Binkley Experimenting with Adobe Draw

Michelle and I have a month of travel between our two months working in studio in Italy and my Artist in Residency in Otivar, Spain. To keep my “finger in the pie” so to speak, I’ve discovered an app for my iPhone from Adobe, called Adobe Draw. Essentially, Draw is a way to draw freehand vectors with my fingertip. I could then adjust these vectors in the desktop version of Adobe Illustrator. This is a wonderful, free way to draw vectors, as opposed to the old clunky way of laboriously drawing vectors with my mouse. There are also five new “pen tips” I can use to draw with. I like the pinstripe brush that allows for a thin start and end point for each line, or vector. I could then adjust these vectors in the desktop Illustrator program. But there’s a catch.

This free app is a teaser to get one to subscribe to Adobe’s Software as a Service program and the app then marries with Adobe Illustrator on one’s desktop. I am still at odds with Adobe’s SaaS, as I only use a small portion of Photoshop and Illustrator. I am using my stand-alone versions of the two programs, but there will come a day when they will not work with my computer’s OS. When that happens, I’ll be forced into the SaaS.

In the meantime, I’m having fun sketching nudes with my finger on my phone. I am able to practice my figure drawing and I can be spontaneous. Being so portable, I can draw almost anywhere, without having to pull out a sketchbook and pens and pencils.

I’m exploring detailed sketches and then using layers, I’m reducing some of the compositions into simplified graphic images that describe the subject with minimal lines, as the images above and below. Economy of line.

Most time, artists will draw the shadows of an image. This results in a black on white image. But I’m also exploring drawing the light. This results in a white on black image, such as the following six pieces.

I’m finding it a challenge drawing this way, as I have to be very selective with what to include in the light in order to create a compelling image.

My thought is to compile a collection of pieces that I can use for limited edition prints when we return to Canada next year. I think they might be successful as giclées or ink on linen or canvas art works. I am backing up finalized versions on my computer, but I can alter the images still on my phone within the app.

You can see more of my vector sketches on my Instagram feed – just click the link at the top or bottom of this page.

What do you think of this as a Michael Binkley art form? Give me your feed back in the comment section below.