Will AI Replace the Creative Genius of Artists?
- 4 days ago
- 9 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
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Introduction and Reflections on AI and Art:
Let me begin by stating that I am nearly 70. I consider myself to be reasonaby savvy and have a broad appreciation of IT and the web. I was a Director of several companies and eventually ran my own business. I retired at 63 and created my first artworks soon after, so I am therefore both new to the art market and more importantly very new to AI and what it can offer. I am self taught but have, over the last six years, benefitted greatly from YouTube Tutorials and reading many books on all subjects relating to art and artists. In fact I have become a total sponge for all things art and, as part of my learning, have reproduced various paintings by the recognised masters.
I recently decided to start my own online gallery, but more of that later.
One day, out of idle curiosity, I downloaded ChatGPT and Grok and began 'to play' - this was mainly due to the fact that I started to see more and more articles about 'AI stuff'. I use the word 'stuff' cautiously because I didn't and still don't fully understand it. Having recently watched a Netflix document entitled 'AI Everywhere' I have to be honest it left me both thoughtful but also made me want to explore and learn even more. However, very quickly, the more I researched and played with it, doubts started to surface. What impact could AI have on my art and, more importantly, the art market as a whole.
The following questions started to bounce around in my head.
Will there still be a demand for artworks created by humans?
How will the artworld change?
Should I use AI in some way as a part of my exploration and development as an artist?
Should I use AI as a tool within the creation of my works?
To give you an example of the dilemmas the questions above created, below is one of my first attempts with AI. Using my latest artwork (all created by myself with no AI intervention, let me say) is a pastel simply called "Kingfisher"
Having finished the original I generated several Giclée prints and added them to The Eyecon Gallery. Then both as a marketing trial I uploaded the image into Grok's 'Imagine' and typed in "Make me a video of the bird coming to life and flying out of the picture" ! It took less than a minute and the result is what you can see below. Just click on the Arrow in the picture.
My Emotional Response
I was amazed, curious and couldn't wait to make something else. I showed it to my wife, I showed it to my golf buddies, and only today my 42 year old son.
And then the questions started.
Did you actually produce the original artwork ?
How do we know?
Couldn't I create something like it with AI ?
Doesn't that worry you for the future of your art?
Will people put the same value on an artwork produced with AI as say a photo or, like the Kingfisher, a pastel?
All very good questions and all that really made me sit back and reflect on what I was getting into. Does the AI created marketing video/reel devalue my work.....?
I find my best thinking time these days is between 0530 and 0630. I have always been an early riser and it's when my mind is at both its most creative and able to problem solve. Mind you come ten o'clock I am completely useless. The old saying "Early to Bed, Early to Rise", sums me up completely.
I am sure I am, like many of my fellow 'sexagenerians', (yes that is the correct spelling and definition of someone between the age of 60 and 70) who came to art late understand that art, as a career, has passed us by.
Yes it's a passion, a relaxation, a great hobby, all of those things but if, like me, you know deep down that enterprise and creativity is in your blood, you just can't help yourself. We still enjoy the challenge of wondering is what I have created saleable? Does it have value?
Can I still do it? Can I still create something of value?
That's what happend for me. I started my art as a hobby, something to do after a busy work life and to keep me occupied. That pacified me for about 2 years.
My first artworks were, when I now look back at them, amateurish and it frustrates the hell out of me.
So, I set about learning and practising. I joined various online art groups, watched tutorials and developed. I hate things beating me. Five years on I am still learning, getting better and starting to have the confidence to show my work and am now happy with my efforts. Then came Artificial Inteligence !!!
I had lunch recently with my brother, also recently retired, and we were talking about the future. As a fully converted Elon Musk disciple, who drives a Tesla, he made a very enlightened comment about my latest concept I was pitching to him.
"Why do you think that will work as a product ?". He said. " You could just do that with AI, print and frame the result and post them out. It would be much quicker and the result may well be better !!!".
I immediately defended my positiion as an artist. "But where is the art in that" I said. His response " Does anyone care if they get what they want and it's cheaper?" He has always been direct :-)
Does it matter? What it means to be an artist.
What is the artist’s traditional role: creativity, stirring emotion, and reflecting human experience.
How AI challenges this role by producing art rapidly and without emotional intent.
Personal struggle with reconciling AI creations and the unique imperfections of human art.
Does it matter? Well surely that boils down to where, as artists, we create perceived value. More importantly how do our potential customers perceive value?
As artists, I believe our outputs create value in many ways.
We stir emotions with our creations, we reflect human passions and moods and contribute to our living spaces. I personally don't believe an AI produced picture can transfer those human emotions into a hand produced artwork. Somehow the work of the hand reflects all of those elements in the finished work. For me, its the conflict I always have with photorealism. I always find myself questioning why. Why would you try to recreate a photograph?
