J.D.Jarvis B.S.(FA), M.F.A. is a well-known digital artist and reputed critic/commentator of digital fine-art. He is located at Las Cruces, New Mexico, U.S.A. He is contributing editor of digitalfineart.com and www.museumofcomputerart.com. He works as production manager for KRWG-TV and runs Dunking Bird Productions jointly with his wife who is also an artist. He has held a number of exhibitions and has written a number of well-known articles on digital art. For details please visit www.dunkingbirdproductions.com.


J.D.Jarvis (henceforth JDJ): I love to look at work and I look forward to viewing the website you mentioned. I would prefer to make personal comments first, with the possibility of writing something more formal later. But, since it is your work, you can use anything I have to say about it.

I will be commenting on your work from my own particular background. So, you see, you must keep in mind how subjective my opinions will be and must do nothing to let my words change or affect the pleasure you have in making this work. In that respect, I would like to submit that you have much to offer me. Let's think of this as a dialog between two artists who have just been introduced. My first statement to you is, 'never place too much value on what someone else says about your work'.

Vijaybhai Kochar (henceforth VK) : Unconventional digital art is also despised in Indian art circles. They like it but want to see it on canvas. Galleries and collectors say, "It is only a print". Yet I have continued with dedication. Also I am trying hard that technology does not overwhelm the artist within me.

I am aware that art review is as subjective as art appreciation is. I have seen some materials you have written about digital art. I like what you have to say and I would like it to stay that way. Interaction is most welcome.

JDJ: I have received, on the Internet, offers from a group of Chinese oil painters to paint, on canvas, any image you send them either on slide or via e-mail. They claim that having a digital art image painted on canvas will increase the value of the work. Would the critics of digital prints feel better if your images were output in this fashion? Probably not, because they would just find something else to complain about. They want to be sure you are working as hard as the traditional painters, who spend most of their time watching the paint dry and cleaning brushes. Yes...stick to your path.

I have spent several hours looking at your art and enjoying your website. I am gathering energy to respond (like the monsoon). Two questions: Do you paint on or use a number of layers when creating your work or do you fashion your work mainly on one layer, as one would a traditional painting? And, do you believe you would have achieved what you have with any other media? Could you/would you have taken on this exploration with traditional media and tools?

VK : The idea of multiple layers emerged in my works after mid-2003 (Gallery 5 onwards) after I carefully studied some digital compositions on the internet. Some early examples are Vision 4 and Spirits in Forest (gallery 5). Many of my compositions even now are in single layer. Some better results are Vision 5, 6 (gallery 6), Vision 13, 15, underwater 4 (gallery 7) etc. In my compositions I tend to use layers to put together collage of images from my own composition, which I try to arrange and smoothly merge together (gallery 8 and 9). Sometimes I do not succeed and these stick out. I think that layers, filters, effects and textures help to achieve the unique quality and flavour of the digital medium, not easily achievable in the conventional medium. There are many more unique effects possible in digital medium. I admire these in the works of other digital artists, but these are still out of my repertoire.

I have used traditional media in my young age. I was fond of creating "effects" in watercolour and "wash" paintings though not quite like the digital medium in depth and variety.

Difference between the series called 'Composition', 'Untitled', 'Creation' and 'vision' is somewhat intuitive and arbitrary. "Visions" are perhaps the higher level of intuitive vision arrived through spontaneous digital interactions. 'Creations' are intermediary. Your question has stirred my mind. I discover now that my 'Compositions' and 'Untitled' images, though more numerous in my digital library, only selected few of these have found a place in the presentation of galleries on my website.

I guess the digital process involves a kind of exploration and learning - so to say, trial and error - much more than the conventional medium. There is a conscious effort to go beyond the conventional image into the realm of unique digital fine art; to reach aesthetically higher levels. The result is sometimes tentative, not so satisfying and not so unique. However, when I take a look again at these images I find them indeed presentable, not bad at all in comparison to what I see in the conventional art circles.

I think you have a point there - "a difference in working method or in how the image either comes to you or develops". There is a difference in method if you look at my works chronologically.


