Hitting 50 and starting again, from scratch.

Abstract digital artwork by Andrew Orchard

I have to admit, I'm a bit late to the party with this blog, because I began creating digital art 28 years ago. For some reason I could never justify taking it seriously enough to put some effort into making it 'my thing.'

Almost three decades of being a graphic designer, craftsman and photographer, working exceedingly long hours, sapped all the 'free' time out of my life. Making a living as a full time creative isn't easy. If I couldn't make money from it, then I couldn't justify using up valuable time on it - and my brand of digital art is hardly commercial, so it remained a quirky part of my past, buried deep and filed under, 'Missed opportunities.' Reaching the grand old age of 50 was a wake up call. Seeing my other creative businesses burn out, fade away or begin to cause me mental torment through the dark years of 2020 onwards, left me feeling lost and in need of a fresh start. I tried a few new things - mixed media painting, crafts, even writing, but nothing felt right. I was close to giving up on my creative life - or at least taking a break to go do something 'normal,' but when you've spent 40 plus years being a creative person, it's not easy to let go, regardless of how burned out you feel. Back at the beginning of 2025, I was having a nostalgic look through my old photos when I found the original digital artwork I'd created back in the late 90s and early 2000s for my band. I sparked something in me - a long lost flicker of a dream I once had. Back in the 90s when I discovered digital art, I had lofty dreams of making a living creating album covers for bands. I was in a band myself and through word of mouth, I got the odd job with local bands to design theirs, but it never progressed to anything more.

Abstract digital artwork by Andrew Orchard

How it started.

From my early teens I was obsessed with music, sitting hours looking at album covers and dreaming of learning how to become an artist myself. I was inspired by other albums cover artists like Roger Dean, Chris Achilleos, Rodney Matthews and Tim White, but even though I tried hard to learn airbrush techniques and paint on canvases with real paints, I just never had the patience or the skill to reach the level of expertise my favourite artists possessed. Rather than be disheartened by my artistic struggles, I instead redirected my passions towards photography and began building a portfolio of abstract images. The turning point for me was seeing the cover for Machine Head's first album, 'Burn my Eyes,' by Dave McKean. I was mesmerised by that art, and spent hours looking trying to figure out how it had been made. You have to remember, this was the early 90s and I didn't have internet back then, so it wasn't like I could do a quick Google search or watch a YouTube tutorial.

Getting Photoshop for my ancient Apple Mac Performer 6200, was a revelation to me. I never had any formal training, but through experimentation, I eventually figured out how to combine images, use filters and create my own art.

Where do I take it from here?

Since rediscovering my passion for digital art over the last year, I've produced over 150 new pieces, so my portfolio is looking very healthy. I've begun building a new catalogue of reference images too, so my photography has also been given a new found purpose.

I'm in discussions with a local gallery to launch my first solo exhibition in 2026 and I've applied to submit my work to a number of open exhibitions too. I'm starting a new Youtube series where I video myself taking photos and then using those to show my art creation processes, so hopefully that will help me gain a wider audience. Ultimately, I would still love to create art for album covers. I know there's been a resurgence in physical media recently, so perhaps there are still enough bands and musicians out there who value real art over AI generated slop.