Surely what makes an artwork created by an artist's own hand unique is the fact that it isn't pixel perfect. Now obviously we all have very differing objectives in the creation of our art and that's what makes art so subjective and in many ways unique. For me, and trust me I am still struggling to fight the urge to be an entrepreneur again, I want to create something that people value and perhaps collect.
However I am enjoying my retriement so my main objectives, currently are :-
To enjoy it and make sure it is not stressful.
Cover my costs. (artist materials continue to rise in price steeply)
Share my developing knowledge so others will be able to produce something they value
To give back back and acknowledge the help I have received from other artists along the way, both amateur and professional.
These include Colin Bradley, Oliver Pyle, Geoff Kersey, Adrian Hill and Ian Roberts to name just a few. There are many more...
To give back to the artistic community and fellow newbies and give encouragement to keep going. It is worth it, trust me. "Practice makes perfect"
Does AI challenge the artist's role by producing art rapidly and without emotional intent?
For me the answer to that question is a big NO. So let me use the case of the introduction of the E-Reader to the book market by way of explaining how I have come to that point of view.
E-readers generally increased overall reading and book purchasing, especially from about 2007–2015 when devices like Kindle expanded globally.
Key effects:
• Lower prices encouraged more impulse buying
• Instant downloads increased convenience
• Global access widened markets
• Backlist titles (older books) saw renewed sales
Many publishers reported that e-books expanded total book sales rather than replacing print entirely, especially early on.
However E-books are typically cheaper than print:
• Print novel: £8–£20
• E-book: often £1.99–£7.99
So this has greatly reduced the average revenue per unit sold, affecting income calculations for both publishers and authors. Could the impact be the same for artists?
Well the difference here is about the distribution of print, not the original work created by the author. Rarely does an author sell his original script whereas artists do. When it comes to giclée prints however suddenly the whole world has become our market place rather than the traditional high street galleries. For new artists especially suddenly the gatekeepers to the market can be bypassed. You can have your own gallery or piggy back with another artist and create your own online gallery. There is of course a downside here. Suddenly market choice is also expanding so USP's (Unique Selling Points) become even more important if you want your art to stand out and make a living from it. Not something us Sexagenerians usually have to worry about. .
In summary therefore: E-readers did not simply increase or decrease author income — they transformed the system.
The Bottom line
Top authors and successful self-publishers often earn more than before
Many mid-tier or new authors earn less per book but sell considerably more books because their target market is so much bigger
The biggest change: Income is now more volatile and unequal, but with greater opportunity for those who succeed
Confronting Fear: Will AI Replace Artists?
So when we now apply the above to art and artists my views, and I would love to read yours, are as follows :-
There will always be development and AI is not going to go away. The skill of the true artist will be to harness the benefits that AI provides and mitigate the hazards and impacts by using it as a tool whilst maintaining our human touch in all of the ways we have discussed above.
Yes there will be anxieties but so there were about the computer, the car, the aeroplane all human inventions which we continue to have a major impact upon whist harnessing the benefits that AI brings.
Have confidence in yourself and your ability to both manage AI and use it to your advantage. If not, I genuinely believe progress will pass you by. Remember what makes art created by humans have value.
AI lacks genuine human experience, emotion, and storytelling and it relies completely on the data that we create. In effect it is a parasite and we have to have the confidence to control it and use it as a tool.
All artists are naturally creative and used correctly AI will help you to create new ideas, new inspiration and new subjects and even perhaps creative blocks. Because let's be honest there is nothing new under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 1:9. “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”
The Unquantifiable Value of Human Creativity
AI at present does not have human intuition, personal human experience and, most importantly, human emotions. Human imperfections add authenticity and depth in everything we create. It's what makes us human.
My Conclusion
AI will not kill the creative artist, but I am pretty sure it will transform what being an artist means.
It will open up more markets and, used as a tool, will generate wealth in different ways away from the traditional art markets
It will encourage young artists to adapt, learn and redefine their creative boundaries
It will not be for the sexagenerian or the collectors of human art with all its imperfections and unique qualities.
Value comes from rarity and for collectors the fewer the unique pieces of artwork, the better. For artists what AI may do however is introduce them more efficiently to that collector.
The Eyecon Gallery
As I indicated above I have just launched my own gallery. The Eyecon Gallery and I would like to extend an offer to any new artist out there who would like to use it as their own market place as well. If we receive interest we will open out the gallery change some of the text and allow you to sell your art, including a biography about you and your work.
There will be no charge and no commission fees, we will display your art and Giclée prints for sale alongside mine but you will set the price. You will ship from your location and deal with any queries or commissions directly with your clients. This is my way of giving back and helping up and coming artists get a foothold in the market.
If it's of interest please contact me using the contact page here.
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