Painting On My Phone (Samsung Note 5)

I dropped my oldish phone at a Starbucks. I tried to slip it into my back pocket. It, alternatively, slipped right down my pants leg and onto the stylishly tiled floor. It was on life-support for a few days until it finally gave out after one last fall at work... Funny thing is, I can still talk to it and it talks back to me. It tells me the time, or what my last text message was and I can respond via voice. I just can't see anything on the screen.

Well, I'd been thinking about what it would be like to be able to draw on my phone [easily] for the past few months anyways
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I was getting UPGRADE FEVER.

For those of you who don't know, upgrade fever is a state of mind that comes when a person is getting close to the end of their current phone contract and is totally preoccupied with all of the NEWEST phones coming out.  I.e. Spending 3 hours a night researching the latest phone trends and latest technologies.

Not that that was what I was doing...

To make a long story a little shorter, there are currently TWO phones (that I know of in the US) that come with stylus' that can stay tucked away INTO the phone when you are not using it. The Samsung Note 5 (this is the latest iteration, anyways, you can go further back in technology, but COME ON who would want to do that?? And the LG Stylo (which its newest cousin should be arriving in stores shortly..the Stylus 2) The LG is cheaper materials, processor, software, etc. and does not have pressure-sensitivity for the stylus which is a big no-no when it comes to making art! It was pretty easy to make the decision to go with the Samsung which has pretty much been awesome since I've had it for two months now.

I can't talk to it though.

I mean I can, it just doesn't listen [Very well anyways..]

​ Oh, how I miss the Motorola Voice software... oh well. 

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Everything above was drawn while I was at work. If it is slow enough in the afternoon where I can reliably get a minimum of 3 minutes in between parking cars, I will generally try to get out a sketch. I usually choose the sky as a focal point. 

If it is really slow and I think I can get a good 5 minutes I may try for a person. The "Ugly Dog Lady" from above is a lady that frequents my work and is always with her dog. It is usually dressed up in a sweater, brightly colored, of course. 

I don't know. Maybe it's just me but I don't think a bald dog with pink and brown patches of skin and what appears like the same hairstyle as Donald Trump is particularity attractive... BUT it is interesting to paint :)

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I LOVE TWILIGHT! The sky gets a particular type of blue just before all the light from the sun escapes to the other side of the Earth. I am always chasing that color but it still seems to escape me. I did this while standing on the sidewalk of a bridge that crossed the train tracks.  

Maybe I'll try for an oncoming train next time! 

The painting of the brick building was done on a very slow afternoon! I had a lot of time to add details and get a decent drawing in before i started to put down some color.

The painting on the right was done while I was sitting at Starbucks. I was sketching a couple ladies studying in front of me but they seemed to catch on quickly and I got nervous!

It is a great feeling to capture a little bit of someone on the down low. It is a completely different feeling when they notice.

It's just CREEPY at that point.

So, that's why I ended up painting I95 :)  Usually it is not a very interesting subject but considering I had little choice, I am glad I came up with the composition I did. I enjoy the pinkish hue of the street lights contrasting with the blue twilight sky.

The artwork on the left is a fantastical landscape I created after being consumed with Magic: The Gathering lately. It is a card collecting/trading/playing game that started in the nineties. I played when I was younger. 

My mother sold my cards in a yard sale.

I love you, Mom.

​I'm sorry but I had to mention this... I want those cards!!!  :)

The [cropped] artwork on the right is by Noah Bradley and has been printed on an actual Magic card. The amazing thing about Magic is that all the cards have these amazing illustrations on them!

​It's' definitely been a great inspiration of late and a deterrent, too!

Here is one last one I did while sitting out a Bye in a Magic tournament at the card shop. This is Shawn who works at the shop, playing Grayson, who eventually won. You're welcome, Grayson.

It's funny that because Magic is such a complicated game and it takes so much concentration, Shawn never even realized I was painting him even though I was one foot away! It's a relatively poor sketch but good practice!

​I've been procrastinating on the last image for my political robots series. The Donald, of course. Hopefully I'll have it done in the next week or so.

Just to sum things up...

​All the paintings were done on my Samsung Note 5 smartphone. They all took 15 minutes or less and were done in the ArtRage app for Android. 

I really like the format of the phone. The aspect ratio is great, too. The restriction of size on the phone is something I can't seem to do on my computer. I always make the digital canvas too many pixels and then it takes the file long to load and slows EVERYTHING up.

​I think it gives my artwork a feeling of immediacy that I haven't been able to get otherwise. The loose painting is a great way for me to shore up my skills and reminds me to Keep It Simple, Stupid. Or KISS, if you haven't seen the acronym before.

Simpler is always better.

Really.

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