Thursday 8th February 2018, Jason Reakes, Digital Art

Posted on Feb 06, 2018

On Thursday evening this week we will have Jason Reakes sharing our AGM evening.

 

Jason will be informing us about Digital Art.

Several of us saw Jason demonstrate this art form at Curborough Featival of Artists last year and we were very impressed. We thought it only right that this art medium should be introduced to our Society. We asked and Jason very willingly agreed.

David Hockney was the first internationally acclaimed fine artist to experiment with this new electronic medium using one of the original painting apps called Brushes. 

Some of us were very fortunate to see Hockney’s work at the Tate Gallery London last year.

Andrew Wilson, Curator of the  retrospective exhibition of Hockney’s work at London’s Tate Gallery had this to say about the importance of the iPad in Mr. Hockney’s artistic journey, “The iPad has become his sketchbook,” he commented, adding that Hockney has always embraced the challenge presented by technology.

“As a student, he was introduced to printmaking, so he wanted to master that,” he said. “And he has mastered it in so many ways, he’s pushed the boundaries of printmaking.

“So of course when the possibility of drawing on an iPhone, and then on an iPad, came up, he wanted to master it. And he has, to the degree that it’s his favorite drawing tool now.”

The Brushes app (Hockney’s choice) is not only free to download, it is relatively easy to learn.

In the meantime, if you want to know how to get started and find out more about the hardware and software required to paint fantastic artwork on computers and mobile digital devices, you
might want to take a look at an article by Caroline Mustard, a classically trained artist, who has adopted the iPad and iPhone as her canvas and sketchbook of choice. Caroline is committed to
‘aging artfully’ and a believer in exploring the use of technology to discover new ways of remaining creative and prolonging the quality of life. Here’s the link:

https://www.techenhancedlife.com/citizen-research/best-art-apps-adult-learners

 

(information gathered from Lichfield Societiy of Artists newsletter)