Photoshop vs. my hand

This is a piece I completed recently for my college ministry group – a “ticket” for our kick-off barbeque. I said I’d help handle publicity for our event, and chose to do so by creating an informational ticket to distribute throughout campus. My Photoshop skills are not extensive, so instead I chose to draw and watercolor our barbeque ticket. The process offered me moments to consider the extent of manual work opposed to technological methods. What can Photoshop do that I can’t with pen and brush? And what can my direct contact with the paper do that Photoshop will never be equipped to handle? My final product was adequate. It conveyed a message a message. But more importantly to me, it was a work of art – not a masterpiece, but a little pen and watercolor sketch expressing direct contact and emotion, also necessary in an advertisement of our sorts. I’m certain a Photoshop pro could recreate my dinky, little ticket at a quality demanded by Martha Stuart for a formal wedding, but I still believe there is “something” about anything produced by hand.