Menokreatikkul; Artsy-Fartsy Chitty Chatty

Last Saturday I put up the quote about getting creative where destruction had been. What I have found is that I am creating several new items that are clearly 'political' and directly arising from feelings towards what is happening in Ukraine. This one appeared on my other blog and on the instything, now I place it here:

I found using Google Canvas okay for abstract work, but for this more figurative stuff, it was a bit ... limiting. I went in search and found in the play store an application called ibis paint. I ought, at this point, explain that on Voovoo I have a full artist package in which I can be creative to the hilt. I used it a lot for my Redbubble stuff (which has been sadly neglected and needs to be reviewed... that's for the future...) I paid a goodly sum for that package, in the days when one actually got a disc and had to load it on board the PC for oneself. Clearly, that cannot be transferred to OctoKan. So imagine my thrill the other night when I came across ibis paint! It has just about every tool an aspiring artist could need. It is certainly not for beginners - there are easier apps out there, but if you are prepared to explore and just press things to see what they do, well, this is the app for you! I created the sunflower in the space of about 30-35 minutes. The pens and brushes available are extensive - the app is free (although there is a premium paid option) and one can access all the brushes for 18 hours for watching only one, very short, video advert. I can live with that! The pretty scattered blossoms above were actually a 'brush' function. 

It was interesting, then, to read an article a few days later that discussed the concept of artistic creation from destruction. I do know that some of my best writing - and artwork - comes out of deeper movement within oneself in response to external events. How valuable those works are to anyone else does not matter. The writing/poetry/art is, first and foremost, for the artist themselves. It's 'processing space' and if others find resonance, all good and well.

For my instything, I was needing some more mandalas. Again, what I had used on Voovoo was unavailable to me, so a search on the play store brought me Mandoo. Now, as before, I mention that there are multiple mandala apps available and they are great fun for doodling. I played around with Mandoo for a bit and enjoyed its straightforward facility. It does not allow for colour fill and such like though, so I save them down and take them into ibis paint to do add that to the images. Then one or two have been taken further in PixlR, where more subtle changes are available. (All that done, I discovered the ability to set up mandala formations within ibis paint too! It really is quite a comprehensive art tool.) In all this process, I learned that I could take a video of my onscreen workings - so let's see if it transfers here okay...

To put that in context, below on the left is the mandala from Mandoo - which might have been fine on its own. But I wished to strengthen it with infill on the blue - for that it had to be taken into ibis paint. That's the finished product on the right.

Hand-drawing mandalas, it must be admitted, is rather more meditative and requires a deal more patience. However, taking time to layer the complexities in these apps, as well as the 'colouring in', still has a therapeutic and relaxing quality to it - particularly now that I can draw directly on the screen with my finger or stylus, exactly like I would a piece of paper or canvas. The feel and control are different - but I am learning!!!

I would love to see you all have a go at something like this - go on - show me what you can come up with! Find an app you like and just play around in it. Suspend all self-criticism or over-thinking. Let your mouse, or finger, do the talking. Then post it for us all to see...