Having doubts about my merely digital involvement with this world, I took a backseat for a while to think this over. That all I do is finally made up of zeros and ones that are displayed in a certain manner by a machine – and at the mercy of said machine – is not very satisfying, to say the least.

Thinking this over was a bright idea; but not coming to a valid conclusion is a disheartening insight. I feel I should be doing things that involve all my senses, not just employing a sophisticated DSLR and a bit of computer/software wizardry. While I can see the results, I can’t bloody smell them, or touch them, or sense their existence.

A long time ago I had access to a b/w photo lab, where I could do my own stuff after the business closed for the day. Not having been properly trained, it was awkward work indeed, and I really had to lean into it to get some acceptable results. But it was work where my senses were challenged in many ways; and the few evenings where the results seemed satisfying enough were the rare but rewarding moments that still stand the test of time.

To get to the core: I start to have doubts about the validity of the digital age; an age I embraced heartily when it took shape. And I embraced it because I could instantly see that the exchange of ideas and art, even the creation of art and ideas, would be so much easier, so much quicker, so much cheaper too. What I didn’t think of was about the solitude this brings along, the dependence on a digital workplace, the singular employment of the visual sense. And a rather detached exchange of opinions; if opinions get expressed at all.

I’ve never met a dA member in the flesh. All of you out there on dA may exist – or may not. How am I to know? It’s maddening that the artists behind the art seem to be as virtual as their works.

My dog jumps around, he yawns, he barks, he rolls up to go to sleep, he dreams, he whimpers or growls in his dreams sometimes, he smells, he’s even smelly at times, he bloody hell farts awfully when he has eaten from this rotten grass around here. And he can even smile if his mood allows. Could it be this dog is real? That he is the real deal?

Hmm, going through the ramblings above again, I don’t know how becoming this new Scottish Highland Single Malt really is …

Anyway, if you’ve got your own thoughts about the issue above, let me know about them if you feel like. My best virtual wishes are guaranteed. Here and now.