Researching David Hockney

David Hockney (b1937)

Search the internet for artists who embrace new technology and you will inevitably come across David Hockney. He has almost single handily, through his work, and numerous interviews, made the iPad an acceptable new tool and medium for serious artists.

Left; A digital experiment of mine based on a picture of David Hockney with his sausage dog

My own experiments with various applications on the ipad, encouraged by the results Hockney is able to achieve, have been quite surprising to me. My drawing skills have been transferable to this new medium and with practice I am now producing work I am quite proud of.

Right: A digital drawing of Tony Formosa.

Memories way back in my youth, of the ‘local boy done good’ on television; his Yorkshire accent, and matter of fact delivery seemingly out of place amongst the ‘Queen's English’ broadcasting language of the sixties.

Hockney’s eccentric charm winning over the doubters and Naysayers who were not keen on this new fangled ‘pop art’.

He is as much a part of my life as the Yorkshire hills, you don’t notice them but once you stop and really look, you realise the amazing beauty is a part of your soul. Similarly, researching David Hockney has been a journey of rediscovery and of comforting familiarity.

Below: Hockney pictured in Saltaire, near Bradford in Yorkshire. Sir Titus Salts model village. The Woollen Mill in Saltaire was transformed by developer Jonathan Silver, in the 1980’s into a shopping space and the 1853 Hockney art galleries.(2)

A prolific artist and one of life’s true characters, Hockney has always moved with the times. An innovator, who, as far back as 1985, embraced computer technologies for art. In 1990 using the Oasis programme for Apple Macintosh (1) he produced his first computer drawing, demonstrating that the pixel is another tool, which in artists hands, can be used to produce credible and valid art. The fact that a leading artist such as Hockney has embraced iPad drawing, has facilitated this skill be taken seriously and it is now becoming a credible way for recognised artists to produce art. To produce credible art in this way, the technical ability of the artist is still required, it is an alternative way to mark make. The colour and form is laid down with either the finger/thumb or a stylus, drawn across the ipads touch sensitive surface. The mark is converted by the application into a vast selection of mark making tools, from brushes to fine liners and textures in a multitude of thicknesses and opacities. The full colour spectrum is available to pick from a colour wheel and colours can be saved easily for use throughout your composition. It is a portable and convenient tool and has replaced the sketchbook for Hockney as he does not need to carry additional mark making tools.

Pictured at his exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain, May 2012. (3)

He is a stimulus and inspiration to me.

Looking at his digital work and his iPad art has motivated me to keep practicing and improving my familiarity with the tools and functions available.

I argue that It is indeed an art form, as you literally paint or draw with pixels. I am a total convert to this medium, which, I feel will become increasingly part of an artist's arsenal of tools.

David Hockney with his iPad at the Guggenheim(3)

References

1 www.hockneypictures.com site accessed 24.12.15

2 http://www.saltsmill.org.uk/pdf/history.pdf Site accessed 23.12.15

3 Photo Credit Alfredo Aldai/European Pressphoto Agency http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/18/books/david-hockney-a-rakes-progress-by-christopher-simon-sykes.html site accessed 27.12.15