JDJ : Thank you for more information on your techniques. I like "Spirits in the Forest" very much. And, I can see the influence of working in watercolours in much of your work. I also imagined that you worked mostly on one layer, but saw several pieces that had to have digital layers in them. You have done an excellent job in blending those layers together because I could not see anything that indicated much digital cutting and pasting in your images. Using the "Layer Mask" really works magic when it comes to blending things together. I am very interested in using the computer to unlock my subconscious in ways that the Surrealists used automatic writing or the visual game they played which they called the "exquisite corpse". By employing a combination of filters, I guide the computer to make images that are spontaneous and often new to me.

I pick out areas of the composition that hint at some personal meaning then use my hand and eye to guide the composition in that direction. Then, I go back to letting the computer lead, then back to my control and so on and so forth until an end is reached. In this way, many of my compositions are often a surprise to me, but at the same time highly personal. I saw in your paintings a special awareness of women that goes beyond their physical form. I saw that you have been made aware of their emotional dimensions and yet sensed a sort of distancing. This is what I see in Gallery 2, "Solace" and also in Gallery 8, "Letter" and "Forlorn".


VK: Your description of technique largely holds good for me also. I start with my own compositions, generally in Painter software, and rework the whole or a part of it through various filters. Initially there was an element of surprise and unexpected results. Now surprise is less. I deliberately go through a series of filters back and forth to get result closer to what I would like to see, or which vibes well. It is a continuous interaction, so to say, with new formations of my own composition. New versions of my images in a way speak to me. I respond to reshape them with new tools using my own artistic judgment. The final result that emerges is not always of a uniform quality. Sometimes satisfactory results emerge in a limited number of sittings. Sometimes I have to labour hard. Sometimes I just give up and may be come to it later. Creative process in the digital medium never ends.

Galleries on my website represent less than 30% of my digital art works till December 2003.

Yes intuitive work is in some ways psychic also. I agree, in artwork as well in art appreciation intuition guides us as much as the aesthetic appeal of fine art, digital or otherwise alike.


JDJ: Before I mention any particular works of yours, I must tell you how impressed I am with your website. Of course, it is clean and fast in its operation; but, what I find most impressive is the great openness and humility with which it's material is presented. Here, before the viewer, is an artist's journey, an exploration of tools and methods and self. The biography, various statements and the chronological presentation of the galleries along with your favourite artists is like a peak inside your mind and heart that I will not forget.

I also became attracted to art but through my own fears and those of my parents found a safer route that kept me away from that centre of enforced concentration that I suspected was necessary to become a professional artist.

The galleries that you present describe a relatively brief period of time between 1996 to December of 2003, during which you have compacted an accelerated encounter with art making that would have taken the so-called professional artist perhaps 12 to 15 years to experience. In addition to your own passion and concentration, I would like to think that this is, in part, due to the unique capabilities of working digitally.

Your journey begins very close to where you must have left your artistic development years ago. Gallery 1 is all about what you already knew and discovering how you could do more of the same with these new tools. But, you began with a good sense of colour and a feeling of energy and modernism in your composition intact. Not a lot of "digital" to be seen in this gallery accept for some experiments with the "lighting effects" filter, but you are "getting your toe wet", as we say.

The explorations continue in Gallery 2 and a trend to go back and forth between abstractions like "Cityscape", "Landscape 2", "Strokes 3" (which recalls, to my eye the work of Paul Klee) and then back to more figurative work (as with "Mother and Child" and "Maid") is established. This, too, is a familiar struggle that many artists have experienced. The allure of abstraction, but at what cost? You clearly have an affinity for abstraction.

This push and pull battle with abstraction vs. representation continues in Gallery 3 with some really strong abstractions which are more expressive, as with (one of my favorite pieces in your collection) "Vision 3" which reminds me of an early American abstract painter named Arthur Dove. This piece features a nice controlled palette of colors and the kind of interplay between flat and deep space that I feel is very important and always work to achieve in my own art. Interestingly, the figurative or representational work in this gallery seems to get tighter more descriptive and precise. And, I also notice some barriers going up between the viewer and the subject matter in these representational pieces, such as, obviously, "Condemned", but also with "Fields by Canal From Train". Even "Temple" has a large "pole" in the way almost blocking the path. Also, "Reminiscence at Well" has some strong verticals that make me feel you are trying to come to terms with this figurative/representational work, perhaps in some way distancing yourself from it. Locking it away or pushing it back, so to speak.

