“Valentine Standing”, 2015, iPad Air + Sketch Club + Pencil by 53
This sketch was created from life at a Dr. Sketchy’s drawing session in San Francisco. The model, Valentine, is a Flamenco dancer.
On this page I share a sampling of my drawings and paintings I have made utilizing mobile devices, mostly the iPad, but also including Windows (Surface Pro and Wacom Cintiq Companion) and Android (Wacom Cintiq Hybrid Companion and Samsung Galaxy Note) devices. I was inspired seeing David Hockney’s impressive iPad drawings at the Royal Academy, London, in 2012. Seeing his work launched me full speed into exploring drawing and painting on the iPad. If you’re interested in learning more about my iPad art and instruction, please also visit these links:
“Paint on the Go!” One Day iPad Art Workshop
iPad Art Tools
Thoughts on Mobile Digital Art
Here are two replay videos of sketches I made in the “Giacometti: Pure Presence” exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery, London.
“Sophia”, 2015, iPad Air + Sketch Club + Pencil by 53 – live portrait sketch made on a London-San Francisco flight
Here are a few iPad sketches from Ortigia, Siracusa, Sicily, all created from life en plein air using Sketch Club and Pencil by 53:
And some older sketches:
“Umbria Sketch” iPad Air + Fnngr + Art Rage + Pencil by 53
“Still Life” iPad Air + Art Rage + Adonit Jot Touch
“Sasha” iPad Air + Auryn Ink + Fnngr + Art Rage + Waterlogue + Pencil by 53
“Ishmeet”, 2014 – This portrait was created from life on a plane journey from London to San Francisco using an iPad Air using the Sketch Club app and Pencil by 53. Click on the video below to see stroke by stroke build up of the painting.
“Brandon, Masha and Arthur”, 2014 – This portrait of artist Brandon Jones and his family was created from life on a plane journey from London to San Francisco using Brandon’s Wacom Cintiq Companion Hybrid with the ArtFlow app. It was a “draw off”: he painted me at the same time using my iPad with Sketch Club. Neither of us had used the other’s platform or app before so it was very fun!
“Folly Bridge, Oxford” – painted from life on an iPad Air using the Sketch Club app and Adonit Jot Touch stylus, 2014
“Portrait of Paul”, 2013, created using Art Rage and Adonit Jot Touch stylus on iPad2 at the ideacity conference, Toronto
In October 2013 I was invited by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco to perform live iPad painting at the De Young Museum for the opening of “David Hockney: A Bigger Exhibition” (see my Inspired by Hockney page). I teach iPad painting workshops and classes. If you’re interested in learning how to draw and paint on your iPad, then please visit Paint on the Go!. If you’d like to set up a portrait sitting please email me (jeremy@jeremysutton.com) or call me at (415) 641-1221.
“Mac at Cana”, 2014, created using Zen Brush and Adonit Jot Touch 4 stylus on iPad Air
“Alison Wright”, 2014, created using Sketch Club and Adonit Jot Touch 4 stylus on iPad Air
The portrait of Alison, shown above, is one of a series of portraits I drew from life on my iPad of fellow presenters at FOTOfusion 2014 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Alison is an amazing photo journalistic photographer who has captured portraits of people all over the world, including an extensive series of portraits of Tibetan Buddhists in Tibet and in exile (see her book Face to Face: Portraits of the Human Spirit). The following three portraits (below) were also created at FOTOfusion of fellow presenters.
“Lou Jones”, 2014, created using Sketch Club and Adonit Jot Touch 4 stylus on iPad Air
As I drew Lou’s portrait we discussed his six year project in which he and his team photographed and interviewed death row inmates across the country (see his book Final Exposure: Portraits from Death Row). It was an intense subject and that intensity was reflected in the portrait…
“Lawrence Gartel”, 2014, created using Art Rage and Sketch Club and Adonit Jot Touch 4 stylus on iPad Air
I’ve known Lawrence, a pioneering digital media artist, for many years. This year at FOTOfusion he drove up in one of his Art Cars. I included a photo I took of his artwork on the car in the background of this portrait.
“J. Tomas Lopez”, 2014, created using Sketch Club and Adonit Jot Touch 4 stylus on iPad Air
Tom, University of Miami Department of Art and Art History professor, sat for me for a few minutes at the FOTOfusion Awards Dinner between courses..
“Ciarra”, 2014
This sketch of Ciarra (above) was created from life at my Spring Open Studios using Fresh Paint software and a Wacom “Feel” Bamboo stylus on a Microsoft Surface Pro 2. Ciarra sat and sketched in pencil while I painted her. Please note that the audio in the video (below) is pretty rough. I’ve included the video here to give you an idea of the creative process and atmosphere.
