『Samuel Reyes』のカバーアート

Samuel Reyes

Samuel Reyes

著者： Samuel Reyes
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Samuel Reyes is an artist with OCD, High Functioning Autism, and a misfiring thalamus. On this podcast he discusses navigating being a neurodivergent artist with his faith in Jesus Christ, and presents how adjusting how he thinks about art has helped me create more frequently and consistently.Samuel Reyes アート
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  • Where Do Artists Stand With AI? And How Do We Do It?

    Where Do Artists Stand With AI? And How Do We Do It?
    2026/05/28
    DOES AI HAVE A PLACE IN OUR LIVES AS ARTISTS? The topic of AI comes up a lot for me because I work as a software developer. It's something I see kind of all day, every day. And so I am constantly reflecting on what potential does AI have in the life of an artist and as a creative individual. Now, most of you hearing that are probably going to immediately—those who are hearing that as creatives—are going to be like, "well, it has no place." But does it? Now, I will say this: using it to replace a thing that you love to do does not have a place in your life. And that's one of the things that I've been reflecting on. The Core Issue I've mentioned it before on this podcast, but there is the meme: "I want an AI that does my dishes so that I have more time for my art, not an AI that does my art so that I have more time for my dishes." It's one of my favorite quotes when it comes to AI because I feel like it represents the core issue really well. Now, I want to look at the people who created AI briefly—and I don't mean like Elon Musk or any specific people by name, I'm talking about the mindset and the problem. The problem for the people who came up with image generators... let's look at that first. These are not individuals who love to draw or paint. They might enjoy it, but they don't love it in the same way. I know that's a bit of a blanket statement—there might be some exceptions—but for the most part, they had a problem they wanted to solve. They wanted to automate the thing that they didn't love to do so that they could focus their energies on the things that they do. For these individuals, it is coding, it is programming, it is creating software and generating output through that software. For them, having to stop the development process to produce a piece of art was a problem that they were trying to solve and automate away. And they did it. In doing so, they solved the problem for every like-minded individual. And I think that is an important thing to consider as well. AI image generators were never meant, in my opinion, to be really used by artists. They're meant to solve the problem of creating art for those who don't want to create art. A Thinning of the Clientele Now you might be thinking—and it's a valid question—"well, why not pay someone else to do so?" That was another problem that they were solving. The problem was, how do I get art that I'm content with without having to pay someone else? You see, these people are not the ones who would have been your clients who would have paid you anyways. It is true that some artists have lost their jobs to AI, but the people who fired them or let them go or stopped hiring them are not people who wanted to be paying you in the first place. Now, in some ways, yes, this could be perceived as a problem because it means an artist has lost a job. But it could also be viewed as a thinning of the clientele. There will be fewer less-than-ideal clients to work with; less, hopefully, people trying to take advantage of you because they didn't want to hire you to do the art in the first place. Anyways, I don't want to make this about—this isn't to be a discussion about the business of running an art business in an AI world. Rather, it's meant to point out the detail that the people who created AI image generators were trying to solve a problem, and that problem was they didn't want to have to stop to create art and they didn't want to have to pay someone else to do it. And in solving that problem for themselves, they solved it for everyone who was like-minded. Walking in Both Worlds Now, this is where I struggle. Do I, as an artist, perceive their efforts as an attack or not? I have the luxury—I say luxury, it doesn't always feel like a luxury—of not having art be my source of income. I pursued a career in software development and that brings its own headaches and miseries with it. Other times it can be absolutely fun, but a lot of the time I'm like, "this isn't what I wanted. I wanted to be an artist." I am grateful that God has blessed me with a means to provide for my family, but I wanted—I've always wanted to be an artist in some capacity. So, going from there, I think we need to go back to the same question that the people who created AI image generators started with: What is the problem I'm trying to solve and how do I automate it away? One of the big challenges, and I think one of the reasons so many artists feel attacked right now, is artists are not inherently technical—a lot of them anyways. There's some like myself who walk in both worlds, some who are programmers and artists as well. There's others who are not; they're just into the art side of things. I think that in and of itself, though, is the core problem. And let me explain what I mean by that. When we only have one side producing results, it's going to feel like an attack on the other. Without more artists also becoming programmers, the automation of creativity is going to ...
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    13 分
  • Is Your Time To Create Limited Or Non-Existent?

