The AI in the (Art) Room
Is using AI a legitimate artistic tool for bringing my vision to life, or is it just the easy way out- a cop-out that I will later regret? This question has been on my mind and will likely continue to plague me in the coming years. I have started using AI in my creative process, specifically for my art piece that looks like a book, Noa’s Painted Rainbow, where I utilized it to create the cover illustration.
I initially wanted to insert an illustration of my six-year-old self into the cover of a Grandpa Bunny book. To make that happen, I considered buying an old copy, gutting it, and repurposing the cover. But my deep respect for books made that option impossible - I cannot destroy a book, any book, ever! My "Plan B" was to use a photo of the original cover, but that path ran into copyright issues regarding Disney characters. Not a good move either.
So, "Plan C" was to use AI to generate a similar-looking cover to use as my base image. I started by prompting Gemini and discovered quickly that bringing this vision to life felt more like a collaboration than a simple instruction. I had to take the images it generated, move them into a photo editor for manual adjustments, and feed those changes back into the AI over and over until I achieved the right result. I went through dozens of these iterations over several days. When I was finally happy, I had another dilemma to solve.
Should I use this AI-aided illustration as-is, or should it be used only as a reference for a "real" painting? I thought about the use of new tech and cultural products throughout art history: the Camera Obscura in the Renaissance allowed masters like Canaletto to capture intricate architectural details in perfect proportion; the invention of the camera eventually led to the Hyperrealistic movement with artists like Audrey Flack; and the use of found objects, starting with Marcel Duchamp’s urinal and continuing through Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans to the eco-art movement with artists like El Anatsui, who uses discarded materials to create new works.
Ultimately, I decided to use my joint AI cover illustration as-is - fresh from my home printer. I used acrylics and pens on top of the print to add and enhance details, even creating manual cuts and tears to simulate a worn, vintage cover. I love it; it’s exactly what I wanted. Inside is a hand-painted piece based on photos of my younger and present selves. I also used a few freshly cut morning glory flowers as reference, which my new friend, brilliant plein air artist Beth Grant, allowed me to pick from her yard.
As an artist, I feel like I’m venturing into unknown territory. I’m well aware that for some the AI "look" is less appealing, while for others, this approach may feel sacrilegious. To me, it feels right as long as the overall vision is mine. I see AI as a powerful tool and co-creating as a new frontier. I’ll let you know if I change my mind.