Video filmed by Terrence Ransom, photograph at beginning by Rick Thurber.
iPad painting performance at the de Young Museum, San Francisco, at the opening of the David Hockney: Bigger Exhibition. Photo by Stephen Somerstein.
Portrait of Sarah created live during my iPad painting performance at the de Young Museum, San Francisco, at the opening of the David Hockney: Bigger Exhibition. I used Brushes app (favored by Hockney) and an Adonit Jot Touch stylus.
Portrait of Meg created live during my iPad painting performance at the de Young Museum, San Francisco, at the opening of the David Hockney: Bigger Exhibition. I used Brushes app and an Adonit Jot Touch stylus.
Portrait of Lisa and Frank (with self-portrait) created live during my iPad painting performance at the de Young Museum, San Francisco, at the opening of the David Hockney: Bigger Exhibition using Art Rage App app and both the Wacom Intuos Creative Stylus and the Adonit Jot Touch stylus.
iPad sketch of author and historian Lawrence Weschler giving a talk, “Love Life: David Hockney’s Timescapes”, at the de Young, being watched by filmmaker Bruno Wollheim, who created the documentary portrait “David Hockney: A Bigger Picture”, created with the Brushes app and an Adonit Jot Touch stylus.
Over the last two years I have taught iPad painting and given iPad painting presentations in North America and Europe, including at the Oxford Internet Institute, Oxford University, (see William Dutton’s blog post) and at the magnificent flagship Apple Stores in central London (Regent Street), and San Francisco.
“Portrait of Tony”, 2013, created using Sketch Club with Adonit Jot Touch on iPad (created on Southwest flight at 30,000′ altitude). I like the recording feature in Sketch Club that also allows you to easily add your choice of music to the replay.
“Life Study”, 2013, created using Sketch Club with Sensu Brush on iPad2.
“Seated Man, after Diebenkorn”, 2013, created using Art Rage and Adonit Jot Touch stylus on iPad2 at the de Young Museum
Caricaturist Jon Casey and I sketch each other at the Coffee Bar outside my studio in San Francisco, Jon using pencil on paper and me using the procreate app on an iPad with a Sensu brush (see What’s in my studio). For a summary of the different iPad painting apps I am exploring, click here.
“Sketch portrait of Jon Casey”, 2013, creating using procreate on iPad2
In March, 2010, I came across artist Roderick Smith sketching on his iPhone in the Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena, using a PogoStick stylus and Brushes iPhone app, the same one David Hockney started with when he began sketching on his iPhone. He kindly let me have a go. When I got home I ordered a PogoStick and experimented with sketching in Brushes and Sketchbook Pro on the iPhone. It didn’t quite click for me. The iPhone screen felt too small and restricted, and the brush stroke styles too flat and uniform. I preferred sketching in my regular sketchpad.
The iPad introduced a significantly larger painting area. That summer in 2010 I sketched my first iPad portrait from life of one of my students at my Amsterdam Painter Workshop on his iPad (see iPad Sketching in Amsterdam). A year a half later, in January 2012, I went to see David Hockney’s Bigger Picture exhibition at the Royal Academy and was impressed with his display of huge prints of his iPad drawings, as he referred to them, in the spacious galleries of the historic and esteemed institution. For me that was the ahaa moment when i knew iPad art had arrived! On returning to San Francisco, I immediately bought a Nomad brush at Macworld and purchased all the cool iPad painting apps I saw they had on their demo stations, even before I’d purchased an iPad! I then got painting on the iPad in earnest, leading to my teaching iPad art workshops and performing live iPad painting at special events, including the Hockney show.
Lyana sitting for her portrait at an event organized by the Monaco Government Tourist Office. Notice that her name is in the structure of the brush strokes used to portray her. The next two portraits (below) were created at the same event. All portrait subjects received both a JPEG image of their portrait plus a video replay of the painting process of their portraits so they could watch it unfold brush stroke by brush stroke!
“Kyle” – painted from life on an iPad Air using the Sketch Club app and Adonit Jot Touch stylus, 2014
“Shambhavi” – painted from life on an iPad Air using the Sketch Club app and Adonit Jot Touch stylus, 2014
“In Thought” – painted from life on an iPad Air using the Sketch Club app and Adonit Jot Touch stylus, 2014
“Simon Playing Double Bass” – painted from life on an iPad Air using the Sketch Club app and Adonit Jot Touch stylus, 2014
“Tuyen Playing Piano” – painted from life on an iPad Air using the Sketch Club app and Adonit Jot Touch stylus, 2014
“Key West Patio” – painted from life on an iPad Air using the Sketch Club app and Adonit Jot Touch stylus, 2014
Rosa, created in Inspire Pro on the iPad, 2013
