My name is Lauren McDonagh-Pereira. I am a photographer, blogger, school counselor, and AI-artist. I want to share my journey and experiences navigating the fascinating frontier of AI and art.

Explore the Digital Art Renaissance with Me

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ⓒ Lauren McDonagh-Pereira Photography 2013[/caption]

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In early 2022, I stumbled upon the web3 art world. Eager to expand my horizons, I built a Twitter presence and began selling my 20-year backlog of photography as unique NFT art pieces. My time in the NFT community led me down a rabbit hole of learning about emerging technologies, especially at the crossroads of art, technology, and education.

© Lauren McDonagh-Pereira Photography

A few months into my web3 experience, I noticed AI-art generators like Midjourney, Dall-E, and Stable Diffusion becoming hot topics. These technologies were polarizing: some saw them as revolutionary tools, while others viewed them as threats to traditional artists.

I took a middle-ground approach, acknowledging the potential risks to career artists while appreciating the new vistas AI could open for creativity.

Unleashing knowledge, AI's purpose unfolds bright, Empowering minds.

Eager to understand this groundbreaking technology, I decided to explore AI-image generation. I sought answers to pressing questions like how it works, why it's revolutionary, and its implications for independent artists like myself.

In October of 2022, a community art contest hosted by artist @TocoDeco provided the perfect opportunity for my first public AI-art display. The challenge was to create wizard-themed art minted on the Tezos blockchain for Halloween. 

Inspired by my children, Oliver and Madeline, I jumped in. Using a Midjourney account through Discord, I initiated a prompt for a scene featuring toddler wizards walking through autumn woods. A series of generated images presented me with choices.

After picking my favorite images, I moved them into Photoshop for some fine-tuning. A few adjustments and a couple of hours later, I submitted my piece to the Wizard Con 2022 contest.

"We'll Find the Magic Together" by Lauren McDonagh-Pereira

The AI-art experiment also inspired me to recreate the digital scene through my first love—photography. I dressed my kids in wizard costumes and tried to mimic the AI-generated art. The outcome delighted me, reaffirming the unlimited potential at the intersection of traditional art and machine learning.

"We'll Find the Real Magic Together" by Lauren McDonagh-Pereira

After my initial success, I couldn't stop. Using AI, I started transforming random thoughts into digital art pieces, ranging from anthropomorphic toast to expressive landscapes and touching family scenes.

© Lauren McDonagh-Pereira Photography

I've learned so much through trial and error, and from my community on Twitter Spaces. I wanted to compile this knowledge into an all-in-one guide for those intrigued by the potential of AI-art.

I invite you to join me on this fascinating journey at the intersection of art, technology, and education. Will you take the leap?

Lauren McDonagh-Pereira is a photographer from Massachusetts, USA. She captures the beauty of the world around her, favoring Nikon cameras and lenses. She is drawn to shooting landscapes, wildlife, nature, and people authentically enjoying life. 

Tweet me @LAMPphotography

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