    Is Your Time To Create Limited Or Non-Existent?
    2026/05/25
    The Creative Scratch: Finding Time to Build When Your Schedule is Full What do you do when you have no time to create, but you desperately want to? This is a problem that I have been dealing with in my own life right now. My job is very time-consuming. Some weeks I'm putting in the standard 40 hours, and other weeks I might be putting in 50, 60 hours or more. I know that there are some people who put in even more than that. Between managing a career, being a husband, raising five kids, and balancing church responsibilities, trying to squeeze in time for creative passions is a constant challenge. I get to the end of the week sometimes and I just kind of feel like: What did I even do with myself this week? Where did all the time go? Then the next week starts and it feels like, Here we go again. I am a creative person. I love to draw, and I love to paint. I love to write fiction, and I write song lyrics (I can't actually write music, but I do like to write lyrics, and on a very rare occasion, maybe some poetry). I also like to read, though I rarely get to pick up a book. Sometimes we just feel trapped. We might find ourselves on our knees, if we're religious, saying, "God, what do I do in this situation? You put into me these desires to create and I have no time to act on them in any way or fashion. You gave me these desires because they bring me joy, and because there's no time to create, I feel a lack of joy in my life at this time. I feel stuck." That is how I feel right now in my life in a lot of ways. I feel stuck. But I feel stuck with Jesus—and I would rather feel stuck with Jesus than without Him. Squeezing in the Scratch: The Sticky Note Strategy This last week, I looked for little bits of time that I had here and there. I got myself a fresh pack of sticky notes last time I was at Walmart (one of the nice, tall stacks). Now, at the start of a meeting, I might doodle something quick and little. If it looks like it's a meeting that's going to be very attention-consuming—meaning I've got to pay attention—I'll do something small and fast just because I need to scratch that creative itch. I need to get a little bit of joy from doing so. I know the meeting is about to be draining, and I know that I need to prep myself mentally for it. A little sticky note sketch sometimes is enough to give me that extra bit of joy before doing something intensive. Unexpected Beginnings: From Changing Tires to Desktop Art I have the benefit of working a desk job now, and I have for just about my entire career. But one of my very first jobs was working at a tire shop. I got pretty good at changing tires, but one day the business computer was stolen. My boss kept all of his receipts for years, but his only digital copy of the business records was on that machine. (It wasn't even that great of a computer for the time, but someone still stole it. It would do thieves good to learn more about the hardware they're taking before they make the effort to break in somewhere—though that's not advice for thieves. Don't steal. That's my real advice.) My boss was a man who liked to help young people from less fortunate backgrounds, often hiring those who had been in trouble with drugs or the law to help them get their lives back on track. I went to the same church as him, and he knew I needed work, so he offered me a job. After the theft, he pulled me aside and said, "All of my records are gone. I need them all recreated. You're the only person in this shop who doesn't come from a problematic background, and I know I can trust you. Would you be willing to rebuild all of this for me?" He pointed to a massive pile of semi-organized receipts. I said yes. That was my first desk job. It took me weeks to get through it all. The other guys in the shop would look at me and say, "Why does he get to sit at a computer?" I’d reply, "Well, come look at the work that I'm doing," and they’d immediately back peg: "Okay, yeah, I'm gonna go back to changing tires." I always thought that was amusing. They thought they wanted to do it until I showed them the numbers and how I was balancing them. Then they decided they were better off changing tires and talking to people. Ever since then, through a church mission, college, tech support, and eventually entering the tech ecosystem as a developer, I’ve been at a desk. But my first love was never development. The Hidden Artistry of Technical Work I pursued a career that I honestly never intended to. When I first felt prompted to become a developer, I argued: You want me to do this professionally? I didn't even enjoy this the first time I tried it when I was 16. But the impression I got back was clear: Yes, because it will let you provide for a family. And it has done that very well, allowing my wife the option to stay home and raise our five kids, which was a situation we intentionally sought and prioritized. But even though my primary job is technical, I’ve realized that coding in and of ...
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    20 分
  • The Old Testament As A Foundation In Our Lives

