Artist Theresa Airey’s creative process might include snapping a photo, using an app to turn it into a sketch, printing it out, and then painting over the print out.

Ten to 20 years ago, some art purists might have raised their eyebrows. Luckily, in today’s era of digital photography, few people bat an eyelid.

“I don’t ‘take’ images; I make them,” Ms Airey said. “And I always make it clear that the way the image is presented is not how it was taken with a camera.”

Her work in the Bermuda National Gallery (BNG) Bermuda Biennial 2014 includes iconic images of Bermuda, such as beach chairs in front of the ocean, with bubbles floating across containing alternate images. Ms Airey will be giving a talk about her work as part of the BNG Art Talk series with 2014 Biennial artists.

Ms Airey said that modern technology such as smart phones and tablets, and all the apps that come with them, are really pushing the boundaries of art.

“All the apps have given me a jump start into making a painting and doing more abstract, and more collaged work,” she said. “I enjoy that. I think the apps have really opened up the border between traditional art and digital. This has created a little alley way that allows you to do both (fine art and digital art) and it is accepted now.”

She said the idea for the bubble series in the 2014 Bermuda Biennial came about after chatting with visitors who naively thought she, and other Bermuda residents, spent all day, every day, laying on the beach.

“Everyone who comes to visit me from abroad thinks I live in paradise,” she said. “They think there is no stress, no arguments with family members, none of the real life activities that go on. I said ‘what do you think, all our houses and flowers just come floating to us in a bubble? They take a lot of work’.”

Her artistic influences include Belgian surrealist painter Rene Magritte (1898-1967) known for his paintings of floating top hats, and also contemporary photographers such as Ansel Adams and Jerry Yulsman. She worked for Adams and Yulsman early on in her career.

She has been basing her artwork around digital images for the last ten or twelve years.

“It is more accepted now,” she said.

“There is always the die hard purist out there. I tell people I am not a purist. I love taking the tools that are available to me, and using my skills to make an image. I am not trying to fool anyone. I tell people right away what it is. My art is in the light room now, it used to be in the darkroom.

She now teaches art workshops in Bermuda and abroad. She has written several books on photography.

The first book she wrote was about creative dark room techniques and the latest is called Creative Digital Techniques: New Dimensions. The changing titles show the magnitude of change in the photography industry in the last several decades.

“To me, it is about showing people how I felt about when I took that image, rather than what I saw,” she said. “I just love it. I hope I never get bored with it.”

During the talk on Wednesday she will give a PowerPoint presentation showing the audience exactly what she did to achieve her Biennial images.

“I want the viewer to get enjoyment out of my work,” she said. “I just want them to have fun. We are here on this Earth for such a short time, and I don’t think we celebrate what is right with the world enough. There is enough documentary photography that shows all the things that are wrong. To me it is about showing the beauty of our planet and Bermuda.”

Ms Airey will speak on Wednesday, August 27 from 12.30pm to 1.30pm at the BNG.

Admission is free, but donations are accepted. RSVP to director@bng.bm or 295-9428. The next Art Talk will be with John Gardner on September 10 from 12.30pm to 1.30pm at the BNG. For more information see www.bermudanationalgallery.com.