How do you work on an image?

SB: At the very beginning of a process, the work I undertake to create a Dynamic Painting isn’t that much different from work required to create a regular painting. First of all, I pick a subject and a main composition of the painting. At that time I also select a color arrangement. The difference from regular painting is that dynamic painting isn’t just one “frozen” composition with fixed colors, but rather a set of all possible combinations that could be generated later by a computer. Each of these combinations has to be pleasant to the eye and I go through a much more rigorous process of picking colors than most artists do. For example, a painting done in a conservative color scheme shouldn’t have garish patches; or vice versa, a vibrant painting should be done in an appropriate color gamma, without dark moody colors. The computer doesn’t think up colors or shapes, it only creates variations of my concept. So it places a burden on me as an artist to think of not only composition and colors (as artists of static paintings do), but also to account for their transformations over time.

What  software are you using? 

SB: The Dynamic Painting is a program, and for each new Dynamic Painting I write a unique program. There is no off the shelf software that would allow you to create something even remotely similar to my art. I’m both a programmer and an artist, so when it comes to a Dynamic Painting, a computer is my “canvas” and the code I write is my “paint”. When an artist creates a painting, you can think of a conceptual connection between an original idea and the final painting as “brain – hand – canvas”. In my case the scheme is a bit more complicated, but not drastically different: “brain – hand – computer code – computer display”. As you can see, the creative part (brain - hand) is effectively the same in traditional art and in my works. Everything is defined by an artist’s concept. By changing parameters of the program that displays a Dynamic Painting you won’t get different artistic concepts, just different variations of the painting. This is why each time I have to write a unique program for a new Dynamic Painting concept.

How old is the software? Are you developing it further? How has the is, how has your work changed over the years?

SB: Since there is no existing software that would generate the images and their variations the way I do, and the painting actually are the software, the first question is kind of irrelevant. Since each Dynamic Painting is a new program, you could say that the software is in a constant development. I could reuse and share some portions of computer code between different paintings, but majority of the code and algorithms describing artistic concepts are unique for each painting. Over the years that I’ve been perfecting the concept of Dynamic Painting, I’ve come a long way from fairly simple images to extremely complicated concepts you can see in my latest works. All this hard work paid off and I could proudly say that in terms of concepts and execution I’m years ahead of anybody else creating some type of generative visual art.

 How does your work on pictures look like? Are you sitting in front a computer? What are you doing? How do you check (possible) results?

SB: Most of my time I spend at the computer, coding up the algorithms for the paintings. Besides that, I spend a lot of time choosing color compositions. Most often I do that by painting color blobs by hand and later scanning them into a computer. Each Dynamic painting requires several hundred of these palettes. The work on a Dynamic Painting somewhat resembles painting with regular paints. I implement a fragment, reassess how it looks, how it transforms. If I like the result, I add it to the final composition; otherwise I go back and rewrite the code. It’s a very time consuming process and requires a lot of iterations. Creation of a new Dynamic Painting could take from several days to several weeks.

How are your works displayed? What software and hardware do they require? 

SB: To display a Dynamic Painting one would need a computer with a powerful video card. At San Base Studio we can provide a completely set up Dynamic Painting system that includes all the required hardware and software to bring Dynamic Paintings to life.

Do you see programming as something completely different from your work on paintings? Or is it a tool, a part of your art?

There is a wide range of people appreciating art out there: from housewives to art critics. Let’s say they have learned about the existence of the living painting and posed a simple question to you “What’s this?” Please describe what they’d see and why should they consider your work.

SB: When someone glances at the painting, he or she won’t see anything unusual at first, just a painting, hopefully in good taste. Should the same person look at it 10 minutes later, he or she would be staring at a totally different picture! My guess is, now this person begins to look at the picture carefully and notices that the painting is slowly changing all the time. The shapes and colors smoothly morph one into another. It resembles the movement of clouds across the sky. But clouds are void of structure, and my works have definitions, there is a subject matter, there is a theme.  The living painting always endeavors for new variants of expression, and it is never quite finished. It is like watching an artist at work. Some works are excellent, others not so much. An infinite quest for perfection.

When you create new painting do you use pre-defined images? Do you visualize the end result of your work? Or is the computer that applies its “creativity” to the final outcome?

SB: We ought not to treat the computer as a thinking machine.  It is at best a very, very complex calculator. The computer does not feel anything; and everything you see on its screen, is man-made. The same goes for my art.  The computer is just the means. An artist has his tools - brushes, a sculptor – a chisel. I create paintings, and the computer just displays them.  Off course, I do not generate the infinite number of all possible combinations and permutations. I generate the initial color palettes and forms (approximately 1,000 of initial images are done manually). Furthermore, I create the program, which transforms colors and shapes. In other words, I prescribe its future behavior. After that, the painting begins to live on it own.

If someone wishes to master the technology of dynamic painting, will you share your invention with others? Will dynamic paintings grow in popularity? Do you suppose it is the genre of future?

SB: I will begin with the second question: I’m confident, that dynamic paintings will be widespread in the near future. Today the only obstacle is the equipment cost. A good quality high definition flat display along with the computer could entail many thousands of dollars. But as we all know, electronic goods are getting better all the time while its price keeps on dropping. With the advent of large and inexpensive flat screens, this new movement in art will become extremely popular. The benefits of this genre are obvious:  an endless supply of unprecedented and unpredictable paintings in the place of one static image.  The technique that I’ve contrived for a dynamic painting, guarantees always a new juxtaposition of colors and shapes in an abstract picture. On a landscape there would be moving clouds, darting birds, and trees swaying in the wind. And seasons, the painting would change in seasons. Unlike a movie, the painting never ends and never repeats itself.  It has a life of its own. Science fiction? Not at all, this is a very near future.

As far as students of this form of art are concerned, they must possess two talents: the depictive skill and computer programming. I am not saying there are no such people, I myself am an artist and computer programmer, but I do know other people with the same combination of skills. I do not intend to make a secret of this technology; I am ready to share it with talented folks.

Is it possible to acquire a dynamic painting for a private use today? What equipment is required to connect it at home?

SB: Certainly, it’s possible. Today each dynamic painting is custom made, so the owner can enjoy the one and only copy of his own. The work on a new painting takes from one to two weeks. As soon as the sale is made, the original is destroyed.

We also offer limited editions - when a small number of copies are made. Of course, all the paintings are different at any given point in time, even within the same batch.  I realize that today only people with the means above average can acquire dynamic paintings. On the other hand, the dynamic painting is something truly unique without any precedence! It is the art of the XXI century. There are no special technical requirements for a Dynamic Painting. A power outlet is all it takes.  A flat screen TV plays the role of canvas, a small device provides a video feed to the TV. The screen is mounted on a wall, the Dynamic Painting display system can is placed somewhere out of the way, where it won’t be seen. That’s all. Once is system is turned, it always stays on.

Dynamic paintings are available in three different media formats. First, there is the dynamic painting itself.  In addition, there also static images, which are stills taken off the dynamic painting. These are excellent, and are available on canvas. The third media type is a recording of the dynamic painting on a DVD. Its quality is lesser than that of the dynamic painting system, and it repeats itself after an hour, but works on any DVD player.