At a corporate event in a Napa Valley vineyard I painted an artistic interpretation of the scene over the course of a three hour reception and dinner. The tools I used were the iPad Pro 12.9 (3rd Gen.), Apple Pencil 2 and Procreate app. Guests were entertained and intrigued to watch on the large LED screen how the painting evolved from scratch to completion. I showed the time-lapse replay from time to time during the evening. At the end of the event I shared the digital files with the client which they could show later and share with their guests as a unique memory of the evening.
Portrait of Sir Richard Branson, created from life on board the Virgin Atlantic San Francisco Inaugural flight.
25 years ago, on May 17th, 1994, I was part of the Virgin Atlantic San Francisco Inaugural VIP group, invited to paint a live digital portrait of Richard Branson on board the flight. We were flown over from San Francisco (via LAX) to the UK, where we spent the weekend with Richard Branson, Virgin Group Chairman and Founder, and his family, colleagues and friends, in London and at his Oxfordshire estate (for tea and cricket), and then flew back on the very lively inaugural flight of Virgin Atlantic into San Francisco (which included a boxer short fashion show!) I drew live digital portraits of Richard and his family and guests during the weekend on the inaugural flight itself. This assignment launched my career as a full-time artist after 12 years as a physicist selling superconducting magnets! I used state-of-the-art equipment (for the time) including a prototype yet-to-be-released Macintosh Powerbook (kindly loaned to me by Apple) with a Wacom tablet and Fractal Design Painter X2 software.
Here are some more of the portraits and a few photos from the experience.
With Holly and Richard and one of Holly’s friends in Richard’s Oxfordshire garden watching a replay of my portrait of Holly.
Portrait of Richard’s daughter, Holly.
Portrait of Richard’s mother, Eve.
Portrait of Richard’s father, Ted.
At Richard’s Oxfordshire home with lovely Marian and Vivian Brown, San Francisco’s famous twins, who always had such wonderful smiles. We would bump into each other around town for many years after this event and all have a good laugh at how much fun it was!
Clarence Clemons playing on board the Virgin Atlantic San Francisco Inaugural flight.
Richard drops by while I painted live portraits at the Virgin Atlantic Tenth Anniversary Party in London, UK, a few months after the San Francisco Inaugural.
This time-lapse replay video shows the unfolding of the creative process of an iPad painting that was created on May 12th, 2019, during a concert of the Trio Solisti at the historic Kohl Mansion in Burlingame, CA, part of Music at Kohl Mansion for which I was Painter-in-Residence for their 2018-2019 season.
Many thanks to the fabulous and inspiring Israeli Chamber Project and to Patricia and her magnificent Music at Kohl Mansion team!
This time-lapse replay video shows the unfolding of the creative process of an iPad painting that was created on April 14th, 2019, during a concert of the Israeli Chamber Project at the historic Kohl Mansion in Burlingame, CA, part of Music at Kohl Mansion for which I am Painter-in-Residence for their 2018-2019 season.
I used an iPad Pro 12.9 (3rd gen.), Apple Pencil and Procreate app to create this. The audio you hear in the video was recorded during the concert from my iPad as I painted and includes the tap-tap-tap of my Apple Pencil on the glass surface of the iPad!
Many thanks to the fabulous and inspiring Israeli Chamber Project and to Patricia and her magnificent Music at Kohl Mansion team!
It is with sadness I heard today, May 5th, of the passing of a legend and my friend Norma Miller at age 99. I first met Norma when I started learning Lindy Hop in the mid 1990s, along with Lindy Hop pioneer Frankie Manning, a fellow member of the Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers troupe that wowed the world in the early 1940s and appeared in the famous dance scene of the film Helzapoppin’. Norma, knownas the Queen of Swing, was a source of seemingly unlimited energy, humor and enthusiasm! In her ’90s she still danced, taught, performed and inspired thousands of dancers around the world, most recently in San Francisco. Her life story is quite amazing and worth reading about. I created this collage portrait on the occasion of her for her 91st birthday in 2010. It was presented to her at a swing event in San Francisco organized by Burnie Gibson. You can see her reaction on first seeing the portrait in the video below.
She will be greatly missed. Her positive spirit and energy will last forever…
If you’re interested to see other related artworks, please visit my portraits of Frankie, Chazz and Dawn, plus my Happy Feet, Happy Paint performance video. I used the creation of this collage portrait of Norma as a case study in my video tutorial series titled Collage Portrait of Norma Miller on PaintboxTV.
On May 4th, 2019, I was the featured iPad painter at the first San Francisco International Art Salon 2019. I started drawing the magnificent performance of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.2 by soloist Feona Jones with Naomi Stine on 2nd piano. See Feona’s YouTube channel for the full 35 minute concert with my painting replaying in real time and high quality audio.
