Live Event Painting Examples and other News

This painting was created, using an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and Procreate app, from direct observation of Apple Park (a.k.a. “The Spaceship”), the new corporate headquarters of Apple in Cupertino.

Within this painting are many subtle layers of imagery, including the original Apple Computer partnership agreement (signed on April Fools Day, April 1st, 1976); the original one page Apple Marketing Philosophy typed out by investor and second Apple CEO Mark Markkula; the historic photo of Apple co-founders Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs working in Steve’s garage; the layout sketch of one of their first office plans; and the circuit board diagram of one of their first personal computers, the Apple I; and Steve Jobs’ slide of the intersection of the Technology and Liberal Arts signs. It was the great combination of Steve Wozniak’s technical genius and Steve Jobs’ futuristic vision that allowed them to realize the dream of a computer on every desk and then go far beyond that dream, more than delivering on their “promise of a synergistic increase in individual efficiency”, as explained in the 1981 Inc. Magazine feature article on Steve Jobs.

Besides creating this artwork using Apple products, Apple has played a crucial role in my journey as a digital painter, starting in 1991 with my first personal computer, the Macintosh IIfx, which I bought specifically to explore digital paint.

Apple Park, 2017
60″ x 32″, acrylic and pigment ink on canvas

Recently, at an author talk in Kepler’s Bookstore, Menlo Park, I heard Walter Isaacson explain how artist, inventor, scientist, architect and all-round Renaissance man, Leonardo da Vinci, continually drew from (and contributed to) all fields of learning. Da Vinci’s cross-disciplinary approach reminded Isaacson of Steve Jobs standing in front of his slide of the two intersecting street signs, “Technology” and “Liberal Arts”, explaining: “Technology alone is not enough. It is Technology married with Liberal Arts, married with the Humanities, that yields us the result that makes our heart sing.” Isaacson also pointed out how important the flow of water was for da Vinci, connecting with the flow of blood in our veins and the ripples of time through space, sounding very much like Jobs’ description of the role he saw for post-PC devices in our lives “where the software and hardware and applications intertwine in an even more seamless way.”

We’re living in an exciting era where, with amazing digital paint tools at our fingertips, such as the iPad pro and Apple Pencil I used for this painting, we can experience creative flow that will, as Jobs put it, “make your heart sing”. It’s that flow, the seamless symbiosis of art process and tech tools, that is at the core of what I do and what I teach, and is what I appreciate about the way the two Steves, and Apple, have transformed our lives.

This painting is part of my Iconic Places of Silicon Valley series of plein air iPad paintings:

The Hewlett Packard Garage, Palo Alto (1939)

SRI International, Menlo Park (1946)

Intel, Santa Clara (1968)

Xerox PARC, Palo Alto (1970)

Apple Park, “The Spaceship”, Cupertino (1976)

Google Bikes, “Googleplex”, Mountain View (1998)

Facebook Thumbs Up Sign, Menlo Park (2004)

Twitter, San Francisco (2006)

Xerox Parc, 2017
30″ x 24″, dye sublimation on aluminium

This painting was created, using an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and Procreate app, from direct observation of the Xerox company’s Palo Alto Research Center, now known as PARC, a Xerox company,, a “blue sky thinking” crucible for innovation and new ideas. PARC played a vital role in the development of the personal computer, especially with regard to the graphical user interface and mouse, both originating with Doug Engelbart (see the SRI painting in this series) and his Augmentation Research Center, from which PARC drew a number of employees. PARC’s technology and their Alto computer served as inspiration to Steve Jobs for what became the Macintosh computer (there is much written about this subject – Walter Isaacson’s book “The Innovators” gives a very lucid summary of the evolution of the digital age, including the role of PARC and key PARC staff like Alan Kay).

It was a little like a time warp walking back into PARC. In the late ‘80s / early ‘90s, I used to visit as a representative of Oxford Instruments selling superconducting magnets and cryogenic research equipment. Definitely a case of déjà vu! 🙂

This time-lapse replay video shares the creative process, brush stroke by brush stroke. See all the elements that went into the background…

This painting is part of my Iconic Places of Silicon Valley series of plein air iPad paintings:
The Hewlett Packard Garage, Palo Alto (1939)

SRI International, Menlo Park (1946)

Intel, Santa Clara (1968)

Xerox PARC, Palo Alto (1970)

Apple Park, “The Spaceship”, Cupertino (1976)

Google Bikes, “Googleplex”, Mountain View (1998)

Facebook Thumbs Up Sign, Menlo Park (2004)

Twitter, San Francisco (2006)

Intel, 2017
30″ x 24″, dye sublimation on aluminium

This painting was created, using an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and Procreate app, from direct observation of the headquarters of Intel in Santa Clara, CA (the Robert N. Noyce Building in which there is an excellent Intel Museum well worth visiting). Intel was co-founded in 1968 by Gordon L. Moore of “Moore’s Law” fame, and Robert N. Noyce, co-inventor of the integrated circuit (I.C.), two of the Shockley “Traitorous Eight” who left Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in 1957 to found Fairchild Semiconductor (thus making Intel one of the “Fairchildren” spin-off companies spawned from Fairchild employees). They were joined from day one by fellow Fairchild alumnus Andy Grove, and went onto create the first commercially available microprocessor (Intel 4004, an photo of which is included in this painting) in 1971 and one of the first microcomputers in 1972. Moore, Noyce and Groves are all represented in this painting.

