DIGITAL WAR ART
A Profile of Reji Martin

I live in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada with my wife Pam. We have seven children, two girls and five boys. I am a retired Systems Administrator with Veterans Affairs Canada, where I handled the 80 computer LAN for Veterans Affairs Personnel Section. When I was a young man, my father, Sgt. J.W. Martin, (now retired) was in the Royal Canadian Dragoons and in late 1950s we lived in Germany. Although it was more than ten years after the war then, Germany still showed lots of evidence of the war, which affects me to this day! Having the greatest respect for those who went to war I was very excited at the chance to express my feelings on this subject.

In early 1980, my physical health began to deteriorate and I began to have trouble walking. Although I did not receive a proper diagnoses until years later, it was obvious to me that I was suffering from Post Polio Syndrome -- also known as the "Late Effects of Polio". The virus had hit me in 1950 when I was four years old. Realizing that this was going to get much worse and that running my sign making business wasn't going to last, I had to find an alternative method to bring "home the bacon"!

Being a creative person, one way was as a Commercial Artist. While I was at Holland College here on P.E.I., I was introduced to my first computer. Immediately I had a strong feeling that computers were going to play a large part in commercial graphics and even the arts. So I figured I should get to know more about them. I just jumped right in. Being confined to a wheelchair did not stop me from pursuing this goal either. In fact, it fueled my determination. "Can't do that!" turned into " Watch your toes . . . , cause here I come! " Along with my computer and graphic arts goals, I also took an interest in wheelchair sports, namely basketball and tennis.

Being fortunate enough to be working in Informatics when the desktop computer was first introduced into daily office routine, helped in increasing my knowledge of the business side of computers and allowed me a chance to really use these computers generated graphics. Unfortunately, I had to leave the Department due to my deteriorating condition and now spend my time enjoying my two passions without the restrictions and interruptions of deadlines and/or economic concerns.

To most of us the word 'painting' simply denotes the use of pigments, canvas and a wall to hang it on. The computer has changed that and now with the 'Virtual World' of the Internet, this definition has changed dramatically! Having a resource of more than 120 First World War photos and several books on the war, (especially Pierre Burton's book on Vimy Ridge), I could put these six compositions together. I conceived and completed all these paintings entirely on the computer using Fractal Design Painter, JASC Paintshop Pro and Palette Picker by Lightdream Design (E-mail: service@lightdream.com) (Opens a new window). I also used a Wacom Artzpad II Graphics Tablet -- one of the best pieces of equipment an artist could get for their computer graphic pursuits. It is just like having a brush/pen/pencil in your hand and if you can't do it with those tools, you'll find it more difficult to do with a computer!