It's fabulous to be busy happily creating!  The days certainly go by soooo quickly though :)

This past month, as I've been painting more of my Flirty Tispy Cocktails, I have also via listening to podcasts and seeing webinars, noticed that more and more artists are interested in turning their artworks into NFT's.  NFT stands for Non Fungible Token.  It basically means that it is a one off virtual 'thing' that will end up having it's own unique number and becomes part of a block chain, sent out to the ether, where it can be bought and sold with bitcoin.  ??? mmmm, ok a very different way of, in my case, creating artwork and getting it 'out there' for others to see/buy.

It all sounds exciting and something different to do but is it really worth all the effort of learning and then implementing this?  I am not totally convinced.  Call me old fashioned, but just as when I am creating art, it is a very different and 'real' experience when I am actually using paint and brushes etc compared to creating art using a computer software programme.  Equally I think, why would I want to buy a 'virtual' artwork rather than have the original piece hanging on my wall (and I'm not talking about famous artist's whose paintings are worth millions but affordable, original pieces) where I can see the true colours and texture?  Over the years, I have bought other artists work, but only the print or even the greeting card version of the original and of course, it just doesn't compare to the original!  It's like when you see paintings in books and then when you have the opportunity of seeing the actual artwork in a gallery, it's like WOW...how much better the original work is!  NOW I can see the beautiful vibrant colours.  NOW I can see the layers of paint and the texture it has created.  NOW I can see how big (or small) the painting actually is.

Of course, we can't all own ALL of the original artworks we love from every artist we admire, especially the past Master Artists.  So I guess that is where at least having a print is better than nothing.  But isn't a print better to have than just something virtual?  Sorry, but I just don't get it.  If you can enlighten me, then leave me a comment :)

This also brings me to think that my own artwork that is on my website, just doesn't compare to the original.  I have LED lighting in my studio so as to help me firstly, create the art and then secondly, to be able to take more accurate, true to life photos.  The problem is that the photograph, still doesn't capture the shades of the colours correctly or capture the depth and nuances of the texture.  This means that anyone looking at my artworks on the website just can't experience the true art.  Happily, once the work is received, everyone who has purchased my artwork is delighted that the art they have bought looks even better in real life :)

Maybe one day there will be something completely different again where the experience feels more immersive and 'real'.  Who knows.  for now I will continue doing what brings me real joy and that is creating paintings using real paint, brushes, tools etc.