficult due to the reluctance of mainstream exhibition venues and by the lack of representation by informed agents. However my experience with the public has been quite positive. Those who buy my work are attracted by the imagery, and the digital aspect is irrelevant to most who don’t associate my work with their expectation of what a digital print should look like. Others see it as an added perk, something else that makes it special and can brag about to their friends :0). I find this attitude very comforting, for I am first and foremost an artist and would like to think of digital only as a preferred means of expression.[Page Top]

How would you describe the type of audience that your artwork appeals to? What are some of the memorable public reactions that you’ve received for your digital art?
I’ve received responses regarding my work from all over the world and been fortunate to be selected for publications in Europe, Japan, Australia, India, and the United States. Those that purchase are usually interested primarily in the imagery with little concern about the medium used to create or display it. Since my work includes a variable-size edition, I can offer prices that range according to the particular needs of the customer. With all of its growing pains, the digital medium has broadened my artistic horizons in a way I never thought possible. My biggest reward comes from the positive feedback I receive from people from different parts of the world who feel a connection with my work. It reminds me that the most important aspect of art is its ability to transcend, and when that is achieved I consider myself fully realized.[Page Top]