By January thru March of 2003, I sense that some big decisions were made. Gallery 4 is definitely more focused on abstraction and now instead of a whole year Gallery 4 represents just 3 months of more heated exploration and an increase in output. In this Gallery the work becomes predominantly darker with more saturated color in general, but specifically more black. And, while this gives the work a more somber feel, the presence of those areas of black make the other colors float out into space and therefore the compositions seem to open up outward toward the viewer. This has a very nice effect. Texture begins to play a greater role in these works as in "Composition 44". I am reminded of Miro with "Creation 7". I admire and recognize where you are going with Painter's "gloopy" oil paint brush in "Composition 52" with the hard, highlighted reflective line against the soft background. This Gallery holds another of my favorites, that is "Spirit Behind Wires" and I suppose it also hints at your own state of mind with that spirit of abstraction pushing to be set more entirely free.

Gallery 5 seems to represent an interesting transitional period again and now you have filled a "Gallery" with just two month's work. There is a nice addition of using several textures in combination, some created by applying "paper texture" filters and others created by hand painting techniques as in "Untitled 38". But, most interesting to me is that when you revisit the representational idiom, it is considerably different than when you started out. That is, some of the figurative work, such as "Nightmare" and "Spirits in the Forest" are better (looser and more expressive and energized) because of your mastery, to this point, of abstraction. In fact, in "Spirits in the Forest" I can read into it a whole encounter between abstraction and figuration, where you seem to be re-thinking both forms of expression and, in this one piece, they encounter each other in a truly fascinating manner. How very poetic that we have Spirit (abstraction) and Forest (representation) meeting here.

Now it is June 2003 and you have established a level of output that is sustained for the next four months. Gallery 6 also appears to be somewhat transitional if not brooding. "Arrival" and Meghdoot" seem to be almost steps back toward much earlier work. "Vision 5" is strange, as if one is in flight high above the earth. "Untitled 24" is tight and hard-edged. But, at the same time, Gallery 6 holds, perhaps my all-time favorite of your works, that is, "Composition 109". Here, there are luscious patches of black, with even more suggestion of three-dimensional space. The piece seems to be almost sculptural and the use and distribution of several different textures along with the highlighted edges of some "impasto" brush strokes makes this piece vibrate with all sorts of energy. The colors are so very rich and the composition pulls my attention everywhere within the frame, but never traps or leaves my eye stranded in one spot. And, each spot in this painting is delicious. This is truly a lovely piece of Art. My congratulations.

Over the next three months, the work really appears to be settling in. My choices among these Galleries are: Gallery 7, "Morning Call" (I love the humor in using the "lens flare"), "Vision 15", "Breaking Path" is rather mysterious, and "Hare Krishna". Gallery 8, when you view it from its home page is predominately purple and blue. Was this your "blue period"? I admire the textural study expressed in "Creation 45" and your work with what appears to be, multiple layers and transparency in "Creation34" in this Gallery. Gallery 9 has more earth tones. I admire the handling of space and texture and how well the aggressive composition works in "Creation64".

By the time you reach Gallery 10, we have a collection that once again spans several months. Perhaps you were busy getting this wonderful website together or is there something else at work here? I sense that you may have reached a plateau? While there appears to be no end to your ability to invent within the parameters that you have been exploring in what is an amazing display of artistic growth and exploration spanning just even years; Gallery 10 holds fewer surprises. "Vision 53" is another wonderful work.

At this point, would you agree that the color palette seems a bit locked in? Certainly in terms of tonal range the colors in the last several galleries seem high contrast and super saturated, with certain lighter and airier shades almost exclusively excluded. Controlled palette of colors and the kind of interplay between flat and deep space that I feel is very important. You have developed a reliable set of tools and methods and while these techniques still serve the poetry of your work, by Gallery 10, I sense a sort of "sameness" that has sneaked in and established itself in a large number of the works. I see a sort of "S" shaped compositional devise that is used often in the latest work. You appear to have established, what is a recognizable combination of watercolor and oil brushes, as well as, paper textures that get applied in an overall manner to the entire picture plain. I am sure that seeing this work printed out and at actual size would reveal more texture and nuances than I can see on the web, so my conclusions may not be as accurate as they could be.

My friend, like all good artists, I feel you have reached the point where you need to give yourself a good pat on the back, as well as, a swift kick in the pants. Your accomplishments have been incredible. You have established a very firm base from which you can continue to make very strong work for a very long time, OR, you can, once again, strike out in some new exciting directions.


