It is impossible to be alive without the effort to create and to bring something new into concrete manifestations.
From Nicolai Fechin by Mary N. Balcomb
ROBOT’S PAINTINGS
Following along our story . . we’ve reached the paintings!
For each of these paintings, which came first: art or technology?
THE ART Having once been asked this, I was surprised, as I’d never thought about this question. As you will read, they usually started with an artistic idea or inspiration – the foam in a cup of cappuccino, or how nested curves direct the eye, as often seen in a Renaissance nativity painting.
Pouring milk in a cappuccino.
The art . . and the science,
with fascinating results.
Paul and his cappuccino painting.
THE SCIENCE Then the question was asked: given the art idea, how can we create that in the computer and turn that into brushstrokes for the robot to paint? Various approaches of AI and other technologies are explained with each painting.
THE FASCINATING MAGIC Taking it one-step further, I enjoyed creating software that created more software, or layers of software, that often produced unexpected surprises.
What? What’s this mean? Explore how “ants might wonder around looking for breadcrumbs and deposit pebbles that eventually become brushstrokes.” (Ref the Brown “Nested Curves” painting, or “Timbers of Swirling Chaos.”)
VIDEO: A FEW HUNDRED BRUSH STROKES. Using fluid dynamics, I designed a painting with beautiful brushstrokes, which are the heart and soul of painting.
