Digital art: I started out in the mid eighties with an Amiga computer, a mouse and 32 colors using Deluxe Paint

Cadmus. DC FRUIT VENDER

Cadmus digital paintings

Getting into the computer art world actually started in the 60’s. Our high school English teacher assigned us a composition about what we thought the future would be like. I LOVED writing compositions especially if they involved using the imagination.

I concentrated. What might make school a better place? Trying to think, I noticed so many disruptions, jokesters, students just wanting attention. What if we could learn ANYTHING we wanted to without sitting in that desk.

What if there was a “machine box” that contained all the knowledge in the world? You could be anywhere and make use of it. It could tell us the time, play music, tell the weather, tell us anything in the world. It could also be used to control stop lights, create anything we wanted-so then I was on a roll!

Three pages later I was satisfied. The next day she made a few comments concerning the assignment. Then she said, as she called me up front, “this is the best paper of all!!! But- you don’t really believe it do you ?’oh, crushed!

25 years later I was sitting in the kitchen watching the news. Andy Warhol was on tv demonstrating how he was using the Amiga to create art!!! My machine box!!!!so by the next week I had found one for sale at a toy store in Raleigh. After 3 days my sister and brother in law bought one in Houston so they could help me out long distance. Finally managed to get it turned on! A great start. Was addicted to drawing as realistically as I could.

Cadmus. Dan River Mills, Amiga, 32 colors, mouse

Cadmus. Overlay of images on computer

Cadmus blue winter scene drawn with a mouse

More computer Art

Cadmus. Mouse drawn Roanoke market Square

After exhibiting works and winning awards for them,I presented the school board with one and explained that I could teach the students how to use it like I was, if we had some computers at school. I came up with a curriculum guide and again pursued it. The school system tried to buy some for math, English, etc but no teachers wanted to become the first “nerd”. call me anything you want, I would LOVE to have them! So eventually the supervisor, knowing how excited I was about a computer art lab it did come about. I developed a two year program and am very proud of that. Students were amazing with them!

Eventually I switched over to the Mac, and started teaching Photoshop at Averett and DCC, DANVILLE, VA.

CADMUS: DC RIDER. I took this photo while enrolled in a Photography course at the Corcoran Museum of Art one summer.

We had obtained a B/W digitizer for the class, so when school started up again, I digitized the photo and colorized it.

Cadmus. Colorized digital photograph

Photoshop opened a whole new world. 32 million colors, more advanced tecniques