As an artist there is one question that has remained constant. “How long have you been drawing?” My answer is always the same. I don’t know. The truth is – I don’t know how long I have been drawing. I only know that I always have.

An artist to the core as a child all my spare time was spent drawing. Fifteen years ago I would have never believed that I would have taken such an interest in my computer. My demanding need to paint and draw was some how satisfied by my need to understand my computer. This curiosity grew further as my development skills grew as well. My new friendships with if then relationships, MySql databases, Methods, Arrays, and php expressions satisfied my need to create in a way that in the past had only been satisfied by holding a paint brush or conte crayon.

Most would not understand the similarities that I am describing. Development is really only a group of needed components used to create a harmonious unit.

In my mind it’s the same thing. Those codes and scripts are used to form an aesthetic whole.

Although I disagree with the inability to see the similarities I must admit that it makes more sense than some of the conflicts that exist directly in visual art.

There are some who would not consider comic book illustration art. There was a time when jewelry or ceramics were considered craft and not art. Graffiti, once considered vandalism is now often referred to as an art movement. Is wood working an art or a craft? Do fonts have aesthetic value?

That brings us to an age old question. What defines art?  

Art forms only have one characteristic that remains constant.  The use of sounds, movements, colors, forms, or words that are used as components to create a whole that works to appeal to a sense of beauty.

With that being true is it appropriate to compare artists like Frank Frazzetta with artists like Rene Magrite? Can we safely say that Adobe and Grumbacher are both companies that produce art supplies?

I am willing to say yes, but it is likely that I am in the minority. We can all agree that art of any form, speaks to all audiences, it records history, shapes opinions, and stimulates thoughts and/ or ideas that may nor have been realized.

Lets take a leap and agree that art is a true universal language. That title is only held by one other discipline. Math, art’s seeming opposite. Or is it? I’ll bet Leonardo Davinci and MC Escher would disagree.

Since art finds a comfortable vehicle in language, history, intellectual stimulation, and math, its fluid nature becomes apparent.  

Now that we are getting comfortable using the internet as an artistic vehicle- our art no longer has any physical boundaries either. The internet makes distribution and promotion much easier. That makes working knowledge of those scripts and codes we discussed a second ago much more valuable to the artist. This is not as difficult to learn as you might think.

This reminds me of a fellow classmate I had in college. She was microbiology major. She was no dummy that’s for sure. In fact she was 4.0 all through college until she talked herself into believing she could take an art course, breeze through it and effortlessly keep her 4.0 average. She got her first C in a watercolor class. You truly are special. The talents you have are rare and take intelligance to master. The understanding of codes and scripts are a breeze compared to handling a paintbrush.

Honestly you don’t need to learn complex computer languages to use the internet as a vehicle for your art. But you do need to learn your way around the internet to successfully knock down obstacles you are used to having to work your way around. This is easy if you have the proper tools, explanation of those tools, and a strong support system.

The internet is a powerful platform for artist collaboration and education. A strong support system is very reachable. Only on the internet can you find large communities of very different artists contributing to the same goal.

Once you understand that the illustrator, designer, painter, print maker, web developer, animator etc. each have the same obstacles to overcome and that each art form is in theory quite similar to the other you open yourself up to potential that has no limit.

There is no audience that cannot be reached, no market that cannot be reached, no project that cannot be tackled, and no style that cannot be learned.

You and your peers become an autonomous collective. You move with no boundaries.

My point?

Art, of any form, can reach anything since it has no bounds to any given format but rather formats itself to fit its need. 

Now that you know that, you understand the true nature of LiqWidArt.

LiqWidArt: -noun- a substance that flows through the conscious production of arrangement of sound, colors, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty by having the ability to take on the form of its container.