Sketching and Drawing on my Phone and iPad

Sleeping Dog 2, iPAD Drawing Brushes App, February 2015

Drawing and sketching on a phone or iPad can be a bit tricky. Over the years I've experimented with the Brushes App on iPad. You may know from older artwork that one of my favorite subjects is my adorable dog. She's made countless appearances in my paintings, drawings, and even sculptures over the years.

Drawing with the Brushes App

Learning how to navigate in Brushes, change colours, textures and size of the lines can take practice and patience. I like this portable way to sketch that offers so many options and only one tool to carry around!

I usually have my phone on me but don't always want to lug around a sketchbook, pencils, eraser, pencil sharpener, paints, palette, brushes, and other tools. It's also a challenge to find water for the paint and brush cleanup. Painting or Drawing Apps make all of those tools unnecessary though I do miss making the mess and the tactile way of working in hand with raw materials.

Sleeping Dog 3, iPAD Drawing Brushes App, February 2015

David Hockney's iPad Art as Inspiration

In 2011 the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto had a show of David Hockney's iPad drawings and paintings. It was amazing to see what he accomplished with the Brushes App on iPad. Over 100 iPad drawings were exhibited and 20 of the drawings showed the playback of Hockney's drawing process. When I visited the exhibition, I was told by the curator that David Hockney was also updating the show in real time by sending in new iPad drawings from wherever he was in the world.

My dog drawings are much more simple than the beautiful, elaborate Brushes drawings in the David Hockney exhibition. At that point in 2011 Hockney had been using the Brushes and other ipad Apps for over three years. He's also had many fruitful years of drawing experience. I can only hope to aspire to being so prolific in making artwork!

In the meantime, you can see some of the sketches, drawings and works in progress on Instagram (@RachaelGradArt) or my Art Facebook Page (Rachael Grad Fine Art). Posting my artwork on Instagram is a new process for me and I've started showing old artwork, sketches, and works in progress.

Sleeping Dog 1, iPAD Drawing Brushes App, February 2015