So, I had been staring at this in progress, semi abstract mountain landscape for a few weeks, not knowing what to do with it. It felt too bitty and too messy. I knew I needed to introduce some larger, quieter areas, but I didn’t want to lose the loose texture and movement I had from those first original layers (that old chestnut) which was leaving me too scared to just throw on some paint.

`Initial painting - The messy first few layers had me stuck, too many similar shapes of the same size, no flow or cohesion.`

And then I remembered a post I had seen on Instagram. Taking a photo of the painting, putting it into Procreate on my iPad and then using that wonderful technology to play around with it and test out different scenarios. I had an idea of what I wanted to do but was too scared to, and this way I could get a risk-free idea of how it would look.

So, I played around for 10 minutes or so and TA DA! After a bit of scribbling over the picture of my painting, trying out a few brushes and smudges here and there, I found the direction I needed to go in. Finally, I felt brave enough to slap some paint on that that board, so away I went with gusto.

Question is, is it cheating to use technology in this way or is it just another tool we can use and embrace as artists? Should I have just gone straight in with paint and delt with the consequences afterwards be it a success or disaster, or worked out some ideas with physical paper with paint, instead of exploring the possibilities on my iPad first?

The purist artist in me felt slightly uneasy, altering my painting digitally and using that as a reference did feel a bit like cheating. On the other hand, the ideas and decisions were still all mine, in many ways it’s no different to sketching out different ideas on paper. Plus, the subsequent mixing and application of paint to panel still had to executed by my own fair hand which is certainly not without risk.

What do you think?

I think I’ll probably do it again. I was happy with the result this time and it got me out of a stuck situation. That’s not to say it would work out the next time, the texture and behaviour of paint cannot be replicated by an Apple pencil and iPad screen. However, I found it a useful way to work through ideas and figure out solutions to a problem in a quick and economical way, no wasting of paper or paint.

`A much softer more cohesive look after blending some areas and creating larger areas of softness.`

Have you used technology to get you out of a tight spot? Is it a regular part of your art practice? Or do you think it is indeed cheating?

Let me know your thoughts.

Anna x

Is Using Technology Cheating?

No time to paint