As the subject of computer art seems to be big today, let me lay claim to
doing one of the first paintings based upon a computerized image. I did my
first and only computer generated painting in 1976 (Can it possibly be 21 years
ago!!!). It was done from a TV signal fed into a computer then printed out
using the old typewriter symbols. The symbols included @#$*+-:;'. The
image was a self-portrait. I painted it 36"x48" using pointilistic color
theory. I used yellow ochre, ceruleun blue, cadmium red light, and acra
violet on a white canvas. To imitate the dot matrix printer, I used groups
of toothpics taped together and dipped in the various colors of paint.

The drawing was the most complex part of the project. I graphed the various
symbols on the print-out then used a movable grid made up of fishing line
attached at 1/2 inch intervals on a couple pieces of lattice. I used
C-clamps to hold these lattice strips in place at the top and bottom of the
canvas for the vertical lines and on either side for the horizontal lines.
Where the fishing lines crossed made a series of squares into which I drew
the various typewriter symbols. Close up the painting had a very abstract
look. From a distance, the whole thing came together to form a likeness. It
hangs today high above the door in our bedroom (cathedral ceiling). The
original computer image was created at an amusement park booth beneath one of
the rotating restaurant towers near Niagara Falls in Canada where we went to
celebrate the U.S. Bicentennial.