Live Event Painting Examples and other News

I created this painting at “The ART of Cancer Care: An Elekta Evening Event at ASTRO 2025” in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA). In this instance ART stands for both Adaptive Radiation Therapy as well as the more conventional meaning of art as in the creative and innovative product of artistry and mastery. The “adaptive” moniker applied to what I was doing as a live event painter, adapting to an ever-changing scene, as well as to the technical meaning of a radiation therapy system that dynamically adapts and responds in real time to movement of the patient during therapy.

Reflecting this, besides capturing the scene, energy and flow of the evening, I also represented in the upper region of the painting the shrinking and elimination of tumors. From left to right four examples are portrayed: liver treatment; a dosage plan (highest dosage in red); tumor response to MR (Magnetic Resonance)-guided ART; and a treatment plan for pancreatic cancer. If you carefully watch the replay video (above) you will see them change with time.

I used an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and the Procreate app. The iPad screen was projected on two large flat panel displays in two locations in the reception area so guests could enjoy watching the painting evolve and develop over the course of the evening.

As a personal aside, my father, Maurice, was a consultant radio (radiation) therapist and Head of Oncology at the North Middlesex Hospital in Edmonton, Enfield, North London. He would have been amazed at the incredible technological advances in his field!

This digital painting was created live at the Hope Classic Rally, an annual fundraiser for the WeSeeHope charity, that took place at Wotton House in Dorking, Surrey, UK. 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 on screens set up both at Wotton House where the rally started and at the lunch Pit Stop, the Ledmore race track. A unique large one-of-a-kind fine art framed canvas print of the final artwork was sold in the Live Auction to raise money for the charity. In addition, a limited edition of ten smaller prints is available for purchase via the addmustard online shop, proceeds also supporting the charity.

“I just want to say a huge thank you from everyone at addmustard. 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.” ~ Louis R.

Here are some photos from the event:

The scene as the cars were set up in the morning.

Waving at car as it leaves on rally (photo courtesy of Louis Roberts, addmustard)

Engaging with guests (photo courtesy of Louis Roberts, addmustard)

Artwork progress shown on screen at the Pit Stop (photo courtesy of Louis Roberts, addmustard)

Guest pointing out his car in the painting (photo courtesy of Louis Roberts, addmustard)

The painting displayed during the live auction (photo courtesy of Louis Roberts, addmustard)

Many thanks to sponsor addmustard and the Hope Classic Rally and WeSeeHope teams. As an avid classic car fan myself (I drive a 1972 Buick Centurion Convertible) this was a dream assignment! The car enthusiasts and owners loved watching how I captured the their special vehicles and the atmosphere of the day.

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).

I live painted Jessica Ashooh 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 “visual narrative virtual mural” artwork was created live on the Iodine Software booth at the trade show exhibition of a clinical documentation integrity (CDI) medical conference in Kissimmee, Florida. Visitors to the booth were asked to take a selfie on a photo booth and write down a reflection on working in the CDI 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!

I made this painting of Jessica Ashooh 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.

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 painting was created live at the POLITICO Top 20 Most Influential Players in California Tech Reception in The View Lounge at the top of the Marriott Marquis in downtown San Francisco. It was sponsored by Fathom. The event also celebrated the launch of POLITICO Pro’s Technology: California Decoded newsletter.

The painting was painted from direct observation during the two hours of the reception using iPad Pro, an Apple Pencil and the app Procreate.

In advance of the event I also created a series of portraits of the Top 20 Most Influential Players in California Tech recognized by Politico for their roles in California technology, innovation and policy. These portraits were shown as a series of framed fine art prints as well as in a looping digital slide show (that included the replay videos for each portrait) on a display screen.

Many thanks to the wonderful people of POLITICO, the staff of The View Lounge and the team of Skylark Creative Group.

Quotes about my live painting at this event:

“It was my favorite event to witness at the View Lounge and that was largely due to your creative contributions.”

“​This town was obsessed with the digital artist and thought it was the most innovative conceptualisation of an event they’ve ever seen put together!!”

“Thank you again for everything! We have only had wildly positive feedback.”

A little aside — as a resident of San Francisco I’d like to share that this venue is a hidden gem. The Marriott Marquis is affectionately known to locals as the “Jukebox” due to the resemblance of The View Lounge windows to a Wurlitzer Jukebox! This SFGate article talks about the history of the hotel. If you haven’t visited The View Lounge I highly recommend it!

This painting, all drawn directly from life on the day, captured the flow of the wedding of Love and Jacob at the beautiful Falkirk Mansion in San Rafael, California. In the painting you’ll see represented the wedding ceremony, the band on the veranda, the first dance and dinner, and the dance party afterwards.

My tools were an iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil and the Procreate app.

Congratulations to Love and Jacob!

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 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 the artworks that will be on view in my studio during the upcoming Spring Open Studios exhibition and art sale, April 11 – 13. Please scroll down for details of the Open Studios (location, dates, times), my live demo schedule and some examples of other artworks you’ll be able to see.

SPRING OPEN STUDIOS – PLEASE VISIT! MY STUDIO IS IN THE HISTORIC BEST FOOD MAYONNAISE FACTORY IN THE MISSION DISTRICT OF SAN FRANCISCO. Location – 1890 Bryant St, Studio 306, San Francisco, CA 94110
Dates and times –
Friday, April 11th, 6 – 9pm Reception (Live Digital Painting Demo Performance featuring violinist Anthony Blea 7:30 – 8:30pm)
Saturday, April 12, noon – 6pm (Live Digital Portrait Demo Presentation 3:30 – 4pm)
Sunday, April 13, noon – 6pm (Live Digital Painting Demo 3:30 – 4:30pm)
Besides the live demos and performances I will feature artworks relating to music and dance, plus have available for purchase figure drawings, all drawn from life (see this link for some examples of recent figure drawings).