The computer graphics image "The Battle" was created as a sort of visual improvisation. During the period when the piece was created David Sherwin was strongly influenced by Chinese and Tibetan dragon mythology.


I work somewhat like a Jazz musician, I improvise visually. My work is purely stream of consciousness. In regards to the piece titles "The Battle" I had been working all night creating & storing visual information on the computer. Around 4 am I just started "playing" with different images, pushing & blending separate segments without stopping, working quickly. It was a culmination of a whole night's work. Within about 20 minutes of doing this I saw a composition emerging & was able to pull it together rather quickly. It only took another 30 minutesto finish the picture. So by 5 am I had a finished picture.

There was no title at first, as I usually work non-objectively. I then realized the piece looked like a landscape. Others saw dragons fighting. I happened to be influenced by Chinese & Tibetan imagery, so I felt the dragon analogy appropriate. At some point after the creation of the piece the title "The Battle" emerged. It stands more as a symbol as in "Battling Forces" of "Battling Energies" The piece also has autobiographical meaning. It expresses the dynamic intensity of my personality.
(D. Sherwin)

David Sherwin started drawing at the age of 5. His father was a painter, so he was exposed to a lot of art. Mostly abstract expressionism. He has been drawing most of his life and started his formal training at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the 60ies. David Sherwin concentrated on sculpture, drawing and painting, getting his masters of fine arts degree in 1968. Moved to Northem California in 1968 and has been here ever since. In 1980 he became interested in computer graphics and has been doing extensive research until the present. Started training in computer graphics in 1987 at the Center for Computer Art and Technology in San Francisco, California. Besides the Lumena paint program he has also learned the Crystal Graphics 3D Modeling & Paint System. David Sherwin has exhibited a computer painting at the Hearst Gallery at St. Mary's College in their Computer Art Show, last winter. He is also doing a lot of research as to output for computer art. One of his most important objectives is to have computer graphic art accepted as a fine art medium.