    The Old Testament As A Foundation In Our Lives
    2026/05/21
    The Old Testament As Foundational Knowledge My kids had one of their friends over yesterday. They're about ten or eleven years old. Since their visit, I've been reflecting on a conversation that was had. One of the thoughts that I keep having is: Who and what is God? The reason that comes to mind is because we were briefly talking about God. The boy who was visiting was telling us that his family believes that God is a beam of light that exists inside of everyone. They believe that Jesus Christ was the light given a body. I have been reflecting on this for hours (well, it could only be hours because the conversation was only yesterday). I don't actually know this kid's parents. They live in another town. I've met his stepdad a couple of times. His biological dad, as far as I know, doesn't talk about God a whole lot, but in his mother's home with his stepdad, they do quite a bit. I asked him a question: "Well, what does it say about God in the book of Genesis? And what does it say about us?" He looked at me and said, "I don't really know anything about Genesis. We don't talk about it. We only look at Jesus and the New Testament." The Pattern of the Old Testament My mission here is not to criticize him or anyone else who takes that approach to the scriptures. My mission is to ask a question: What are we missing about who God is, and who we are, by not investing more of our time in the Old Testament? There is a lot of focus on the New Covenant versus the Old Covenant. But the Old Testament is not simply an old covenant; it also provides a bunch of foundational knowledge about who God is and why He does the things that He does. The Old Testament gives the New Testament a foundation on which to stand. Jesus Himself regularly quotes the Old Testament. As an example, I'm going to turn to the very beginning of the book of Genesis: "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." Genesis 1:26–28 God didn't say anything about being a beam of light. He says, "I have an image. I'm going to create man after my own image." I think that is really important. This is not a discussion about who and what God is; this is a discussion of foundational knowledge. When I read the New Testament, can I really say that I understand it in full if I don't understand the foundation? If I haven't spent time building my foundation? Ready-to-Go Foundations I know that when Jesus was talking to Peter, He says, "Upon this rock, if you build, you shall not fall." There are different discussions about what that rock is. Some believe the rock is literally Peter; some believe that the rock is a testimony of Jesus Christ; others believe that the rock is our ability to receive truth directly from God—because right before that, Jesus had asked, "Do you know who I am?" and Peter said, "Yes." That answer came through God's Spirit. I am inclined to believe it's a bit of the latter—that upon this rock of receiving witnesses through the Holy Ghost, we will build our foundations. But it's also upon the rock of Jesus Christ Himself. Part of that rock is looking at what God has already given us. Why would I start building my foundation completely from scratch when God has already given me most of the foundation to start building on? That's what the scriptures are. You hold them in your hands; they are a ready-to-go foundation. By "ready-to-go," I mean we have it in the Bible. It's written, it's recorded, it's history, it's certain, it's sure. We can hold it in our hands, read it, and put it in our minds and hearts. As we do, we build a foundation that God desires us to have. I don't doubt that Jesus Christ did this Himself in many ways. If you look at His life, you will see patterns where He was applying principles from the Old Testament as well, using them as His foundation for following His Father. We see this when Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, and Jesus responds by quoting the Old Testament. He was intimately familiar with it; it was a foundation for Him, and it will also be a foundation for us. Aligning Our Creativity with God Most of what I focus on has to do with being creative. So, I want to ask this question: How does this idea of knowing about the foundation affect our ability to be creative? For me, as I know more about who God is and why He does the things that He does, I find it easier to align myself with Him. I believe that creativity, to the varying degrees that we have it, are ...
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    19 分
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