The Intel story is part of the reason Silicon Valley has silicon in the name! As a nod to the vital role of silicon in their product, Intel have sandpits with games in front of their headquarters (which you can see at the bottom of this painting), sand being made largely of silicon dioxide, and sandpits representing the prototyping, testing and bootstrapping of innovative technology. As I sat and drew this artwork visiting groups on Silicon Valley tours would come and literally play in the sand (as well as take selfies in front of the Intel sign).

This video shows all the elements that went into the background that relate to the history of Intel, and the time-lapse replay of the artwork evolving brush stroke by brush stroke.

On a personal note, much of my own journey into digital painting, starting in 1991 on an Apple Macintosh IIfx computer, has been using devices with Intel chips inside.

This painting is part of my Iconic Places of Silicon Valley series of plein air iPad paintings:

The Hewlett Packard Garage, Palo Alto (1939)

SRI International, Menlo Park (1946)

Intel, Santa Clara (1968)

Xerox PARC, Palo Alto (1970)

Apple Park, “The Spaceship”, Cupertino (1976)

Google Bikes, “Googleplex”, Mountain View (1998)

Facebook Thumbs Up Sign, Menlo Park (2004)

Twitter, San Francisco (2006)

SRI International, 2017
30″ x 16″, dye sublimation on aluminum

This painting was created, using an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and Procreate app, from direct observation of the headquarters of SRI International in Menlo Park. SRI was originally established by the trustees of Stanford University in 1946 (just celebrated it’s 70th anniversary and hence the banners with “70” that you see in this painting) as the Stanford Research Institute, a center of innovation to support and create “world-changing solutions to make people safer, healthier, and more productive”. Amongst the many inventions and innovations, ranging from the Arpanet, the predecessor of the internet, to Siri, that have emerged from SRI over the last 70 years, one that heralded the digital revolution is Doug Engelbart’s seminal work on human-computer interaction and how to best augment human capabilities, introducing the concepts and first prototypes of the graphical user interface and the mouse, as shown in his “Mother of All Demos” in 1968.

This video starts with me painting outside the magnificent columned SRI entrance and then shows a time-lapse replay of the brush stroke by brush stroke creative process. You can see all the elements that went into the background that relate to the history of SRI.

A few years ago I had the great pleasure of seeing Doug Engelbart talk about his life and technology at a special event at Stanford University, and then, on another occasion, had a chance to chat with him in downtown Palo Alto. He was a wonderful gentleman and amazing visionary.

This painting is part of my Iconic Places of Silicon Valley series of plein air iPad paintings:

The Hewlett Packard Garage, Palo Alto (1939)

SRI International, Menlo Park (1946)

Intel, Santa Clara (1968)

Xerox PARC, Palo Alto (1970)

Apple Park, “The Spaceship”, Cupertino (1976)

Google Bikes, “Googleplex”, Mountain View (1998)

Facebook Thumbs Up Sign, Menlo Park (2004)

Twitter, San Francisco (2006)

The Garage, 2017
20″ x 40″, dye sublimation on aluminum

The painting being viewed with AR in my studio. Please note that this image is now AR enabled using the Artivive app (HP Reveal no longer exists). See my AR page for more info.

This painting was created, using an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and Procreate app, from direct observation of the historic garage in Palo Alto where Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard worked side by side in 1938 to produce their first product, an audio oscillator. The business they founded together, Hewlett Packard, was one of the early tech companies in what later became known as “Silicon Valley”. In that sense this garage represents the birth of Silicon Valley, though, as Bill Hewlett modestly pointed out: “We weren’t the first (in the Valley), and we didn’t use silicon (in their early products)”.

In 1989 this garage was listed in the National Register of Historic Places and the plaque that now stands in the front garden of the property reads:
BIRTHPLACE OF “SILICON VALLEY”
This garage is the birthplace of the world’s first high-technology region, “Silicon valley”. The idea for such a region originated with Dr. Frederick Terman, a Stanford University Professor who encouraged his students to start up their own electronics companies in the area instead of joining established firms in the east. The first two students to follow his advice were William R. Hewlett and David Packard, who, in 1938, began developing their first product, an audio oscillator, in this garage.

If you watch the time-lapse stroke-by-stroke replay in this video you’ll notice how I initially paint the garage doors closed and then open. As I was sitting drawing the door were opened for a visiting tour and I just kept painting what I saw!

Within this painting are many subtle layers of imagery, including photos of the original audio oscillator prototype, an advertisement for that first product, an old map of Palo Alto, the National Register plaque, and an article in the San Jose Mercury News from 1989 reporting on the celebration of the garage being listed as an historic structure. The music I chose for this video, “Begin the Beguine” by Artie Shaw and his Orchestra, was written and performed in 1938, the same year Bill and Dave were working away in this garage, and may well have been playing on their radio as they tinckered on that oscillator!!

