I’ve been an artist my entire life. I have a BFA and a long history of creation, so whether I’m a “real” artist is not up for debate in my mind. Even so, when I began using AI, I lost collectors and longtime supporters. People who already knew my situation acted as if I had suddenly become less of an artist or less of a person. That betrayal piled on top of the grief I already carried about possibly never drawing or painting again.

I kept integrating AI into my practice anyway. I have to make art, and I love experimenting with new tools. Some days the pain still gets so bad I can’t sit at a computer for long, yet I still create.

Eventually my AI glitch work found its audience. New collectors appeared. The pieces have been exhibited around the world, auctioned at Sotheby’s, and this year one even entered a museum collection here in CDMX. That success brought its own challenges, but I will always keep creating with whatever tools I choose.

This year, thanks to brutal physical therapy, constant heat therapy, and new medication that finally addresses the underlying condition, feeling is coming back to my hand and the pain is decreasing. For the first time in years I can paint and draw consistently again. Fine motor control is coming back while numbness recedes.

So with all this to me when AI haters post “pick up a pencil or die” at AI artists, it’s not just rude and threatening. It’s ableist as fuck. It comes from a crowd that sanctimoniously believes they’re defending “real” art while erasing disabled creators who adapted in order to keep working.

Real artists use whatever tools let them fulfill their vision and create, no matter what collectors, institutions, movie directors, random furry artists, or anyone else thinks. Real artists inspire people. Real artists pioneer and expand the definition of art instead of gatekeeping it.

If you’re that worried about the future of creativity, maybe spend your time learning to code or understanding how the tech actually works, instead of punching at other artists while claiming to be defending real art. Or log off, worship your pencils in silence, get genuinely good with them, and leave the rest of us in peace to explore new tools and see if the little things we make today can compound into a better world tomorrow where tech helps uplift everyone, not just a few.