Created using the iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and Procreate app.
The next San Francisco International Art Salon will be held on Saturday, June 22, 2019, at the 906 World Cultural Center. I’ll be collaborating with modern dance choreographer Mariana Sobral and the eMotion Arts Dance Co. dancers and a Bay Area cellist playing Bach Cello Suite No. 1 in G, live painting as they perform.
The photos you see below were taken by photographer Eric Raeber. Thanks to Peggy for helping with the videography.
I continued working on the same digital canvas when the next musical performers, Los Tangueros del Oesteand, started playing, accompanied on stage by Tango dancers. You can see the result here.
After the tango came an amazing fashion parade and you can see my visual impressions of the costumes and models in the full length replay below of my entire creative process that evening.
To purchase prints of my artworks please visit the Prints page of this site for size and price options.
Thanks to Tibor for organizing this wonderful event!
I painted iPad portraits of guests at the Blue Bear Live 2019, an annual fundraiser for the Blue Bear School of Music. The location this year was the magnificent Ohana Level at the top of the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco. You can see a few of the portrait replays in the video above, plus get an idea of the amazing views.
And now for something completely different….On the 500th anniversary of his passing, we celebrated the genius of artist, scientist, entertainer and all-round polymath, Leonardo da Vinci. In the spirit of da Vinci’s relentless cross-disciplinary creative curiosity, guests enjoyed hands-on experience stations, da Vincian style entertainment, short talks / demos, and some light refreshments. Though classified in Eventbrite as a “Seminar or Talk” this was actually an evening that defied conventional definition. From professional artists demonstrating sfumato painting and iPad / AR technique; to a renowned harp performer and teacher playing renaissance music on a Dusty Strings 36 string lever harp similar in size and tonality to harps of the Renaissance; to experts in their fields sharing the latest in medical tech and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Old met new, art met science. Plus there was a fun Vitruvian Instagram photo op (shown in Daniel Kraft’s animated gif he took of me that you see above). This was truly a memorable and stimulating experience.
Location:Jeremy Sutton Studios, 1890 Bryant St, Date & Time:Thursday, May 2nd, 2019, 7:00pm – 11:00pm
Next one will be May 2nd, 2020 (the 501st anniversary…wear your Levi’s 501s!!) Cost: $15.19 – chosen after the year of da Vinci’s passing, 1519. Dress code: informal, anything goes, but for those who like dressing up a bit, there was a prize for the best “da Vinci-inspired / Renaissance chic” dressed!
Schedule & Video Documentation
7:00 – 7:15 – Harp music
7:15 – 7:30 – Intro & Welcome (and a little break dancing!)
Your host, Jeremy Sutton
7:30 – 7:35 – Harp music
7:35 – 8:05 – First presentazione –
Fahad Jalal, High Tech Entrepreneur and Investor Da Vinci’s Artificial Intelligence
Da Vinci broke down each human behavior (physical, emotional, intellectual) and tried to recreate the isolated behavior via sketches and machines. Fahad looks at where this thinking has led so far in AI and recognizes the role Da Vinci may have played as the inspirational father of AI.
8:05 – 8:15 – Harp music
8:15 – 8:35 – Second presentazione – Jeremy Sutton, Live Event Painter, Founder of PaintboxTV iPad da Vinci & Augmented Art
Jeremy painted a quick portrait on the iPad and demonstrated augmentation of his printed images using the apps HP Reveal and Kaleido.
8:35 – 9:00 – Harp music
9:00 – 9:30 – Third presentazione – Daniel Kraft, MD Faculty Chair for Medicine, Singularity University – Founder and Chair, Exponential Medicine Beyond the Vitruvian Man: The New Renaissance in Medical Innovation…
Hold onto your seatbelts for this wild ride through the exciting new territory of medical innovation!
8:30 – 9:45 – Harp music
9:45 – 10:00 – Fourth presentazione – Lynn Michel Taffin Live Renaissance Music
Lynn is a San Francisco based harp performer and teacher. She has worked with some of the foremost teachers of the harp both in the United States and in Europe where she toured with orchestras and chamber ensembles. She has collaborated with artists from around the world including Zakir Hussain on projects for Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet. Lynn played a beautiful 36 string lever harp, manufactured by Dusty Strings in Seattle, which is similar in size and tonality to harps of the Renaissance.
10:00 – 10:15 – Harp music
10:15 – 10:35 – Fifth presentazione – Peggy Gyulai, Painter of Music Infinite Shades of Sfumato: the Smokiness and Mystery of da Vinci’s Oil Technique
10:35 – 10:55 – Conclusione & Thanks, plus best “da Vinci-inspired / Renaissance chic” dressed award (Jeremy)
Featured Guest Artists
Tracy Victoria Starr Charged Series
Fractal burns on wood, created using 2,000 volts of electricity – painting with lightening. These artworks illustrate the universality of branching systems, as noted by da Vinci, such as trees, roots, blood capillaries and river deltas.