VK: I appreciate what you have said about my work in general and some particular compositions. I am sending some compositions you have liked so that you can take a look at your leisure. I now realise that enlargements on my website are not large enough - a lesson for future.

Yes softer colours of my original images have got accentuated in recent compositions; sometimes not too pleasant. I have also wondered about heavy purple tinge in some compositions after I convert them to JPG format. Blue is my favourite for sure but not so much purple. Change in colour could also be because I "equalise" early enough and then heighten colour contrast to darken the background.

A word about figurative or representational works in recent galleries. My heart is in abstraction. In the beginning I was seeking figurative work rather deliberately. Later, when I looked my abstract compositions closely, suggestive representations seem to emerge (project) in mind (as in clouds or cracks of the wall). If powerful, I selected these and built them further. This is why a sense of abstraction is still strong in these representations (as you noticed)-- Letter, Forlorn, Vision 25 (Gallery 8) and Meghdoot (Gallery 6). 'Breaking path' (Gallery 7) is representation of Gandhi. In these seemingly representational works abstraction predominates (Vision 39, Vision 36, Creation 62, Composition 162 in Gallery 9). I prefer it this way.

Yes the digital medium comes so naturally to me now that I have covered a long distance in a short period, compacting quite a bit of aesthetic experience, if not achievement. I do not think this would have been possible in such a short time in the conventional techniques.

It is from Gallery 6 onwards that I seem to have really begun feeling the pulse of digital medium. This I have called "sensing the flavour" and "sensing the unique quality" of digital medium in my gallery presentations. You feel I seem to have settled in, "a bit locked in".

I agree that there are many facets of digital medium still weak or entirely missing from my works. I also agree that qualitative improvement between gallery 7 and gallery 10 is not striking, though discernible. I am probably munching on my bite of digital medium (what I have learnt), rather than taking more bites off the diverse and rich digital medium. There are some technical/software barriers yet to cross and new landmarks to reach.

Space is still I am struggling with. I fill my canvas too much, reducing (or sometimes loosing) the impact of essential abstract beauty of the composition. I like the way space has been used in Vision 36, Vision 39 and Vision 40 (Gallery 9) or Vision 29 and Creation 62 (Gallery 8). But this is still sub-optimal and can be substantially improved. Space, Depth and Fluidity is something on which I would particularly like to improve upon. The whole purpose of this exercise is to learn and improve upon. So the option of staying put is out.

Yes, I was busy in September-October 2003 in working with a professional website designer.

JDJ: Thank you for this latest work (Jan-April 2004). I enjoyed seeing it in this form because I could enlarge it a bit on my screen and see more detail. I see that in "Vision 4", "Vision 63", "Creation" and "Creation 2" you have already begun to explore in ways that I might suggest. As in "Vision 63", I think that when one uses texture within one area that space becomes very much like an object and comes forward in the composition; as opposed to applying one texture to the entire surface, which seems to homogenize the surface and makes it seem flat. However, as in "Vision 4" it appears that you have swirled or manipulated the texture in a way that makes it look more like topography than a paper texture; which has a very nice effect.

I think you are doing very much to explore yourself and new techniques. My only suggestion would be to look for more ways that digital technology allows you to make or alter images and keep open to exploring things that you may not be comfortable with. Have you played much with filters. I am not sure what your software offers you, but see what happens when you apply even the most trite filters to your images. Pile them on top of one another, experiment with how layers can interact.

"Streams of Life" is a very interesting piece. I like the way the forms seem to come forward, almost as if they are sculpture. And the composition has a nice flowing and organic feel to it, much like a dancer frozen in time. I think the title works nicely with the piece, as well as, helping the viewer to appreciate how you yourself sees the work.

The most important thing now is how do you feel about where your work is going?

I certainly see a difference in this work that you sent me. You have broken many of the molds that you had developed and yet there remains an essence of Vijay in each of these works. This essence is you, your vision and your history. You have to look very hard at this work and see what you can discover about yourself. Push and break through, continue to challenge yourself. This work should be its own reward.

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Vijaybhai is grateful to J.D.Jarvis for his permission to reproduce this e-mail dialogue over a period of two months. I have immensely benefited from his comments and suggestions.