This week I delved into a new world of art. One of the challenges of art is the art; or specifically, what to do with the art we produce. Thankfully I sell a few pieces, but the pile of sketchbooks grows, and the canvas collection from acrylic painting takes up a lot of space. Artists often lean toward eccentric, I am no exception, so I cut back on acrylic painting in response to the internal voice, “Where will you store it all?” And, regarding sketching, “Who is ever going to look at your sketchbooks anyway?” I know it’s nuts.
This week I started to do travel sketching on my iPad, something I had resisted as it was “not genuine art.” Quickly I found that many urban sketchers do use their iPad, like Rob Sketcherman, it is all he has sketched on for years. Their blogs pointed out the convenience, the versatility, and the enjoyment of using their iPad – and of course the ease of storage component. So I downloaded Procreate, the apparent leader for urban sketchers, bought a cheap stylus and jumped in. I have since upgraded to an Apple Pencil for good reason. The experience has been a delight, a challenge, a learning curve – BUT it has ended the boredom I was struggling with, and my storage space is a big as the cloud.
So here are the results of this week, along with a couple of ink-watercolor-paper sketches. My first digital was of a junco. Not bad considering the technical learning that was taking place.
The next two are landscapes, one is at Brix Restaurant in Napa, the other is the Upper Klamath National Reserve with Mt McLoughlin in the distance.
Then I did a digital sketch of the Dog & Doublet Inn from last weeks post. The difference the Apple Pencil made is evident.
My sketchbook and fude pen were feeling a bit ignored so I revisited a ghost town farm from a trip we went on a few years back to Yellowstone and Montana.
And then, as is so often the case, I ended up in France. Exactly one year ago today we ate dinner at the Brasserie Bellanger in Paris – so much has happened since then, it is still hard to process at times.
I trust you are well, getting a vaccine soon, and traveling as you can and as is safe. Keep sketching,
theTravelsketcher 
Fantastic! I like taking my iPad sketching in museums so I can get the look I want without breaking any dry media only rules. It’s a bit of a learning curve for sure. I had to eat humble pie in my attitude to digital art. They make it look so easy 😬 It’s quite a satisfying way to sketch, I’m looking forward to seeing your progress.
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Thanks so much, coming from you that means a lot. I am actually suprised at how quickly it is coming together. I bought Uma Kelkar’s book, part ot the Urban Sketcher series and she said keep it simple, dont go nuts on tools you usepic a fe and stick with them, and don’t go nuts on too many layers. That has helped a lot. Now my biggest problem, my psychosis side come out, is that i feel guilty how much i like it and my Fude pens are feeling neglected.
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