Author: jeremysutton

This painting was created live at the celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the Tangled Bank Studios, a production company that is part of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and is dedicated to crafting compelling, immersive films about science and scientists. The artwork memorializes the storytelling journey of the company shared at this event, and includes visual references to many of their films. The positive, uplifting message to be conveyed in the artwork was one of encouraging conservation; offering a beacon of hope; focus on the future of the planet; shining a light; inspiring people to take action; and connecting with hearts and minds.

As explained in the Tangled Bank Studios FAQ page, the “tangled bank” reference in their name is taken from the poetic final paragraph of the later editions of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species: “It is interesting to contemplate a tangled bank, clothed with many plants of many kinds, with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects flitting about, and with worms crawling through the damp earth, and to reflect that these elaborately constructed forms, so different from each other, and dependent upon each other in so complex a manner, have all been produced by laws acting around us. These laws, taken in the largest sense, being Growth with reproduction; Inheritance which is almost implied by reproduction; Variability from the indirect and direct action of the conditions of life, and from use and disuse; a Ratio of Increase so high as to lead to a Struggle for Life, and as a consequence to Natural Selection, entailing Divergence of Character and the Extinction of less improved forms. Thus, from the war of nature, from famine and death, the most exalted object which we are capable of conceiving, namely, the production of the higher animals, directly follows. There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed by the Creator into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone circling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved.” You’ll see the first line of this quote from Darwin visually referenced in the artwork (under the bridge on the left). The FAQ page explains that this paragraph refers to “how all life forms are inextricably bound to each other in a way that can seem chaotic but, in fact, is guided by natural laws. Understanding these laws and making sense of the chaos are the heart of scientific discovery and, we think, a great adventure. Our aspiration is to bring viewers along on this adventure and to make it as real, immediate, and meaningful as it is for the scientists themselves.”

I was invited to live paint the entire day of wonderful, inspiring and fascinating presentations and performances at the TEDxBerkeley 2022: Kaleidoscope in the Zellerbach Auditorium of the UC Berkeley campus on April 9th, 2022. See the TEDxBerkeley YouTube channel to see video of all the presentations and performances.

I created a single painting throughout the day using the latest iPad Pro 12.9 with Apple Pencil 2 and the Procreate app. All presenters received a framed print of their portrait afterwards.

Drawing Shamini Jain

Portrait of Shamini

With Shamini (on my right) and Rnee (on my left) and a print of my painting of Shamini

Thanks and congratulations to the fabulous TEDxBerkeley team (including all the amazing volunteers) on a great event! Thanks also to all the Zellerbach Hall and UC Berkeley staff who helped.

This painting was created live at a year end celebration at the Oracle Park in San Francisco. I used an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and the Procreate app to paint with. As you can see on the video and in the photos below I shared the entire process with the event guests by displaying my digital canvas on a large LED display.

Framed canvas fine art prints of this, and other artworks by me, are available – for more information please visit my Prints page.

While I was painting this scene a couple of guests came up to me and said “you should NFT this!” Well, I decided to take their advice and make this my “Genesis”,ie first, NFT (NFT = Non Fungible Token, a term explained in this Forbes magazine article), my very first tokenized artwork, and I am offering the digital file for sale on the OpenSea platform. Click here to visit the OpenSea NFT listing.

The collage portrait of baseball legend Willie Mays that you see next to me in the photos above is a painting I created in 2005 when, through his God son Barry Bonds, I had the pleasure to visit Willie Mays in his home and he kindly let me tell his life in this collage using memorabilia he had on his walls. With thanks to Eddie and his team, to Peggy for documentation (pics and vids) and to all the wonderful staff at Oracle Park.

At this company holiday party in the historic Phelan Building in San Francisco (see the Wikipedia description and also this great article on the history of the building), I live-painted the scene using an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and the Procreate app. My live painting was projected in real time on two large screen on either side of the band (shown in the photos below). Guests enjoyed watching the painting evolve throughout the evening. If you watch the replay video above you’ll notice that the beginning canvas is a collage I put together based on historical photos, plans, maps, textures and documentation relating to the Phelan Building. My final painting includes the band members of Hella Fitzgerald and dancers Rebecca, Calvin, Jade and Leo.

While guests were enjoying their conference gala awards dinner at the annual conference of the International Association of Movers (IAM), I created a live painting titled “Land, Sea, Air” (above) that represented the subject matter of the conference: the vehicles and tools of moving — ships, cranes, trains and planes. My brush strokes were displayed in real time on a monumental sized 70′ wide by 15′ high projection screen. I used the iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and Procreate app.

“Cirque Paint”
Gena Juggles / Jeremy Paints!

After the dinner, as a featured performance, myself and fifth generation award-winning circus performer Gena Cristiani presented “Cirque Paint” in which Gena juggled as I painted in response to her, using custom brushes on a iPad that reflected the objects Gena juggled with. It wowed the audience! This act can be adapted and customized to suit any special event.

At this company event in the Desert Foothills event space in North Scottsdale, Arizona, I captured the scene as the event transitioned from an outdoor reception to a sit down dinner in a barn and finally a surprise concert featuring Cyndi Lauper. I used the iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and Procreate app. These portraits were displayed on multiple large LED monitors as I painted so guests could enjoy watching the painting unfold throughout the evening.