What is “real” art anyway

Published on 6 November, 2025
#letters

Hi there,

Right now in Perth we’re in Kambarang, the season of flowers and births. The warming weather as we move towards the end of the year always feels like hopeful anticipation to me, probably solidified in my mind from a time where summer meant the long school holidays, Christmas presents, visiting family and beaches. Those things hit different as an adult, but with both my kids in school the rhythms of the school holidays are coming back more strongly than ever (just on the parent side!).

assets/IMG_0357.jpeg|Digital sketch of my eldest son flying a kite
My eldest flying our shark kite on the beach

In October I had another go at Peachtober, an art challenge run by Sydney artist Sha‘an/Furry Little Peach, with a single word prompt for each day of the month. I made it through 8 of the 31 days, which might actually be my best attempt yet. I’m less interested in completing the challenge perfectly than I am in making a few pieces that are visually linked, so I feel pretty good about what I came up with.

assets/IMG_0379.jpeg|Digital sketch of a Totoro plush toy under a pot plant leaf
Things in my kids room

If they look a bit like I’ve just painted things from my camera roll, it’s because that’s exactly what I’ve done. With a good 20 years of happy snaps in my camera roll I can usually find something close enough to the prompts. For 8 days anyway.

assets/IMG_0377.jpeg|Digital sketch of my youngest son eating strawberries
My youngest when we went strawberry picking and he ate as much as he picked

Some people believe that digital art is not “real” art, and it’s true that there are parts of the traditional painting process that I can skip entirely working this way. Not having to set up or pack away is the main reason I sometimes choose to work this way instead of getting out my paints. The app I’ve used here, HeavyPaint, has an array of different brushes, a digital colour palette that simply can’t be replicated with paint, an ability to layer without drying time, to zoom in for detail, to undo. I don’t feel like it’s “cheating” or makes my digital art any less “real” than my traditional art though, it’s just a different medium.

I’m currently untangling my feelings about art created by/with an LLM. Is it just another different medium? If so, why is my immediate reaction to AI art something like revulsion and betrayal? Something I’ll have unpack a bit more.

After 8 days I felt like I’d had enough of digital painting and was aching to return to my watercolours. It’s unpredictable sure, and I only own 8 tubes of paint (at $30 a pop a limited palette is a must), but the unexpected results and the “mistakes” are what make it so interesting.

Things since my last newsletter: