Painting title: 'OH! WHAT A NIGHT'

Description: Vertical diptych.

At the time of this painting – late 2003, I was interested in questioning the role of technology in the creative process.

Every image produced for any form of reproduction these days is converted into digital formats, I thought it may be interesting to reverse this process and begin with a digital image and turn this into a traditional oil-painting using the centuries old technique of 'squaring the original' drawing and transferring it to canvas in a totally different scale.

I created a drawing using Word drawing tools and divided it into rectangles as is the norm and produced this painting of a small part of the original.

The resulting two canvases were an experiment and an illustration of the idea – and formed the basis for a funding application to the Welsh Arts Council for a much bigger project – that didn't come off!

Technically, it was an exercise in drawing and the smooth and flat application of oil paint.

Conceptually, the finished diptych laid down a clue to the proposition that computers cannot compete with a medium that is centuries old and one where the finished object has a quality and character that is unique in terms of object quality, colour and feel.

The idea was partly picked up on by Wrexham Arts Centre and Library resulting in a commission/residency in late 2003. This work was a large mural that greeted the public in the main entrance foyer of the Library.

The drawing was made on Word and to the usual A4 scale. I re-drew it to a size of about 2.5m x 8.5m. The finished work was entitled 'Brontosaurus BoogieWoogie'.

The title came from something big and something that had, through its format and colour scheme, narrative and rhythm. This work was dismantled and destroyed by Wrexham Council in summer 2005.