This painting is part of my Iconic Places of Silicon Valley series of plein air iPad paintings:

The Hewlett Packard Garage, Palo Alto (1939)

SRI International, Menlo Park (1946)

Intel, Santa Clara (1968)

Xerox PARC, Palo Alto (1970)

Apple Park, “The Spaceship”, Cupertino (1976)

Google Bikes, “Googleplex”, Mountain View (1998)

Facebook Thumbs Up Sign, Menlo Park (2004)

Twitter, San Francisco (2006)

Iconic Silicon Valley Places is a series of plein air iPad paintings, all created from direct observation on location, using an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and Procreate app. Many incorporate photo collage in the background and each tells a story that relates the location to the development of Silicon Valley (follow the links below for a description, and time-lapse video of each). This series of iPad paintings depicting iconic places relating to Silicon Valley, are close to my heart as a Physicist-turned-Artist. Each place tells it’s own unique story of this incredible crucible for technology and innovation that we know of as Silicon Valley, thus very fitting that the medium of these artworks is itself the product of Silicon Valley!

They are MetalPrints (dye-sublimation prints on aluminum) output by BayPhoto. Each image is Augmented Reality (AR) enabled through the HP Reveal app. Please click here for instructions as to how to view the AR.

The Iconic Silicon Valley Series on display in my studio

This new series builds on my earlier (2014) Silicon Valley Series, also comprising of eight artworks output on metal, which are on permanent display in the Ballroom Foyer Space (Mezannine level) of the San Jose Marriott. That earlier series were photo-paint digital collages created using a Mac, Wacom tablet and Corel Painter software and output on metal.

The artworks in the series are shown below, listed in reverse order of the founding year of the company. Each of these artworks has been enabled with an Augmented Reality (AR) video overlay which shows the time-lapse replay of the artwork plus some video of me painting on location at each place.

The Hewlett Packard Garage, Palo Alto (company founded in 1939)

SRI International, Menlo Park (company founded in 1946)

Intel, Santa Clara (company founded in 1968)

Xerox PARC, Palo Alto (company founded in 1970)

Apple Park, “The Spaceship”, Cupertino (company founded in 1976)

Google Bikes, “Googleplex”, Mountain View (company founded in 1998)

Facebook Thumbs Up Sign, Menlo Park (company founded in 2004)

Twitter, San Francisco (company founded in 2006)

Cafe Borrone, Jeremy Sutton, 2017, 12″ x 18″, dye sublimation on aluminum

This painting was created, using an iPad Pro, Apple Pencil and Procreate app, from direct observation while sitting in the outside area at Cafe Borrone in Menlo Park. I had just seen Walter Isaacson talk about his new book on Leonardo da Vinci. It was Isaacson’s magnificent book, “The Innovators”, that I was reading at the time, that provided many background stories to the Iconic Places of Silicon Valley series of plein air ipad paintings for a group show, iPad Art: Places – 3 Brits in Silicon Valley , in the Art Ventures Gallery in Menlo Park (not far from Cafe Borrone). See below for the list of places included in the series:

While not an official part of the series, Cafe Borrone serves today as a vibrant meeting point for many technologists, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs, producing the dynamic mix that makes Silicon Valley a crucible for innovation and ideas. It is also one of my favorite cafes in the area (after the closing of my all time favorite, Cafe Verona in Palo Alto).

This artwork will be silent auctioned in support of “Art in Action”, supports arts education in local schools, at the opening reception of the show.

This video shows how the artwork evolved brush stroke by brush stroke.

Here are the places featured, as part of the series, Iconic Places of Silicon Valley, that will be included in this exhibition, listed in the order the companies were founded (founding year noted in parenthesis), starting with the oldest:

The Hewlett Packard Garage, Palo Alto (1939)

SRI International, Menlo Park (1946)

Intel, Santa Clara (1968)

Xerox PARC, Palo Alto (1970)

Apple Park, “The Spaceship”, Cupertino (1976)

Google Bikes, “Googleplex”, Mountain View (1998)

Facebook Thumbs Up Sign, Menlo Park (2004)

Twitter, San Francisco (2006)

This is the painting I created on Friday, December 1st, 2017, outdoors in a community-wide celebration at the City of Menlo Park Holiday Tree Lighting. My iPad screen was displayed on a giant screen that everyone could enjoy watching. You can see how engaged and intrigued the audience were from the photos below (many thanks to Nina, Pasha and Peggy for the photos). While I painted two journalists from the Menlo-Atherton Chronicle interviewed me – check out their fabulous article!

“Jeremy,

Thank you for being part of our Holiday Tree Lighting in Downtown Menlo Park last Friday. We received so many compliments on having you there. I’ll certainly be sharing our experience with you as a great example on how we can creatively merge the talent of local artists and technology into our events.

We hope to see you again soon!

Matt Milde
Recreation Coordinator
City of Menlo Park”

Thank you to the City of Menlo Park for inviting me to be part of this event! The City of Menlo Park have made my replay video their Facebook page cover video.