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I also like Dennis’s work which I knew was digital. I had imagined that he probably tweaked photos but apparently not, having just read his interesting blog. He starts with a blank white surface, which makes his work even more impressive.  One thing which digital art does not have, as far as I have seen, is texture. I assume it can’t be  produced digitally but maybe it can?  Also I find some digital I have seen lacks what I can only call oomph! Maybe just the skill of the artist? I love Plein air work where you feel the artist’s experience of the time, day. Weather, place etc.. I don’t think you can produce this at home on your computer.

Texture definitely can’t be produced digitally using the standard printers. I’ve seen an Italian company (Factum Arte) produce texture with ink when copying an old master /  fascinating stuff but probably costs half a million pounds at least, and a few grand in ink! So basically all you get by the digital artists on this site are flat copies - hardly inspiring and of course a print, not an original because that only exists as a jpeg or EPSF file (Encapsulated Post Script File), or whatever format it’s saved in. And the originator has the option to print off ten million copies if they so choose. I don’t think Dennis sells his work, but others on here do sell them as we all know! I won’t be adding one to my collection just yet!

Texture is important to me, and I always aim for it.  Hence, a love of oil paint, and acrylic; watercolour too can achieve texture, and without any more technical means than the action of a semi-dry brush on rough paper.  It's possible to paint very flat paintings in any medium, as Roy Liechtenstein did: he compensated, if that's the word, by using very strong colour (which did nothing to endear his work to me, but that's something else again).  Digital painting if done very well - as in Dennis' paintings (a really close look does show the characteristics of digital work, if you know what you're looking for) - can get over the lack of surface texture, but the problem is that the huge majority of them are NOT done very well.  Dennis is an exceptional artist, and would be whatever medium he used.  He achieves subtlety of colour, and light, in a flat image which looks so good on the screen that it can indeed fool people: though that isn't his intent. Reference has been made to Hockney's Ipad paintings - here, you know what you're getting; the strength of colour is fully exploited; the drawing is (by his standard) basic and bold; colour is used in a very direct way: it's not subtle, but it is powerful.  All the same, I'd much rather have a Hockney painting than an Ipad-created print-out.  It's not that easy to explain WHY one doesn't really rate the bulk of digitally-created work - it does take considerable skill to produce it, patience enabling one to learn the techniques, I can see all the arguments in favour of it, especially since I trod a blob of cadmium red oil paint through the flat just last week; though I don't care - this place is a tip anyway, and I don't have anyone to nag at me - I could wish I hadn't splashed varnish over my old and much valued chest of drawers, though: time to break out the Turps.  Even so - these are just technical things... no mess, no clean up, no treading paint through the house (I have related before how my pet rat, years ago, trod in a pile of blue paint and then danced the light fantastic over the carpet); and yet, it doesn't appeal to me one little bit: I don't want to do it, by and large I don't like its results.  One day, I'll work out exactly why - and will be sure to bore everyone with the explanation.  Too "perfect", in a polished, smoothed-down, mechanical-seeming way?  Don't know!  From a performative point of view, I have a better idea about why I dislike it: for me, it just wouldn't be fun - the way that painting and drawing with physical objects is.   Going right back to the start of this thread, though - yes, I can see the interest in that; now I think about it.  To draw these figures in your sketch-book, and then to translate them into their digital expression - I can see the pleasure in that, through the act of exploration.

Just to add to my previous comment, the texture (Factum Arte), was added in small increments, in different areas of the painting, as per the original - taking around 2000 passes altogether if I’m not mistaken, over several days! Now I’d call that an original… of sorts!

I  Know that Lewis Cooper isn’t using the forum at the moment god bless him ( hope you your keeping Well )  enjoys digital artwork and has commented about it on the forums several times. Lew  said on several occasions that he uploads his drawings adds colour and sometimes a background , particularly because of physical limitations and he also likes the effects he can create . I don’t think anyone would know if he hadn’t mentioned it and apparently has used this technique for many years now.