Author: jeremysutton

This painting, all drawn directly from life at Lilly’s 60th Soiree using an iPad Pro, Apple pencil and the Procreate app, captured the flow of the celebration in the Verdi Club, San Francisco, California. Happy birthday to Lilly!

Acrylic and gouache on canvas, 60″ x 48″, 2025

This painting was created from life in my studio. It depicts the scene as pianist Shelley Leong improvised on the piano, hence the title. In the video above you can see me painting as Shelley plays, both improvising in the moment.

This painting is one of three of my artworks that will be on view in a group show titled “Brushes & Bowstrings, exhibition by Art Bias and Music at Kohl Mansion” at Art Bias, 1700 Industrial Rd, San Carlos, CA 94070, running from Sunday, November 1st (opening reception 1 – 4 pm) until November 24th (the exhibition will be accessible 9 am – 4 pm M – F during that time — just enter the Art Bias building and walk into the center area of the ground floor).

From the Partiful invite: “It is for this dynamic interplay that Music at Kohl Mansion (MAKM) in Burlingame and Art Bias in San Carlos – both longstanding nonprofits deeply committed to community building through the arts – are pleased to collaborate on this exhibition: Brushstrokes & Bowstrings. The artists featured here have each been named MAKM’s Visual Artist of the Season in recent years, selected for their distinctive ability to translate sound and melody into visual form, rendering music perceptible and giving tangible presence to what is otherwise intangible.”

Other featured artists in this show are: Peggy Gyulai, Ellen Brook, Zdenka Bleile, Karen Cox, Dipti Irla, Gina Jacupke and Eddie Lee.

These are details from the painting “Improvisation in Paint & Piano”:

Besides “Improvisation in Paint & Piano”, my other works on display are: Horszowski Trio, Music at Kohl Mansion, 2017 Art of Jazz, Charlotte, NC, 2018

This painting was created live at Javier’s celebration of the Lunar New Year. The background is based on Javier’s Year of the Snake mat plus two posters that hung at his doorway. The musicians featured in this painting are Tony on piano, David on saxophone and Tim on drums. This artwork was created on an iPad Pro using an Apple Pencil 2 and the Procreate app. The work in progress was displayed on a large flat screen monitor throughout the party for guests to enjoy watching.

I made this painting of Jessica playing the cello as a live painting demo at my Spring Open Studios. I used an iPad pro with Apple pencil and the Procreate app.

Thank you, Jessica, for the wonderful collaboration and inspiration, and your participation in this performance! Thank you Ryan for sharing your video and photos.

I painted this digital painting live at Jon’s 50th birthday celebration in the ChinaLive Restaurant, San Francisco. You’ll see in the time lapse progression video, shown above, that I started with a background that included some family photos; then painted the guests dining in the Gold Mountain Lounge; and, finally, guests mingling in the Cold Drinks Bar. I used an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and the Procreate app. The artwork in progress was shown on a large flat panel display in the bar so guests could enjoy watching the painting evolve over time.

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. I use HidNFlix to augment this artwork. You’ll be able to see the embedded video when you view the image (print or on screen) through the scanning mode of the app.

I live painted Jessica playing the piano in my studio. This was painted directly from life as Jessica played. I used an iPad Pro with Apple pencil and the Procreate app.

Thank you, Jessica, for your wonderful collaboration and inspiration!

This digital sketch was created live at a fascinating panel discussion titled “To Infinity and Beyond: The Story of Pixar’s Stock Market Debut” that took place at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. I used an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and the Procreate app.

The panelists, from left to right, were:
Paul Noglows, Ex-Hambrecht & Quist; coauthor, forthcoming book on H&Q and Robertson Stephens;
Lawrence Levy, Former CFO, Pixar, author of “To Pixar And Beyond: My Unlikely Journey with Steve Jobs to Make Entertainment History”;
Michael McCaffery, Former President & CEO, Robertson Stephens & Company; and
Cristina Morgan, Former Head of Technology Investment Banking, Hambrecht & Quist.

