A is for App

Welcome back November and Art Every Day month. This is my seventh year of participation. This year my plan is to focus on a new art form that has me intrigued. I look forward to another great month of creativity, work and sharing. So, on to the art.

I have always wanted a gadget that I could use to draw directly on the screen, something that would let me be creative while traveling in our camper. Also, I am always looking for tools that let me work in different ways.

I wanted a way to use a stylus and I need a large enough surface area so that I feel as if I am actually  drawing or painting directly.

In August my husband gave me an early birthday gift, a 10" Fire Tablet by Android. I am hooked. I am thrilled. I can't stop playing with it.

Simply by playing I am learning new approaches not only to working on the tablet, but finding ways to apply what I am learning in this digital format to my work in paint and other materials.

I am also understanding how this tablet allows me to combine my graphic and digital skills and tool knowledge with my fine art hand skills. Fascinating.

My first task, after an arduous setup process was to explore the art apps available. There are not as many as I imagined, for Android, but after reading reviews I knew that one, ArtRage is the standout. (I will be writing more about the full app in later posts.)

To give it a try, I began with ArtRage Oil, a free, limited version of the ArtRage for Android app. The website says that it was “created to allow people to try out ArtRage’s oil paints easily, and for children to use.” It doesn’t say how much pure fun it is to work with.

August was hot, but I spent hours in the shade of our grape arbor experimenting, first with only my fingers, and then with my new stylus. I am awed by the ease of use, and the amazing way that the paints in the app react like oils in reality - moving and blending and creating dense or smooth textures. The art on this page are both finger paintings. For the one the top left, I  set the paint options to metallic, the lower right was in matte. Amazing? I think so.

And, I showed this app to my five year old grandson. He was making art in seconds - moving around in the tools seamlessly.

For this year’s challenge I will be working with, comparing and writing about the art related tools I am discovering, as well as focusing on the other (numerous) projects I am involved with. I am so glad to be back doing Art Every Day. I have lots to share.

Happy November. Art On.