Charles Stinson Devices of Dubious Utility From the Museum of Post-Truth Artifacts
Art objects that include knots and humor, two of da Vinci’s pet topics.
Sabrina (The Sabby Life) DaVinci Paints The Mona Lisa, VR art by Sabrina (The Sabby Life). This virtual reality painting was completed 100% in Google Tilt Brush over three months. You see, in three dimensions, Da Vinci as he paints the Mona Lisa with Lisa del Giocondo sitting as his model. In this Da Vinci Virtual Reality demo you could wear the Oculus Rift and explore the artwork within Tilt Brush yourself.
Capture Your Own Vitruvian Moment! (plus a little Tilt Brush Exploration)
Build Your Own da Vincian Self-Supporting Bridge
Make your own self-supporting bridge based on Leonardo’s design. Thanks to the Brightworks School students for initiating the concept of this project; to Diego Fonstad for his laser cutting, even when I supplied too thick wood (against his advice!); and to Benjy Young for use of his band saw.
Explore Painting on the iPad with Procreate
Guests had fun diving into iPad painting!
2019-05-02-daVinspiration-MVI_3264-monalisaAR-1080p-1m4s.mp4 Explore the Augmentation of Artwork on the Wall
Solve the Mystery of the Missing Salvator Mundi
Leonardo’s (?) quarter of a billion dollar masterpiece, Salvator Mundi looks like it ended up… above my desk!:-)
Write in your Notebook
Everyone received a da Vinspiration A6 notebook, a homework handout (yes, there was homework!!:-)) and da Vinspiration pen. In the welcome notes they were asked to, amongst other things, list ten things they wanted to learn about, following in da Vinci’s footsteps.
Comments
What a da Vine evening. I truly feel Vinspired, and da Vincible! My da Vinspiration notebook is sure to be brimming with content soon. I found the guests and presenters engaging, and I absorbed much information in my 3.5 hour visit.
So, I am now part of the da Vinci fan club. da Vinci and myself do have a wonderful thing in common. He had an intense love for animals. He would buy songbirds from the market, just to set them free (which I would do). And…. he was a Vegetarian.
Thanks for the enlightening evening.
See you around town,
Schatzie
Thanks & Acknowledgements
Huge thanks to all who participated, helped and contributed to this event! Thank you to the speakers Fahad, Daniel and Peggy for preparing so thoroughly and so generously sharing their insights and knowledge; to Lynn for her fabulous music and being an essential part of transforming the atmosphere to one with overtones of half a millennium ago; to guest artists Tracy, Sabby and Charles for loaning their wonderful and inspiring work; to Diego and Benjy for being crucial help and support in making the self-supporting bridge project a reality; to Diego again for his beautifully designed and crafted models; to Chuck for spontaneously helping people with the VR and Tilt Brush set up; to Wesley for manning the front door and welcoming attendees to the building; to Sarah for coming along early to assist; and to Peggy and Simone for helping so much in preparing my studio for the event; and Simone, in addition to all the work she did in prep, also for being a great assistant throughout the evening and welcoming people as they arrived at the studio and making sure they received their da Vinspiration notebook, homework handout and pen!
A Note on Accuracy
Historical accuracy not guaranteed..as world da Vinci expert Professor Martin Kemp said: “the Turin old man (image on which the da Vinspiration poster is based) is not a self-portrait, and sfumato is not L’s own term for a technique of painting”. Many thanks to Professor Kemp for his input, rigour and taking the time to help with attention to detail.
On April 27th, 2019, I was the featured iPad artist at the Sugar Land International Arts Festival 2019. I created live art on the main stage, depicting the scene, and also portraits of visitors at one of the booths on the grounds of the festival.
At the Picasso-themed spectacular Daffodil Ball, an annual fundraiser in Montreal’s historic Windsor Station that supports the Canadian Cancer Society, I imagined what Picasso would do with an iPad!! As guests arrived they walked into Picasso’s studio! I painted the scene on my iPad. In the scene I painted, besides many Picasso works, Mireille R. Champagne modeled a fabulous custom-made Picasso-inspired dress designed specially for the occasion by Montreal fashion designer Xavier Laruelle and painted on by Mirielle herself. I invited guests to add their own brush stroke or two and made it truly an interactive experience! The resulting artwork, and the time-lapse replay video, was displayed on two large screens at the check-in desk plus on multiple huge screens throughout the ballroom where the dining and dancing happened.
After the guests had entered through Picasso’s studio, I moved up to the main ballroom and painted the scene (with a Picasso twist).
And that time-lapse replay (shown here) was also broadcast on the four very large screens throughout the ballroom.
