by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Digital Art |
30 Paintings 30 Days, day 26.
Oh my sweetums, it’s been twenty-six days. Painting a Woman in Red for every one of ’em. On my iPad, no less. Something I’d never done before. I started out with good intentions for this one. Figured her for a perky jaunt downhill, a gnarly old oak in the distance.
Mah-wha-ha-ha-ha!
Somehow she morphed into this:
Women in Red # 26 © 2014 Susan Lobb Porter
Da Muse wanted to get off her feet I guess. Sit a spell. Can guarantee she’s not wearing shoes. Not gonna speculate about the undies. Really, TMI, don’t you think?
Technical details: Created on an ipad 2 using procreate.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Digital Art |
30 Paintings 30 Days, day 25
Once upon a time, like three days ago, I did a really sucky painting. Today I decided to do it again, sans the sucky part.
Women in Red # 25 2014 Susan Lobb Porter
She’s much better now. Nothing is the same here. Different digital brushes, different composition. The only similarities are the red dress and the beach.
But it’s STILL a do over in my head. Don’t you think?
This image, as well as others from the Women in Red series, is available as a gallery quality giclee print. Click the link on the sidebar for details.
Technical info: Created entirely on an iPad 2 using procreate.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Digital Art |
30 Paintings 30 Days, day 23
What a difference a day makes. Yesterday I struggled, positively struggled to create ANYTHING remotely interesting on the ipad. Actually, I take that back. I made an awesome background, lots of wonderful scribbles and texture.
But you’d never know that because I covered it all up with, lets be honest here, a sucky painting.
I was out of my comfort zone, using digital brushes I hadn’t used before. It was an intentional discomfort, taken on because, well…why not learn something new?
Let’s face it, this whole 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge is an intentional discomfort, one I’m uber glad I took on.
But still, making a sucky painting sucks.
That’s why I’m doing handsprings and black flips over what I made today.
Women in Red # 23, 2014 Susan Lobb Porter
This lovie flowed, simply flowed from my fingertips. Was I inspired? Yes. But mostly I was informed. I finally got around to downloading the Procreate Artist’s Handbook. Imagine that, an app that comes with directions!
Not only directions but a community of users that ROCK. Man, these guys share what they know on the forum. They also share custom digital brushes that they’ve made. Because you can make your own brushes in Procreate. Is that cool or what???
So after soaking up as much as I could in one sitting, I downloaded some brushes and began playing. I hadn’t planned on another nameless portrait but when da muse speaks. I listen. It’s either that or get whacked upside the head by the voice inside the head.
I’ll be back tomorrow with more Women in Red. As always, I’d love to hear what you have to say in the comments below.
xo
Technical Info: Created on an iPad 2 using procreate and Nikko’s brushes (Rull). Thanks Nikko!
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Digital Art, Process |
30 Paintings 30 Days, Day 20
I took some screenshots today to give you an idea of how I created today’s painting.
How this (arrow pointing up) became this (arrow pointing down)
Women in Red # 20 2014 Susan Lobb Porter
Disclaimer: I’m not going to show you all the layers and all the tools I used to make marks. I go back and forth with tools and colors so much it would make you dizzy. And there isn’t enough room in cyberland for all the screenshots that would entail.
First thing I do is choose the size canvas and resolution I want to use. It’s always white and the next thing I do is change the background color (first photo). I never paint on white. I. Just. Don’t.
After that I use a variety of digital ‘brushes’ as I scribble, erase, smudge and have a good old time making marks, just like I do when working on a real canvas.
As you can see from the screenshot, I did this in a couple of layers. I do that so I can erase into the later work and not lose all those lovely scribbles.
When I’m satisfied with all the scribbles and texture I merge the layers into one. Then I rotate the canvas iPad, looking at it from all directions to see if there’s a painting in there waiting for me.
Aha! I saw the shape of a shoulder and an arm. I opened a new layer and did a rough sketch.
Blocked in the composition.
And stuck with it during the ugly teenage stage when digital death was just a click away. Trust me, it was tempting.
But some refinements, way too many app crashes and half a bag of Pepperidge Farm to die for Coconut cookies later, Women in Red # 20 is done.
This screenshot shows the final open layers. You can see that there are three for the composition. The early layers have already been merged with the original color blocking.
The reason I open new layers as I’m working? Experimentation. If I want to try something, even a major shift in the image, working on a new layer allows me the freedom to protect what I already have. Because sometimes experiments don’t work. And when that’s the case, I can just delete ’em.
So there you have it, the condensed version of Drama in Arty Life: How I create My Digital Paintings. For those of you who have been following this blog for any time, you’ll see that the tools and technology are different but my painting technique remains pretty much the same.
That should give you a general idea of the process involved. Thoughts? Questions? Have at it in the comments below. You know how I loves me my comments!
xoxo
Technical info: This was created on an iPad 2 with the Procreate app.
by Susan Lobb Porter | Art, Digital Art |
30 Paintings 30 Days, Day 18
I’m on my feet when I paint in the studio. Rocking out, hopping around, playing a mean air guitar. Painting, for me, is a physical process.
Or was, until I started spending time creating art on the iPad. For 18 days now I’ve been sitting on my butt way too much. Bum planted firmly on the sofa. Feet up on the coffee table. Maybe a bowl of popcorn by my side. And a cuppa tea sans (accidently) soaking paintbrush. As studio conditions go, well, it’s not a studio.
This digital stuff is a whole ‘nuther way of making art.
Women in Red # 18 © 2014 Susan Lobb Porter
But today was different. This is Women in Red # 18 and she wasn’t created like the rest of the series. Oh sure, she was made on an iPad 2 using Procreate. But for the better part of her creation I was spinning my wheels–
on this–the ancient and sturdy stationary exercycle, the one that was already old when I bought it 25 years ago in the Salvation Army store. But today I had an AHA! moment that was sheer genius. I bought a used over-the-bed hospital table, rotated the handlebars on the bike and now have a totally fine bicycle desk. I’ve adjusted the height so it’s perfect or sitting up straight, not the usual slouch I have when working on the laptop or iPad.
It’s not a workout workout, I don’t envision raising a sweat as I blog. But it keeps the blood going and after almost an hour of light pedaling tonight I ended up with jello legs.
Buh-bye chair-butt. Buh-bye.
Oh yeah, about today’s painting. I don’t know who she is, there was no reference photo, just my imagination. I dunno, I think she looks Greek. Or maybe Roman. What do you think?
