Digital on the go

With rain subsiding, I can finally get out and do some painting on location. Before I take off, here are some digital pieces I did last week while I was on the go. Taking the bus to the Cancer Research center and waiting for some meetings gave me time to make art on my cellphone using Sketchbook app. This one used the chalk pastel tool in the first group of brushes, which has the texture of a very bright crayon. Include earth tones (dark orange, dark red) to make the bright colours pop. 

Pop art digital crayons, Sketchbook, digital 1600 x 2000

 

Reminiscent of germs under high magnification of an electron microscope, this piece used stamping features by varying size, colour and transparency in the advanced option tab. Starting with a dark brown background helped make everything glow. The bus was bumping around making this one harder to do accurately. 

Germs surface, Sketchbook, digital 1600 x 2000

 

Going to monochrome, this one is mostly grey scale with some dark neutral yellow mixed in. I overlaid as many brush tools as possible, ending with confetti-like spatters. Sometimes I keep overlaying things until there is no more possible...its the Jackson Pollock technique he used for drip painting. 

Party favorites, Sketchbook, digital 1600 x 2000

 

At the Cancer research center I sat in the large, light-filled lobby and made part of this sketch, then finished it later on with textural and light-effects. The character is going down a staircase with bright sun coming in from a lush exterior. There was a simultaneous sense of both openness, and claustrophobia. 

Visit the center, Sketchbook, digital 1600 x 2000

 

An art installation contained a tangle of matching ribbons wound up tastefully in a plexiglass case. I emulated the effect in this piece, which started with one ribbon, the green one I think, and then I tried to follow its shape as closely as possible with a succession of differently coloured ribbons. 

Matching ribbons, Sketchbook, digital 1600 x 2000

 

Finally, I saw some graffiti on a door while riding the bus and tried to memorize its colours and textures. Using a variety of textural brushes and digital spray paint tools, I recreated a metallic surface covered in bright coral-red paint, complete with drips. 

PJD26 drips, Sketchbook, digital 1600 x 2000