While drawing on my iPad this morning...

I had been researching some ideas on the topic of environment when these flew in!
I'm taking it as a good sign, even if it felt like a good idea to vacate the garden for a while when the air was buzzing and thick with bees!

Trying out different marks and overlapping colour

Drawing lilies

More drawings

In the garden

Experimenting with line and colour

Some more of the dancing Pig - requested by Tina

A couple more examples of the dancing pig - well actually sleeping in one case!

Ipad 'Brushes'

It's Hockney's Ipad pics at the RA that got me started.  Some of the marks he made reminded me of Patrick Heron or Matisse.  I was amazed also at the size of some of the digital prints - it's definitely Fine Art that 's digital by a person that can draw and paint in a range of traditional media.

A couple more experiments with Brushes.

more tulips



Lillies +?



arch in the garden

My sister asked me to create some images of a dancer pig - so here are a few...

Using the Ipad

I've had an Ipad for less than a week but it's proving to be quite addictive.   I haven't touched real ink, paint or paper during this time.

I started using 'Paper65' and then 'Brushes' and worked with both over the last few days.  

Paper is great for immediate work with the 'pen' and I then bought the watercolour brush to add a soft wash in places on some of the images.   Haven't bothered getting the rest of the pens, as yet. The bar along the bottom can be intrusive at times, but mainly I've got used to it. When I've finished drawing, I now make sure I switch to eraser before I pinch and swipe in case I start writing/drawing on the screen. 

These drawing done in the living room show my first attempts. I like the way that, as with traditional pen and ink, you have to be definite.  Draw the line and leave it.   You need to draw the whole line too, not just part of it as it's not easy to stop and then go back and continue a line.   Usually, the line doesn't join up.

Then I tried using Brushes and since this allow for colour fill of backgrounds, I tried this of the tulips again (that had wriggled into a different position) and also of some ferns I could see in the garden.

I like the range of colour and the possibilities for varying brush stroke.  You can also blend and get either a pastel-like appearance or a smooth, crisp line.   The light of the Ipad makes the colours glow beautifully and seductively.   They don't look at good on my computer monitor and I wonder what they will look like printed out - probably not as vibrant but I don't know yet.