Stylus t. Frog and David Hockney: A Bigger Picture.

Categories: artwork, and-another-thing, general-stuff

Tags: iPad art, Royal Academy, Hockney, A bigger picture, Adobe Ideas, Sketchshare

Date: 05 March 2012 20:47:39

Unsurprisingly I've been thoroughly enjoying the Hockney exhibition at the RA in a number of ways and, just to spite everyone who knows me, in ways unexpected as well as the more obvious iPad art angle.

For a start the exhibition itself is an amazing sight. Full and free and flowing and fabulous.

For a second thing the Andrew Marr Culture Show special was wonderful. Thoroughly enjoyable stuff.

Now, those who know me ask what I thought of the iPad art, to which I reply - very good (although I do wonder why it wasn't screened on iPad as it was in the Parisian show last year) - which is expected. Then I follow it up with 'not my favourite work of the show'. The favourite piece? Well, of course it was wonderful to see the Grand Canyon and Route 66 up close and personal - both wonderful pieces - but the images which moved me the most were the video installations. I could have watched them for hours. I did, in fact. Mesmeric stuff.

A third wonderful moment came when I travelled to see Edith Devaney talking to Will Gompertz at the Apple Store, Covent Garden. Of course I decided to draw in the q, on the seat while waiting and during the discussion as it went on. Those pictures are the first four below.

(waiting for the talk to begin).

(Stylus t. Frog, waiting patiently on his seat).

(Will Gompertz, arts editor for the BBC, beginning proceedings).

(Will Gompertz talking to Edith Devaney).

While waiting for the show to begin I also borrowed the Apple Store wifi to do some Sketchshare collaboration with the marvellous Mr Marjoram:

... all good fun and very diverting from waiting for things to kick off. I must admit to harbouring the faintest fraction of a hope that David might install Sketchshare and draw a collaborative piece with myself or my students one day. Who knows...

I was also lucky enough to be invited to the teachers preview night of the exhibition, where I drew this and ended up talking to, and making friends with, a good few teachers also in attendance:

...and then a week or so later I was invited back to the RA to help the learning team get to grips with Brushes app. Directly after that I went to speak to the London Mac USer Group on iPad art in general but, just before I did, I had a brief walk through the exhibition again and drew the learning team this:

All ways round it's been a thoroughly excellent exhibition :) If you haven't seen it yet I recommend it wholeheartedly. You may never see its like again.

Lastly - unrelated the A Bigger Picture, but I'm nervously anticipating tomorrow night. I'm up for an education award for iPad art in education for the World Skills Festival. No idea on chances - unaware of who's in same category so assuming on a bronze medal at least. Then, on Weds, I'm the artist in residence for the London Mac User Group live podcast of the iPad 3 launch announcement.

Interesting times ahead.