Category: Action Painting & Talks

This digital painting was painted live at CREATE!, free public event in Downtown San Francisco https://downtownsf.org/things-to-do/create CREATE! was a wonderful “only in San Francisco” celebration of creativity and the performing, literary and visual arts that took place at the historic Landing at Leidesdorff, next to the Transamerica Pyramid, where the financial district of downtown San Francisco intersects with the North Beach, Chinatown and the old Barbary Coast neighborhoods. The celebration was produced by The Downtown SF Partnership, a nonprofit funded by property and business owners in the downtown district which covers the Financial District and Jackson Square.

I was located at the intersection of Leidesdorff and Commercial Streets, a picturesque pedestrian area free of cars, and created the colorful digital painting of the vibrant scene that you see featured here on this page. My view included a wonderful mural, titled “Beyond the Sea – the life and legacy of Captain Leidesdorff,” created by the Twin Walls Mural Company. https://www.sf.gov/news/mayor-breed-celebrates-launch-new-landing-leidesdorff-downtown-destination Visitors were able to watch my brush strokes unfold in real time on a large display and see my creative process as I painted what I saw (using an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and the Procreate app).

CREATE! honored the historical artistic significance of the Montgomery Block, affectionately known as ‘Monkey Block,’ an artist enclave that once flourished on the site now occupied by the Transamerica Pyramid. Over its nearly century-long existence, this building was a hub for housing and hosting notable artists, both literary and visual, including Frida Kahlo, Jack London, Robert Louis Stevenson, Dorothea Lange, Diego Rivera, Ambrose Bierce, Bret Harte, and Mark Twain. https://www.sfchronicle.com/chronicle_vault/article/Iconic-SF-building-was-home-to-Bohemians-for-13340080.php https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgomery_Block

The Landing at Leidesdorff, where I was located, is named after Captain William Alexander Leidesdorff, Jr., the country’s first African-American diplomat amongst many firsts, and one San Francisco’s most notable founders.

William Alexander Leidesdorff (1810-1848)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Leidesdorff It is called “Landing” since in the 19th century it was where ships landed and was the original coastline walked by SF’s earliest inhabitants. https://downtownsf.org/things-to-do/landing-at-leidesdorff/history

Thank you to The Downtown SF Partnership team!

Here are photos from the event:

Photo: Kevin Adams for The Downtown SF Partnership

Photo: Kevin Adams for The Downtown SF Partnership

Photo: Kevin Adams for The Downtown SF Partnership

This painting was drawn directly from life as master violinist Anthony Blea played violin at the opening reception of my Spring Open Studios. I used an iPad pro with Apple pencil and the Procreate app.

Thank you Anthony for the creative collaboration and artistic inspiration! Thank you Stacy and Michael for sharing videos and photos.

This digital painting was created live at an annual charity fundraiser. I used an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and the Procreate app. As I painted the artwork, based on direct observation, the guests were able to watch me paint and ask questions, and follow the progress of the artwork on multiple screens. A unique large framed canvas print of the final artwork was then auctioned to raise money for the charity.

“I just want to say a huge thank you. You’ve been a pleasure to work with throughout the entire process and we were thrilled with the final outcome, not just the artwork itself, but also the interactive sparkle you brought to the experience of the day.” ~ L.R.

Here are some photos (courtesy of Louis Roberts) from the event:

Click on the icons above, or on this link, to be taken to the Apple App Store (iOS) to download the free AR app HidNFlix on your iPhone or iPad. Use this link to find HidNFlix in the Google Play Store for installation on Android devices. By pointing your smartphone at any print (or display) of the artwork using the scan mode of the HidNFlix AR app, you will be able to view (and hear) the video story of this art visually “embedded” in the image. The image acts as a visual QR code and the HidNFlix app brings the art image to life! Currently HidNFlix works only on the iOS platform (iPhone, iPad, etc).

This digital painting was painted live on a trade show booth at a medical conference using an iPad Pro. It was projected on a large 16′ x 20′ LED screen that could be seen from afar. The dynamic interactive “narrative virtual mural” artwork activation engaged visitors to the booth. The artwork was built up over three days during the trade show hours. The hand-written quotes you see throughout the artwork are all based on actual input provided live by attendees visiting the booth. They were invited to type into specially provided tablets the reason why they are in their chosen medical field and related special moments. I then added these quotes directly to the artwork as I simultaneously developed a collage of lifestyle vignettes. You can see in the video shown above the progress time-lapse replay compressing three days of work into less than one minute!

In addition to the live activation on the booth I also created for the same client a custom design that was used as a backdrop for a large display in another area of the conference (below).

This “visual narrative virtual mural” artwork was created live on a booth at the a trade show exhibition of a medical conference. Visitors to the booth were asked to take a selfie on a photo booth and write down a reflection on working in the field. I then painted their portrait into the mural and added their quote, using an iPad Pro and Procreate software. The artwork image was projected behind me for all to enjoy watching as it evolved over the three days of the trade show. In the replay video shown above you can see three days of work compressed into 30 seconds!

This digital painting was painted live at a company gathering at an art museum. The artwork depicts the scene both outside in the courtyard where I was located, and inside in the magnificent atrium where the band played. I started with a custom background that I created using textures from the floors, doors, walls and paintings in the museum. The artwork was displayed in real time as it was created on a large 82″ flat panel LED display positioned behind me as I painted.

This painting was created live on stage during a meeting. I painted with an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and the Procreate app to capture the flow of the meeting, featuring visual vignettes of the different featured speakers. At the closing reception the time lapse replay of my entire painting process was shown on monitors for all the guests to enjoy watching.

In this activation I sketched quick digital portraits of guests at an annual Gala, each portrait taking about five minutes total per subject, including printing out a 4 inch wide by 6 inch tall dye sublimation print that was then mounted onto a Strathmore card (with matching deckled edge envelope) and given to each subject as a take-away. Guests were delighted with the results and loved their unique artistic keep-sake!