Tag Archives: photography

Teaching and Being Taught in Lafayette

Last week I taught a one day iPad art workshop to a number of local artists in Lafayette LA and then attended a three-day workshop in watercolor journaling held by Don Getz and organized by my sister Ceci. Another sister, Mercedes, participated in much of the fun, including the iPad session. Since I was so close to home, Ceci and I swung over to Biloxi afterward to visit our dad and his wife and more brothers and sisters.

As for making art while out-of-town, I didn’t paint while teaching. And it was so cold and windy during the plein air workshop that I didn’t do anything of note then either. In fact, after a couple of watercolor/ink drawings, I resorted to my iPad to get something — anything — down before my hands went numb. Though everything is unfinished, I’ll show you the state of play (along with a few photos of what we were memorializing) so you can get a flavor for the beauty of Cajun country. Teaser: we painted the St. John Cathedral Oak, the third largest live oak in the country.

Another Reason to Use iPad or iPhone Art Apps

I love to use art apps to record color sketches quickly, whether sitting by a lovely scene or whipping by in the passenger seat of a car. Photos just don’t ‘cut it’ for this type of use. The camera does not capture colors accurately — at least without time-consuming gyrations. Hauling out paints and nailing the right color note on the fly is also improbable.

With an art app, all you have to do is select the right color from a comprehensive array at your fingertips. Here are several palettes from which I can dial the desired color, swipe it on the screen, and adjust intensity/opacity as desired. The slideshow also includes a few color notations made to capture relative colors, instead of a specific scene.

A Portrait of My Aunt Pleases Her

She Likes the Portrait!  Whew!

And now for the last item of the night ~~ the portrait is unveiled!

My Louisiana-based cousins had a grand family reunion recently. As the final ‘reveal’ of the night, my aunt was given a portrait that I’d done of her, based on some reference photos I’d taken of her this past July 4th.

It was a joy to see the smile on her face and I’m so happy I could get the painting finished, stretched and shipped to her family before the big day.