Work in process – acrylic

I’ve been wondering why I’ve been feeling almost apologetic for meeting this challenge so far purely with iPad art. Do I feel, deep down, that it’s cheating? Less valid than ‘real’ art? The easy option?

It’s true that it’s a very different experience. Sitting somewhere with an iPad and stylus is obviously less satisfying than being surrounded by brushes and paint and the lovely feeling of chaos that comes from being in the studio (or mine at least). It’s ‘safer’ (thank you, layers and the undo button).

But it’s accessible. In a world where so many of us work long hours, it’s a great advantage to be able to pull the iPad out of the bag and continue working on something. Waiting rooms, lunch hours, and even cafe trips with my husband suddenly become creative opportunities. I think, realistically, it’s better to be able to use these moments to create rather than wait off for the time to get into the studio.

And, it’s even proving to be a learning experience. I believe that creating successful art is a combination of knowing what works (perspective, balance, colour combinations) and knowing how to get the best from your chosen medium. Whilst painting with an iPad only improves my skill of painting with an iPad, the other stuff still stands. Having a much wider choice of colours than my paint collection provides does force some clearer thinking about combinations, for example.

So, in short, I think I should stop feeling it’s an easy option and start embracing it as an additional medium in my artistic toolbox. Not to be used exclusively (and I AM going to make an effort to use some physical materials) but to be used thoughtfully and validly.

So, here’s my 6th face:

Yet another iPad face. I’m really enjoying using the iPad – suddenly I can do art anywhere, and that fits my lifestyle right now.

A bit more work on the iPad face. I’m not totally happy with it (I’d normally use ‘real’ media), but I do like these kind of faces