I'm not an AI artist. I'm an artist using AI.

A conversation with Lindsay Kokoska

Lindsay Kokoska's (Instagram: @infinite_mantra; Website: infinitemantra.ca) work sits in a space where technology is not the headline — it is part of a larger search for peace, authenticity, and creative freedom. Her practice shows that AI does not have to erase the artist’s hand. Used intentionally, it can become another layer in a deeply personal process. For artists navigating a fast-moving digital landscape, her advice is simple: experiment, protect your voice, and stay grounded.

Before we get into digital tools, can you tell us a bit about your background? Where did your journey as an artist begin?

I’ve been creating art since I was a kid. It has always been there. There is one story I remember really clearly. I was in grade two, and we were doing an art project with oil pastels. You would create a rainbow underneath, cover it with black, and then scrape into it so the colour underneath came through. I made an MC Hammer logo — which definitely tells my age — and I remember all the students and the teacher coming over to look at it. Everyone was saying, “Oh my gosh.”

At the time, I didn’t think much of it. But looking back, that was one of those early moments when I realised there was something there. Later, when I was around 18, I was painting with friends at a lake house. They all painted on the side, and we were just hanging out. I made this abstract piece, almost like a bull’s face — somewhere between abstract painting and ink work. When I finished it, everyone had the same reaction: “Lindsay, what is this? This is amazing.” Those moments stayed with me. I think I always knew that creating art was one of my purposes.

Your practice feels very connected to meditation and movement. Where does that come from?

Around the same time, between 16 and 18, I got into yoga, meditation, and walking.

I used to walk six or seven kilometres a day with a friend, and I realised that movement really cleared my head. That eventually became what I now think of as walking meditation. I’m someone who needs to move a lot. Yoga, meditation, movement, and art have always existed next to each other in my life. They are like yin and yang, but part of the same thing.

For a while, I thought maybe one day I would have a yoga studio and fill the walls with my art. But after teaching in studios and being around that world, I realised I didn’t want to own one. I love the practice of yoga and meditation, but I’m not interested in the materialism or spiritual bypassing that can sometimes come with it.

What I really wanted was to bring art and meditation together in a way that felt honest.If yoga can heal and art can heal, how can I combine the two? That question became part of my practice.

How did digital art enter your life?

After finishing my degree in business, I decided to leave North America and moved to South Korea. I became an English teacher and lived in Seoul. That was really when my digital art life took off. I had used Microsoft Paint when I was younger, like a lot of people from my generation. But South Korea was different. I got my first laptop there, my first Wacom tablet, and started experimenting with digital tools.

At the same time, I didn’t let go of traditional art. The art stores in Korea were amazing. I got into ink, brushes, lettering tools, and traditional materials. These two worlds started colliding: traditional art and digital experimentation. That combination still feels like me today. I’ve never been a purist. Art is art. I don’t believe that using one tool or another makes you less of an artist. I see myself as an explorer of art, tools, and different processes.

You have lived and worked in several different places. How did that shape your practice?

After South Korea, I moved to the Middle East. I lived in Oman and then Bahrain. I was teaching at university and later moved into public relations, even though I wanted to be closer to graphic design. Eventually, I completed my master’s degree in graphic design. That was when I realised digital art was the direction I wanted to take more seriously. Since then, it has always been a back-and-forth between traditional work — paintings, drawings, and collage — and digital work.

Collage has always been a big passion of mine. Around 2015 or 2016, I was creating a lot of digital collage. I even made an oracle deck using my collage work. Later, I worked with another publisher on a second deck, and by then the tools had already changed. Photoshop had AI features built in, which made correcting things and working with layers easier. I’ve always been interested in learning whatever technology is coming towards me, but I also need to do things in my own way. I’m not trying to compete with anyone. I’m trying to find tools that help me create the feeling I want people to feel.

What is that feeling?

I want my work to help people feel peace. I don’t want it to be flashy or overwhelming. I’m not interested in creating something that attacks the nervous system. I want the work to feel meditative, it to help people heal in some way.

A lot of the clients I’ve ended up working with are aligned with that. I’ve worked on oracle decks, with the Alan Watts Foundation, and with people who are also on a journey of helping others. The art world can sometimes make you feel like you have to create a certain kind of statement or know the right people.

But I enjoy working with people who want to help heal people’s nervous systems. I don’t want to make noise just for the sake of making noise. I’m not here to prove a point to anybody.

That idea of healing through art is really beautiful. Has authenticity always been an important part of your work?

Ultimately, it comes down to being myself and being authentic. I have always had a hard time fitting into a box. Maybe that is part of being neurodivergent and feeling misunderstood for much of my life. I don’t want to pretend to be someone else.

I think people should know that they don’t need to conform. They don’t need to apologise for who they are or become someone else because society tells them to. They need to find love and peace within themselves.

