(This document was produced as part of the Masters by coursework as a record of work done during the degree).
Background
All my adult life I have been interested in visual arts, with two photography exhibitions in my twenties, and for the last thirteen years, I have been creating and distributing my own computer-based art online. Over the years I had several forays into painting, but did not persist until learning oil & acrylic painting at a private painting group class. I joined COFA doing a part-time graduate diploma, and later upgraded to the Master of Art degree, which I completed part-time over 3 and a half years.
The classes I took focused mainly on painting, with drawing and printmaking as further electives. Subjects completed were Painting (elective), Painting 1 & 2, Drawing, Colour, Composition & Design, Life Drawing, Abstraction, Current issues, Etching, Screen Printing and Practices in Research.
Having been a software developer for many years, I am particularly interested in importing that knowledge and process into the traditional medium of painting, rather than simply staying with my computer skills and using new digital mediums. Some of the projects in the classes afforded me the opportunity to do this, and this essay will focus on those particular works, as they interested me most. There was a development in my work over the course from first just copying digital images, then creating paintings using programming methods, through to paintings about the social impact of computers, networks and databases and their impact on privacy.
© 2007 Peter Orum.