New and old, actually.

So way back in 2006 there was a group show at Argyle Fine Art called “Sweet Tooth”. Maybe it was the first time I had work in a show. I was trying my hand at Pixel Art at the time and had this idea to make some pixel art images of candy. I made this image of little figures in a Liquorice All Sorts maze, and immediately lost confidence in it. I don’t know, it’s just how it goes with me.

I decided I need more practice and came up with the idea of making a bunch of Jelly Beans in a variety of colours and patterns. Quickly they became not just patterns but strange little objects shaped like Jelly Beans.

The day go the art show was fast approaching and I started to panic. Back then, around here anyway, people were pretty skeptical about digital art. Heck, people were still complaining about digital photography not being “real”.

I had no idea how I was even going to present these Pixel Jelly Beans, never mind sell them! I had ideas about prints on square acrylic tiles or even on metal, but at that time my only option was to get them printed at a local place that specialized in commercial display printing. The materials were expensive and I could not afford the up-front costs. So in the end a combined multiple Jelly Beans into a three differnt large photographic prints. I tried to make them look sort of like displays menu of new flavours. I was rather disappointed in how it all turned out and they got about as much attention as they deserved. That did not go well.

I’ve been sitting on these pixel art files, wondering what to do with them on and off for years. I still think my original idea, to have them printed individually on square tiles (metal, acrylic, or glossy photo paper) and arranged as a mosaic is still a good idea. And now there are lots of places that can make prints on all kinds of materials. There is also this speedily grown world of NFT’s that seems like it could be a way to make digital art that remains in the digital domain, but still has value as a collectible singular item.

So I have created quite of bit of Pixel Art, much of it unseen for years, that perhaps could have a new life. That’s what the PixlBeans project is. A new portfolio web site for my Pixel Art images and blog about my experience making NFTs.