A recording of this wonderful discussion will be posted on the CHM Blog in the near future. You’ll also find on this blog a tribute to the 2018 CHM Fellow Dame Stephanie Shirley who I had the great pleasure to meet and draw her digital portrait at the Oxford Internet Institute in 2008.

Thank you to the panelists for a fascinating and personal insight into this amazing piece of Silicon Valley history. Thank you to the CHM and their great staff for organizing and hosting this event. The quote in the upper left of my sketch, “Steve was much more interested in getting to the right answer than being right”, was shared by Lawrence about his experiences traveling and working alongside Steve Jobs during the Pixar IPO.

These art notes were painted live at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco using an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and Procreate app. The event was a fascinating conversation between Craig Mundie and Sam Altman discussing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and it’s current and future impact on human life. The occasion was the launching of Mundie’s new book “Genesis: Artificial Intelligence, Hope and the Human Spirit” that he co-wrote with Henry Kissinger and Eric Schmidt. Click here to listen to an audio recording of this absolutely fascinating conversation. I’m still reading the book and finding it very insightful with respect to understanding how Artificial Intelligence is a paradigm shift in the way we interact with, and use, technology. It is also addressing deep core questions relating to the understanding of the mind: what is consciousness, what is intelligence, and what is awareness of “self”. These questions, previously applied primarily to humans and organic life forms, are now being applied to machines… Other relevant references on understanding AI include Yuval Harari’s book “Nexus” on the history of information networks from stone age to AI (https://www.amazon.com/Nexus-Brief-History-Information-Networks/dp/059373422X#customerReviews); and the Computer History Museum’s new exhibit on Chatbots Decoded (https://computerhistory.org/stories/chatbots-decoded/).

Painting the Sunset at the Davis Estates, Calistoga, Napa Valley, Jeremy Sutton, 2024, 48″ x 24″, acrylic on canvas

The 24″ x 48″ acrylic paintings on canvas shown here on this page were painted live at two consecutive Wine Club dinner events at the Davis Estates winery in Napa Valley, Calistoga, California. The one at the top of this page was the Saturday night painting. You’ll see the Friday night painting further down the page (see below). The paintings were created from blank canvases. Guests enjoyed watching the process from beginning to end. I was positioned on the winery’s outdoor terrace with panoramic views. Each painting was painted from direct observation of the scene in front of me—the magnificent sunset view over the vineyards and across the valley, and then the dinner scene. At the end of each evening the painting was raffled off to one of the guests to home with them! The time lapse video I share here is of the Saturday night painting process. It was a spectacular sunset! In the space of a few minutes the skies lit up in the most amazing golden hues in the clouds set against deep azure blue skies.

The winning couple, Jim and Cecily, who won the raffle to take home the Saturday night painting, posing here with myself and the finished artwork.

The winning couple, Janet and Mike, who won the raffle to take home the Friday night painting, posing here with me on the left and Davis Estates founder Mike Davis and his son Brandon, Director of Brand Development, on the right.

Myself with Mike Davis, the founder and owner of Davis Estates, and the Friday night painting.

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. I use the HidNFlix app to augment the Saturday night (October 26, 2024) artwork. Currently HidNFlix works only on the iOS platform (iPhone, iPad, etc). You’ll be able to see the embedded time-lapse video when you view the Saturday night artwork (actual artwork or it’s image on screen) through the scanning mode of the app.

I painted this digital painting live at Web’s 50th birthday “YOLO” (You Only Live Once) celebration in the Cyrus Restaurant, Geyserville, California. The restaurant has floor to ceiling windows that look out over the beautiful vineyards of Alexander Valley in the heart of Sonoma County wine country. You’ll see in the time lapse progression video, shown above, that I started with a background that included some family photos; then painted the guests visiting the kitchen, then captured the view out of the dining room windows as guests mingled outside and the sun set; then the dinner; the children playing in their entertainment space; and, finally, the end-of-the-evening chocolate room! All in one painting!! I used an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and the Procreate app. The artwork in progress was shown on a large flat panel display so guests could enjoy watching the painting evolve over time.

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. I use HidNFlix to augment this artwork. You’ll be able to see the embedded video when you view the image (print or on screen) through the scanning mode of the app.