Wallace Koopmans Artlog

With this sketch it’s apparent how I have used a photograph as the source.  While every stroke is unique and not directly derived from the photograph I had the source image as an underlying layer while painting.  This image could have been improved if I had painted some more dark greens at the base of the half barrel.  As it is the barrel is not grounded and appears to float on the image plane losing the three dimensional effect, appearing flat and giving away it’s photographic origins.

Not only can you use the iPad to sketch but you can use it to capture your source material too with it’s built in camera or through the camera connection kit.  All of this was done far away from any Internet connection or source of AC power.  I charged the iPad off of a 12V inverter whenever I needed to.

I was flipping through an old notebook from when I was in art school and found this polaroid of a “master copy” I had attempted (Please do not look up the original for both our sakes) What can I say you start somewhere and hopefully get better or switch to photography if you don’t. It is my intention to put down the cameras a little more often and do some more painting. Running across an image like this is a nice reminder, much nicer than being poked with the sharp end of a paintbrush.

The iPad is turning out to be a versatile tool for realizing the images I want to create.  It is difficult and sometimes impossible to simplify a scene to the degree that I want with photography but this allows me that possibility.  While not as immediate as a photograph I’m finding that I can create sketches faster than I could with traditional media.

The second drawing in my iPad series.

This is my first post of a painting from my iPad. It’s another instrument in my artistic toolbox and is a fun way of sketching. I had the opportunity to spend some time getting acquainted with some software, (Procreate) and my Jot Pro stylus. I mention the stylus specifically because it’s so superior to a pudgy finger or any other stylus I’ve seen.

One great aspect of using this combination is that you can go from a simple sketch to a full painting depending on the effort you want to put in. A limitation though is the final resolution of 1920×1408

A fun exercise where I painted from a cell phone picture on a 5″x5″ canvas.  I started with a quick charcoal sketch and then painted directly over that.  I say “fun” because I can do it rapidly and there is no expectation that it should be good or meaningful a lot like the photo it’s derived from.  I may do more of these and it would be nice to even make a commitment to paint one a week.  On second thought I’m not even adhering to my Polaroid a week so maybe I will just keep the idea playful.

Having not painted for several months, I pulled an unfinished canvas from the pile and spent some time today bringing it closer to the level of completion that I wanted.  It was and is not intended to be a detailed painting but for the lack of a better term a simple impression of the sun and it’s light spilling over the top of Mt. Baker while an excavator remains in the shade of the predawn light.  I’ll set it aside again and perhaps make a few alteration before considering it finished.