The iPad As A Tool For Artists

    For those who have known me for a while my distain for todays digital technology comes as no surprise and with the birth and death of the NFT and AI in the art world it has turned that distain into a full blown hatred. But there are ways to use some technology as an artists tool and one of them is the iPad or actually any tablet that can use a painting app such as Adobes Fresco. I don't think that I have to mention that I am a physical artist and by that I mean a make actual physical works on paper, wood, cardboard, etc... so using a digital tablet to paint and draw took a little time to get use to and I usually use the medium when I'm out of art supplies.

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One of my concerns is how evolved these paint programs keep getting which is not surprising considering that one of the better known apps is made by Adobe who can't seem to leave anything alone. The amount of brush choices is staggering and each one is able to be manipulated but I try to keep it as simple as possible, no different as if I were working with paper and actual paint.

Deep In Thought #6

    In todays suffocating internet acceptance the only way for something like this to be considered relevant is for someone famous to do it. Artist Jasper Johns made small paintings on his iPhone and sent them to his friends. Another artist more widely known for painting on his iPad is David Hockney who has made hundreds of paintings using a simple painting program. Hockney has had several exhibitions of these digital paintings with some of them printing quite large. Unfortunately Hockney receives a fair amount of negative press and criticism when it comes to his iPad work which I think is extremely unfair. At 85 years old and limited mobility especially during the pandemic Hockney continued the need to create.

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I gone back to the iPad several times after running out of supplies but this time feels different as I might continue to use it more frequently. I plan on making prints of most of my digital paintings but some details need to be worked out as to the method of printing, paper choice, sizes and edition sizes.

* Excuse the bad lighting of the photo

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 As long as I don't sidetracked I'm thinking of maybe experimenting with landscapes which would be a first for me in both painting and leaving the house with technology. I'm just not sure how the screen will be in sunlight. Until then I'm going to continue to expand some of the portfolios I'm already working on.

                                                                          Relationship #10