Who Are They Fooling?

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     I was cruising through an old watercolor magazine, and came across another one.  Who do they think they’re fooling?  I won’t name names, because as a group, artists can pick them off a mile away.  It’s the customer base that must be getting shtupped.

     My beef is specifically with these Photoshop watercolor cheaters.  They take an image, blast it with the Photoshop Watercolor Filter, and then re-create the computer generated shadows in their paintings.  What the hell?!?!  It looks like a very detailed watercolor puzzle; a squiggly mosaic of colors that we’ve all seen on our computer screen.

Watercolor Filter

     I’m not opposed to breaking the image down into interesting elements, or even pushing the image into the contemporary corner with a complete rearrangement or interpretation…. But we all know what the watercolor filter looks like.  You might want to kick that can just a bit farther down the artistic road.

     I applaud what can be accomplished with photo editing, and I’ll be the first to admit to manipulating my photos, so I can see more detail in a particular area of the photo---but then I draw what my eye sees, NOT what the computer generates.

Rolled By A Remington
© Mark Kohler

     I’m sure there are those purists who would hang me by my thumbs and beat me with a well rope for using the computer at all.  I guess we must all find the line we are comfortable with, and be able to articulate our position.  I’ll be glad to defend mine; there are just some lines I won’t cross!

All content and images © Mark Kohler Studio