The fancy French term for doing artwork outdoors is en plein air.  Taking a sketchbook and a pencil counts, but when you hear the term "plein air," it's usually referring to painters.  This can be quite an undertaking.  An easel, paints, palette, brushes....  Or, you could simplify and just bring an iPad.

Working en plein air in Texas is a whole different ball of wax than painting in Monet's garden.  I made the mistake of sketching at a trendy, upscale outdoor mall this past Saturday afternoon. It was 100 degrees.  I ended up in the Neiman Marcus ladies room, lying on the floor with my feet propped up on a chair, with sales associates getting me water and bringing wet paper towels to cool me off.  I think they came within a hair of calling 911.  I did manage to call my husband.  When he showed up with Gatorade, I drank that bottle down.  Then, I began to feel much better.  So far this year, we have had about 18 days of 100 degrees or higher.  And this is June.  

At least there weren't any fire ants.  If you are outdoors in Texas in the summer and stand or sit on the ground, the fire ants will find you.  Never had a fire ant bite?  They hurt like holy heck!  Insect repellent doesn't faze them.  I still have a scar from one I got years ago.  I think that one must have been the Mother of All Fire Ants.  

So, plein air in Texas?  In the summer?  Pack Gatorade.  And bring baking soda.  If you get a fire ant bite, make a paste out of baking soda and rub it into the bite.  it will help, I promise.  Be sure to take another artist along.  If one of you is overcome by the heat, the other can call EMS on their cell.  And, remember, only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noon-day sun.

If you are interested in plein air painting in Austin, Texas, check out: http://www.pleinairaustin.org/index.htm  I do notice that they don't have anything upcoming on the schedule.  The last meeting was June 16th, at a lovely park in San Marcos.   I hope they wait until October for their next outing.  It's just not worth it!

You might enjoy the website Outdoor Painter: http://www.outdoorpainter.com/  where you can find Plein Air Magazine and info about various events.  And, below, a painting by Renoir -- of Monet painting.

So, I got the new iPad  and was having quite a frustrating time with it.  I downloaded several art apps and kept dabbling with them all and not mastering one.  So.  I decided to work solely with ArtRage for awhile.  And, at first, it just about did cause me to rage!  The tactile sensation is missing.  It doesn't act exactly the way real art tools on real paper would act.  But, it has certain advantages.  Such as "undo".  Make a major mistake?  Just press undo.  Is it cheating?  Well, duh!


Most frustrating of all: I think if I had used my usual supplies of paper, charcoal and pastels, I would have done better work.  But, that's what a learning  curve is all about.  And, whenever we do something in a new way, our neurons make new connections.  Good way to jumpstart creativity.

I have decided to think of the iPad apps as being another form of printmaking, in that you can make multiple copies of your image using the printer.  And, of course, you can easily post them on the web.  Etchings, lithographs, screenprints, and, now, the iPad.  
So, here are a few of the latest.  Done in my lifedrawing studios this week:

                                                                                                 Above, Clara. 
                                                                                                  Below, Mari.

And, a couple of gesture drawings.  For the first one, I used the micron pen setting, followed by the brush setting.  For the second, the pencil setting.  As always, I think the gestures are the best of the lot.

I have tried my hand at doing some artwork on the iPhone and now on the iPad.  I finding the process frustrating.  The tactile experience is very different, for one thing.  Figuring out all the options -- how to do this, how to do that, how to save, etc. is driving me insane.  Having said all that.  I am also having some fun.

Here is an invented head, done using the Asketch app on the iPhone.  The teeny screen on the iPhone adds quite a challenge for me.  I'm used to a lot bigger sheet of paper!

I'm also used to having charcoal under my fingernails.  The iPhone doesn't leave a trace.  You wouldn't even know I had been drawing.

Here is another Asketch drawing, done on the iPhone.  I tried to get a likeness of my son Paul, as he sat across from me at a restaurant.  I see hints of his face, here, not a true likeness.

I drew this on an iPad.  Darned if I can remember which app, tho!  I emailed the screen to myself.  See the bottom of the image, with the menu.

I'll stop here, closing with an image by artist David Hockney, who has been playing around with the iPad as well.  He created this piece using the Brushes app.  He believes that, if Vincent van Gogh were alive today, he would be using the iPad, too.  "Van Gogh would have loved it, and he could have written his letters on it as well."   See the article on bloomberg.com: 
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-04-25/david-hockney-s-ipad-doodles-evoke-high-tech-stained-glass-martin-gayford.html

At the moment, I am insanely jealous.  

Altho I will say, the lamps do kind of look like toothbrushes to me.



















copyright David Hockney