A Magical Paintbox of Infinite Possibility

I was digging through some old work today & came across this ‘volley’ I did for a game of Photoshop Tennis. If you’re not quite sure what Photoshop Tennis is, the basics are that someone makes a picture in Photoshop, then passes it to someone else, who somehow alters it, then it’s sent back to the original person (or to a third player) who alters it again, & on it goes…

The element I used from the image that was sent to me was the paper hat – the rest I made in Photoshop. Apart from the photograph of the little boy on the pull-along sheep that I scanned & digitally coloured, everything else in this image I made from scratch in Photoshop – the cloudy sky, the marble, the winged heart, the floorboards, the lapis lazuli backdrop, the moon & the stars.

This picture is from years ago, & my skills have improved since then. At the time, I had trouble making convincing looking fabric – the curtains appear hard & plasticy – but with time, I worked out it was just a matter of blending modes, & I can make realistic looking fabric now.

I look at this image & feel envious of the time I had back then to play & explore & experiment. I was working for someone else at the time, & I had plenty of free time after five to fiddle around with Photoshop for my own education & amusement. Not so lucky these days – self-employment eats up a lot of my day (& night) – but I’d love to be able to make pictures just for fun sometimes, & not to pay the rent.

And I look at this image & remember the first time I ever sat down in front of Photoshop at art school. I had no intention of studying digital imaging – I didn’t even own a computer. But when I walked into my first class, & opened this confusing program full of tools & palettes, it took me back to childhood Christmases when my mum would give me boxes of art materials…rows & rows of coloured pencils, oil pastels, watercolours & felt tip pens…& a big sketchbook full of crisp white pages just waiting to be scribbled in. I remember the excitement I used to feel when confronted with the infinite possibility of paper & pencil…& that’s what Photoshop seemed to be when I first sat down in front of it – even before I knew how to use it – a magical paintbox of infinite possibility. And I still feel that magic.