Over the course of my lifetime I have practiced in almost every media available to artists. I became intrigued with creating artwork using digital software and hardware almost 20 years ago.  Unfortunately, in the early stages, affordable equipment was a large problem.  However, Wacom released their Cintiq 24 inch HD Monitor Tablet 3 years ago for slightly under $3000.  This enables you to draw and paint on its glass surface using a media pen and brush with a variety of available software.  Photoshop remains the software of choice not only for photographers, but for artists who wish to create drawn or painted fine art.  I also use Art Rage which provides many new media features previously unavailable, such as many textured surfaces for drawing and painting and many realistic media bushes and provides an easy way to transfer artwork finished in Art Rage directly into Photoshop for further work and publishing.   I use no photographs or scans in my work.  I create my entire image using hands-on techniques that have literally taken many hundreds of hours to invent and perfect. I print. mount and frame all my own work.