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WINTER 2026

www.pamricedesign.com

No experience needed, just the desire to test your skills. You are guaranteed to leave with a painting you can hang on your wall. Paints, brushes and canvas are supplied. If you've never picked up a brush before, this is for you! Get on the mailing list! We are celebrating the eighth year of 'Painting Workshops'.


Visit the gallery at:  http://www.pamricedesign.com/workshops.html

Sign up at workshops@pamricedesign.com

Quick Line & Color Wash Sketches

Adventurers are deeply committed to reaching new heights. As they climb towards their goals, the support from those around them can be incredibly encouraging—this support is a vital part of their journey. Interestingly, even rivals can inspire one another, contributing to this sense of elevation. Adventurers often stand out, gaining admiration and even envy from others due to their skills and achievements.

In my book series, each adventurer follows their own unique path to forge their destiny. Among them are several younger adventurers who are well on their way. Without a doubt, they will surpass their current selves and achieve great things as they choose their own altitude.

"In  Altitude"Meet adventurers Mike Parnell, Will Johnson, Marie Rogers,

David Ward, Josiah Bishop, Timmy Carter, Helen H. Gentry, and

Pamela C. Rice; with follow ups on Donald Lawson,

Dr. José Jones, and Cecila and Clarence Holland.

SHOP: https://py.pl/6KC8Y0Q2oH3 link

Free-Spirited African-American Adventurers Who Know No Boundaries

STUDENT WORK

A-I is not new; it’s just presented differently. Early forms of automation in art can be traced back to the pioneering use of math and mechanics in artistic design. For instance, in the 1960s, artists began experimenting with computer-generated art using mainframe computers, which were considered groundbreaking at the time.These early uses set the stage for the more complex AI applications in art we see today, both in terms of complexity and storage.


For many years, artists—especially commercial artists—took Artistic Illustrators to develop their work. These techniques have been used to produce art for newspaper ads, fashion, furniture, and products across many

industries. In the 1990s, digital editing software like Photoshop became ubiquitous, allowing artists to refine images with great precision. Building on this, recent machine learning algorithms have further improved fashion and design, making it easier to adapt styles based on trends. As another example,


A-I tools such as virtual staging software have become common in real estate since the 2010s, enabling realtors to enhance homes’ curb appeal. These advancements have changed how art and design are created commercially. Previously, skilled artists—Artistic Illustrators, as I call them— used airbrushing and similar techniques to create these effects. Automobile manufacturers, for instance, airbrushed car images to create a sleek and attractive appearance. Although this manual work was often laborious, it could be rewarding: artists would smooth out unwanted edges, enhance

the painting of bodywork, and retouch fashion models to look slimmer.



Magazines, particularly those featuring Artistic Illustrators, frequently create models whose clothing appears flawless and polished. By contrast, AI-driven retouching can identify flaws and apply corrections much faster and more accurately. This automation yields more consistent outcomes

and allows artists to devote more time to the creative aspects of their projects.


One should not be intimidated by A-I.


The introduction of computer graphics changed artistic possibilities entirely. A skilled digital artist could transform an apple into an orange, morph an orange into a rock, or insert multiple rocks into a landscape. The creative potential has greatly expanded with these new digital tools.


This is where the new A-I comes in: leveraging the speed of technology, algorithmic variations have enabled significant outcomes, including color enhancement, pattern and texture, adding infinite dimensions, and floating matter and morphing effects, all at once.


And just to think, it all began with ‘1’s’ and ‘0’s’—on and off (computer commands). This is why today A-I requires extensive data storage to process vast amounts of information, often including millions of images, texts, and other data. Moreover, there is an increasing demand for data infrastructure, leading to the use of large plots of land for data centers, so perhaps subterranean storage should be considered rather than sprawling across the suburban environment.


So when people mention how rapidly AI is advancing, it is important to remember that AI’s pace matches the evolution of computer technology and its applications. The real question is about the direction we choose to take it—whether we advance ‘downward or outward’.

by Pamela C. Rice

Capabilities Brochures — Infant Welfare Society of Evanston

Donor Card

Unlocking the Future:  AI and the Explosion of Storage Capacities


2025 December Illustration Card

a quarterly publication