[Tom Edgerton]

I'm with Marvin.

ReNae, the operative word in what you posted is "mastery". I had a European colleague when I (briefly) taught in the local community college who remarked that Americans are always confusing tools with skills. They're not the same thing. My students automatically thought that any crap they produced on a computer was good because it was created on a machine, vs. being done by hand. I made it my mission to inform them otherwise.

We've lately seen the hybrid product called "virtual painting." It's digital photography modified by various filters and paint programs like Photoshop, and output in large format on canvas, much like a giclee. It's mostly being touted around here by professional portrait photographers, and while it's not my cup of tea, I can't fault someone for identifying and filling a niche--as long as they don't advertise it as original painting. Some of it isn't totally odious when done by pros, but when done by amateurs, it's...well...amateurish. Again, tools aren't skills.

I don't want to "virtually" paint, I want to paint--as well as I can humanly learn to do so. But change is what is, and tools will change with time. I just pray each day that there will continue to be a market for original "real" painting, but worrying about it is a waste of spirit and takes valuable time away from trying to get better.

I'm not a natural optimist, so coming to this philosophy hasn't been easy. But fear never got us anything worth having, right?

Best--TE