Butler Art Center and Gallery. Butler Eagle File Photo

An upcoming show at the Butler Art Center and Gallery will feature digitally touched up photographs alongside images depicting mythological interpretations created partially on a computer — both of which adhere to the gallery’s theme.

The gallery’s first ever digital art show will begin Feb. 9 and will display art created by digital means, from computers to phones. One of the artists submitting art to the gallery, Dennis Keyes, of Karns City, creates “contemporary interpretations of ancient mythology and folklore,” using computer programs and physical paint.

“I guess I start with an idea. From that idea grows an image in my mind, and I try to create that image using pieces of things I find on the internet or pieces from my own photographs,” Keyes said. “I put it on a canvas and over paint it with acrylic to create the thing that I imagine.”

Keyes said digital methods of creating art have become more and more common over the 10-plus years he has been using his method.

Courtney McNamara, marketing director for the Butler Art Center and Gallery, said the Associated Artists of Butler County wanted to bring a new kind of art to the center for a display.

“We were talking about how can we bring in a younger crowd; what’s a more modern exhibit could we do,” McNamara said. “We came up with this idea and that's how it emerged, to try to do something different. We're really trying to create a more diverse spectrum of arts.”

McNamara said the deadline for submissions for the display is Feb. 3, and the gallery has already received several pieces of digital art so far.

Keyes said he takes inspiration for his art from the many international trips he takes, and he has incorporated Vietnamese, Chinese, Mexican and French cultures into his work. He also gets inspiration from international performance art, including Rusalka, a 1901 opera.

“My earliest ones were from a trip to Italy,” Keyes said of his digital artwork. “I took a lot of photos from famous places.”

Marianne Hill, an artist from Sarver, said she plans to submit digital photos she took of mostly naturalistic subjects, which are touched up digitally. She said she uses programs included on her phone to not only take photos, but to change certain properties of them.

“You can pull all the color off, put color where you want it to be. You can do layering like a stencil,” Hill said. “It opens up a whole new world for just about anything. I'm just going to put some photos in that are manipulated, some that look acrylic and watercolor.”

Hill said she enjoys the ability to make regular photographs look “more like a piece of art,” through digital means. She also said she is happy to have an outlet in the Butler Art Center and Gallery, where she can display some of her creations.

“I just love putting my work out there and having people enjoy it, bring some of the outdoors in,” Hill said.

For more information on the digital art show, or to submit a piece for display, visit butlerartcenterandgallery.org. The digital art show kicks off with an open house starting at 7 p.m. Feb. 9, and the display will stay in the gallery until March 9.