Artist uses computer as a paint brush

Michael Kinnicutt creates beautiful images with camera and computer. The photographs he takes near his Sisters home of mountains, sagebrush and clouds need no explanation. But the art Kinnicutt creates with his computer is hard to explain. He said people not familiar with fractal art often stare and ask, “What IS it?”

Fractal art starts with a mathematical formula rendered on a computer that produces infinite repeating patterns. The artist searches for the most interesting pattern, then frames and colors it.

“The fractals represent hours of exploring the mathematical fractal set and more hours to get just the right light and color,” said Kinnicutt.

Fractal art requires high-tech equipment to create, yet it often evokes nature. Images are reminiscent of the repeating patterns found in frost, feathers, a conch shell, or the coastline. Kinnicutt finds the search fascinating.

“Fractals are so infinite that no two are exactly the same,” said Kinnicutt. “When you make one, it is completely unique to you.”

The art form was born in the 1950s when the mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot discovered fractal geometry. This led to the scientific study of Chaos Theory. Fractals moved from the realm of science when artists became interested in the repeating patterns. Today an active fractal art community exists on the Web.

Kinnicutt explains that “fractalists,” as they are called, are not making “computer-generated art.”

“That would be like calling a painting ‘brush generated’ as if there were no artist,” said Kinnicutt. “A computer is simply a tool to translate the human-created fractal math formula into color dots.”

Kinnicutt’s background is a combination of art and science. In college he studied graphic arts and he has worked as a photographer for 40 years. Along the way, he worked as a record producer, a DJ and a Web site designer in the early days of the Internet.

Kinnicutt also has a strong interest in weather. However, he did not want to return to college for a meteorology degree. So instead, he bought all the textbooks and read them to gain the same knowledge. His interest in weather and wind surfing spawned another business venture in his former home, Hood River. Kinnicutt wrote a computer program to predict wind patterns for fellow wind surfers.

Kinnicutt’s love of nature and his interest in technology are evident in both his fractals and his photographs. A viewer could look at either art form and see a scenic vista, galaxies in space, snowflakes, or a mountain range.

He enjoys exploring Central Oregon’s back roads in his Jeep hoping to “capture a piece of this beautiful land.”

Kinnicutt, who has created more than 500 fractal images, is producing a calendar of his work. His 2006 calendar will feature fractals that evoke the seasons.

Kinnicutt’s fractal art can be found in Sisters at Sunbuster Video and Fotos in a Flash. His photography can be found in local stores such as Paulina Springs Books or online at http://www.infinite.smugmug.com.