I’m beginning to wonder if painting on the iPhone is part of something much bigger - the integration of Art and Technology was something that was talked about quite a bit over the last 30 years, but for the most part, that integration seemed “forced” and partly unnatural - like a 20th or 21st Century graft on an ancient discipline of painting, drawing, sculpture and applied arts.

First, here’s the paintings I mentioned I’d do today - live drawing from the model - I left my sketchpad home and used my iPhone exclusively - see the images and a photo I took of the model.

Life Painting 2 - Marshall Sponder - iPhone Painting using the Colors Application

Life Painting 1 - - Marshall Sponder - iPhone Painting using the Colors Application

Because this is an English blog (I’m American, but it’s hosted in the UK) i defer to sensibilities, that aren’t mine, and won’t publish the photo of the model, which would show the motifs I worked from.

The point is - I got everything I needed from an iPhone application - and I worked much faster than I could have in traditional media.   And now, here’s my idea - an idea I wish someone would pick up on.

What if the devices like the iPhone, and the application software on it, could select the palette of colors and textures for us and provide a list of matching paints/pigments that could be used to replicate the imagery in physical paint (oil, acrylic, watercolor, etc).

Here’s what I mean - in the future I might sit in front of a nude model, as I did today, with my iPhone and take an image which is analyzed for a selection of highlights and shadows - my palate for the drawing is then “selected” - and I can add to it - but maybe I don’t want to initially.    At the same moment - I can use the same software to output a list of the paints I’d need to replicate the same palate in oils, for example (including the brand).

By the same token, I could go the other way, and set up a palate of colors, read it into the iPhone application, then analyze a motif, and let the software select from what I have to work with.

Software and devices have come this far, that what I am writing about there is not far off - and they’re inexpensive programs on an inexpensive device, such as an iPhone.

Instead of trying to graft technology onto Art, lets’ harness technology to improve what we can do with our own Art - we have now arrived at the point where that’s doable, and shortly, I predict we will be doing more sketching and painting using mobile devices - for a variety of reasons.

I know, I will be.