Digital Artist Delights in Abstract Creations
Michael Stone will reveal his passion for digital art at his exhibit running from Saturday, April 7 through Saturday, July 7 at Meet Chicago Northwest, 1375 E. Woodfield Rd., Suite 120, in Schaumburg. Co-sponsored by the Northwest Cultural Council, the exhibit is free and open to the public during business hours.
Stone, who lives in Arlington Heights, creates work that features visual abstract designs.
"Because I focus on abstract images, my inspiration comes from simple things, including holidays, the weather, and news stories, to name a few," Stone says. "What I like most about the creative process of digital art, is how an object starts out simple and then gets more complex
with different textures and also different lighting that produces shadows," the artist adds.
About creating digital art, Stone explains: "You first must know how to use the 3D software you are creating the image with. I have used different software programs for years to produce images, and I edit the images with various filters in Photoshop."
Many people wonder what digital artists have in common with traditional ones, and Stone feels that they produce "the same type of art, but just done on a personal computer." He says that since software has progressed a lot in the past 20 years, he has been able to produce intricate creations with the many types of brushes, materials, and special effects.
Stone confesses he wasn't "a good art student" while growing up, and that digital art is the only medium he enjoys working with, having begun in the early 1990s.
The artist, who has a degree in electronics technology, has also created CD cover artwork for musicians.
Stone's art has been exhibited at Prairie Center for the Arts in Schaumburg, Brickton Art Center in Park Ridge, and the Metropolis Performing Arts Centre in Arlington Heights. A member of ACM Siggraph's Digital Arts Community, in his spare time, he enjoys being a licensed ham radio operator and playing guitar.
The Northwest Cultural Council serving the Northwest corridor, is a non-profit organization. It supports and promotes the work of area visual artists and poets, offering a variety of programs including corporate gallery exhibitions, co-sponsored by businesses, convention and visitors' bureaus, libraries, and hospitals; art competitions to stimulate and promote artists; and poetry workshops and readings.
For more information about NWCC exhibits, call 847-382-6922.