That has become more important to me over time. Especially now, with social media, so many people — and particularly young people — feel pressure to perform, objectify themselves, or become something they are not. I hope that if someone sees my work, it reminds them they don’t have to do that.

You work across traditional and digital media. What does digital art give you that traditional media doesn’t?

Digital art gives me the freedom to do whatever I want.

When I paint or draw on paper, I have to be careful. If I make a mistake with ink, I can’t always go back. That can be frustrating, especially with things like faces or very precise drawing. That is why I’ve always loved abstract art. It lets me release control.

With digital tools, there is flexibility. I can go back, fix things, try something else, combine layers, and explore without the same fear of ruining the piece. There are so many tools and possibilities. That freedom is a huge part of why I love digital art.

What does your workflow look like right now? Which tools do you use most?

It depends on the project.

If I start with a painting, I usually photograph or scan it. If I use AI, I often train or blend it with my own work so it still comes from my visual language. I love Procreate. A lot of people use Photoshop for collage, but I still like the feeling of touching the canvas. Maybe that is the painter in me.

Procreate lets me draw, collage, and work in a way that still feels physical. I also test concepts in Midjourney and use tools like Higgsfield, Pika, Runway, Kling, and whatever else is available.

I love animating, and Runway has been a game changer for animation. I still use After Effects and Premiere Pro for editing, timing, and finishing. The workflow is really a mix of tools, depending on what the project needs.

You created a guide about using AI for artists. Why did you want to make it?

I made it because I get a lot of questions: How did you do that? What software did you use? What was your process? I also saw a lot of misunderstanding around AI.

Sometimes people assume that if you use AI, you just typed a prompt and that was it. I even had a friend call me an AI artist, even though they know my background. But I’m not an AI artist. I’m an artist who uses AI. That distinction is important to me.

I wanted artists to know that they don’t have to be afraid of AI. I also wanted to show that if you use it, you can still keep your own style and voice. For my personal work, I can’t just prompt something and post it if it doesn’t feel like me. It has to stay connected to my work. The guide explains how I approach AI through my own body of work, visual language, and process. I was an art teacher for a long time, so I used some of that experience to structure it. There are sections about colour theory, understanding your style, asking questions about your process, and finding ways to integrate AI without losing yourself.

Some people wanted the exact pieces or steps they could use to recreate my work, but that doesn’t make sense to me. Then it wouldn’t be their work. The point of the guide is not to give someone my artwork so they can train on it. It is to help artists look at their own body of work and understand how to use that as a foundation.

AI is also expensive, which creates a real barrier for artists. I’ve been grateful to partner with different AI companies and experiment with tools, but not everyone has that access. Part of the guide is also about making the process feel less intimidating.

You often describe AI as something that amplifies your work rather than replacing it. What does that look like in practice?

For me, it means I don’t pure-prompt my personal work. A lot of people think using AI means typing a prompt and getting an image. But that is not how I use it. I use it as part of a larger process. The amplification happens in two ways. One is conceptual. AI lets me explore ideas much faster. In the past, I could spend so much time trying to imagine what something might look like. Now, I can explore different concepts and thoughts more quickly. But I never want AI to take over what I’m doing. It is about how you use it.

There is still a lot of backlash towards artists using AI. How do you deal with that?

People say things like, “You’re an AI artist,” but that is not true. I’m an artist first, and I use AI as a tool.

It is similar to using a computer, a phone, or any other technology. People have been using AI in different forms for a long time, often without realising it. I understand why people are scared, especially when there are examples of people blatantly copying artists or communities. That is not something I support. If someone suddenly says they are an anime artist because they prompted something in that style, that doesn’t make sense to me.

But artists who already have their own background, skills, and visual language should be allowed to experiment. We need to grow with technology because, if we don’t, we may miss opportunities later. I also worked for two years as a project manager for an AI art company, and the knowledge I gained there has been invaluable. Understanding these tools is becoming more and more relevant.

For artists who want to experiment with AI but are still trying to find their own direction, what would you recommend?

The first thing is trial and error. Try different tools. If something doesn’t give you what you’re looking for, move on. There are so many tools now, and every artist will have a different method depending on their style and needs.

It is also important to keep learning. If you have the time and access to these tools, experiment as much as you can. There are so many opportunities opening up. But at the same time, you have to get offline.

As much as I love technology, I love nature. I need to get away from the screen. Digital overload is real, and it is unhealthy for everyone. So my advice is: try, get off, try again, get off. Touch grass. Stay grounded. That really matters.

If you are too deep in the digital world all the time, it can make you anxious or depressed. You need to recognise the difference and give yourself space.

The tools will continue to change. Staying connected to yourself is what allows you to use them without losing your own voice.