{"id":15094,"date":"2025-06-15T19:47:29","date_gmt":"2025-06-15T19:47:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/disruptarian.com\/blog\/?p=15094"},"modified":"2025-06-15T19:50:42","modified_gmt":"2025-06-15T19:50:42","slug":"from-ink-to-ai-how-a-lifetime-of-art-led-me-to-embrace-the-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disruptarian.com\/blog\/from-ink-to-ai-how-a-lifetime-of-art-led-me-to-embrace-the-future\/","title":{"rendered":"From Ink to AI: How a Lifetime of Art Led Me to Embrace the Future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For decades, I\u2019ve lived and breathed creative expression. Whether it was my teenage poetry journals, hand-drawn tattoo designs, or websites I built from scratch in the early days of the internet, I never needed anyone's permission to create. Long before AI was in the conversation, I was already innovating with digital tools to bring my ideas to life. But recently, I\u2019ve found myself reflecting on how far I\u2019ve come \u2014 and how AI has revolutionized the way I create today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in 1999, I launched CreativeGrace.org. The Wayback Machine captured it in 2001\r\n \r\n <\/g><\/svg><\/span><\/a>, a full year before I ever met my ex-wife. This site was just one of many artistic platforms I developed on my own. Others include TPNetworks.net, TechProNow.com, and Wheresthemap.info. I designed and managed every part of these projects myself, and I made it clear: no one else, including my ex, would dictate how they evolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sure, I bought her a domain \u2014 ArtisticByNature.com \u2014 and she filled it with her art. That was 90% her vision. But I was behind the SEO, some of the content, and all the technical implementation. Her insistence that her “hand-drawn” work was somehow more authentic than my digital creations missed the point: all art is real. Tools don't define creativity, and ironically, even her hand-drawn pieces were finalized and enhanced in Photoshop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photoshop, like AI today, is just another tool. And it matters. It made her art more marketable. It made hard things like drawing hands or feet easier. The truth is, without digital tools, most art would be less efficient to produce, and frankly, less viable as a source of income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s be clear \u2014 I\u2019ve always created by hand too. I gave myself tattoos starting at age 12. Here\u2019s a video showing just that: Tattoo Video<\/use><\/svg><\/span><\/a>. I also wrote poetry that was published long before marriage ever entered the equation. My poem “40 Days in The Desert,” written for my brother\u2019s funeral, was published in several poetry collections and on the original Justin-Thompson.com site: Read it here<\/use><\/svg><\/span><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This post isn't about revisiting old disputes or invalidating someone else's art. It's about recognizing that I have always been an artist, in multiple mediums, and that I\u2019ve adapted over time. The real conversation here is about disruption \u2014 the kind of disruption that AI brings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have five kids now. I can\u2019t afford to spend 8 months illustrating a children's book for a modest check. I still put in just as many hours as I ever did, but now I get exponentially more done. That counts. In a world where your monthly bills dwarf your artistic income, efficiency isn't a luxury; it's survival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This isn\u2019t new. Every industrial revolution demanded adaptation. In 2017, I shared this video from Gary Vaynerchuk explaining why we must embrace technological shifts: Watch here<\/use><\/svg><\/span><\/a>. That message hit home. I don\u2019t use AI because I have to. I use it because it empowers me to keep creating instead of settling for something else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the choice is between creative productivity with AI, or a day job that drains the life out of me, I\u2019ll pick AI every time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And let\u2019s not forget \u2014 I was doing this long before AI. Sites like Slu2.com<\/strong>, BehindZionCurtain.com<\/strong>, UtahPirateRadio.com<\/strong> and CreativeGrace.net<\/strong> all bear witness to my independent creative drive. Many of these domains are still in my portfolio, part of a growing collection of over 50 domains I own and manage. Of course the Way Back Machine (Internet Archive) is also witness to these creations as well: https:\/\/web.archive.org\/<\/use><\/svg><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, why do I use AI?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because I\u2019m an artist. Because I\u2019m a father. Because I still want to create.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And because I refuse to get left behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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