I am a redneck at heart. I’ve spent most of my life in the “dirty south” – Tennessee, Alabama, Northwest Florida (the top part near Alabama). My friends and family are regular, everyday people from all walks of life. They like loud music, college football, beer, monster truck races, NASCAR, water sports, and more. They live life to the fullest. Some folks would call us “rednecks” as a term of derision. I wear it as a badge of honor. In the south, especially in Alabama, we love to greet each other with the cheer of our favorite football team, “Roll Tide!” We like to drink our beer ice cold and spend hot days on the lake, by the pool, working our gardens, going to kids’ ball tournaments, or tailgating at the university we probably didn’t even attend. When we go on vacation, it’s probably to Gulf Shores in Alabama or Panama City Beach in Florida. The entire panhandle is known for its white sand beaches, emerald green water, and is affectionately called “The Redneck Riviera.”
I am not an ordinary engineer. While my degree is in mechanical engineering (bachelor’s and master’s), my career gravitated towards IT and computer system administration. I’m not your usual helpdesk technician; I am considered a subject matter expert in Linux operating systems. I’ve worked on some form of UNIX/Linux for over 35 years. I do Windows support because I have to, but Linux because I want to. I support other engineers who hold PhDs in aeronautical engineering, mechanical engineering, physics, and more. They design our nation’s advanced munitions for the United States Air Force. My job is to make their job easier so they can do work that gives our warfighters superior weapons and keeps them safe. When I solve a hard problem and make it look easy, they often ask how. I tell them, “magic.”
So why did I tell you all this? I used to say, “I am a high-tech redneck.” But I wanted to elevate the term on 𝕏 (Twitter). One day, I posted that my work was like magic and posted an AI image of a wizard touching a computer screen with a magic wand. Someone replied and said, “You are a digital alchemist.” That sounded pretty cool, but the handle was taken. I did some wordplay with xAI’s Grok and massaged out the idea, coming up with something that resonated with me. The word for someone who uses technology to do magic is ‘necromancer.’ “Redneck Necromancer” sounded funny (sounds a little like necrophilia), so I merged the words technology and necromancer to ‘techromancer,’ and voilà! Dave, the Redneck Techromancer.
What does all this have to do with art? In a traditional sense, I have zero artistic ability. I can barely draw a straight line with a ruler and pencil. I never learned to color inside the lines as a kid. Even paint by number eluded me. Even doodling on paper during a boring sermon or meeting is more like a toddler scribbling. When I discovered AI art, I was intrigued and made a few images. When I began a serious journey on 𝕏 to monetize an account, I realized how much fun it was to make images with Grok. When xAI rolled out their new Aurora image engine (previously they used FLUX), the image capability was horrible. I found myself looking for FLUX engines. But I knew the real power was in Midjourney. At first, I just wanted to draw the character I call The Techromancer – a medieval alchemist with weird tattoos and yellow steampunk welding goggles. As the designs became more intricate, the desire to produce other art styles grew. I have made thousands of images on Midjourney, Kling AI, and Grok. I use them daily on 𝕏 and even animate them into short clips. But the best ones (to me) are curated here.
I have no idea where this journey will take me. I have been writing AI poetry, short stories, and even songs! If you read this, I am grateful. Thanks for stopping by and come say hello to me on 𝕏.