first ipad painting

Hello I am making my first attempt at blogging. I think most of the blog will deal with my art, the paintings and other works I create. I also happen to teach art at the high school level so I will be sharing my students' work from time to time.

As I go along I will become more familiar with the setup and layout of the blog and it should be more attractive to the viewer but this is my first shot at it so please be patient.

Anyhow I have recently purchased an iPad. Mainly it was bought to create art, kind of a mobile digital sketchbook. I have done much art on the iphone and liked the novelty of using such a mobile device and the digital power behind it. But the iphone is limited by its' size. That's where the ipad excels . Its' screen is large enough to truly create stunning art. Here is an example of a painting created in Artrage, a superb app which emulates real art making technique. It was done freehand using a Nomad stylus brush.  Artrage has a tracing function built in but I feel using it cheapens the creative experience. It is possible to create a good work of art that way especially as the forms and shapes are correct but when created freehand those little human mistakes and nuances are introduced into the work. This results in a more interpretive and "realistic" painting. I love the way Artrage follows the process of painting "for real." It feels very much the same as when I am using traditional oils or acrylics. The process is very similar with of course no mess.