One Year 100 Paintings - #101, Self Portrait. For this painting, I used Procreate on the iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil and a self-portrait photo. I was going for a loose painting to capture the expression in the photo. I made a pencil sketch on a gray toned background and decided to leave the faint lines of the pencil sketch in the final painting. This was the last painting I worked on for the project and though my original plan of painting 100 acrylic paintings was not possible, I combined paintings of different mediums, digital and traditional to complete 100 paintings for the project in 2018. I am happy to say that I received a new Guerrilla Painter 5 x 7 pocket box for Christmas from my wife (it was on my wish list) and I’m excited to get out and try it in the field.

I have recently left my job of many years to pursue a new position and hope to work as a freelancer while doing so. I will be focused on starting a new career in 2019 but I want to continue to work on my creative pursuits in the process. My creative goals for this year are to paint more Plein Air paintings and continue to improve my digital painting and urban sketching skills. I also plan to use my new MiNT InstantKon RF70 to shoot more Instax Wide film and get to really know this camera. I will post samples of my photos after I’ve gotten a chance to try it out more.

What are your creative goals for 2019?

I have spent the past several Urban Sketch outings trying out my iPad Pro with Apple Pencil and the Etchr Slate Satchel. This past weekend was the first time using the Slate for group sketching and I'm happy to say that it performed well.

My large size Etchr Slate Satchel enables me to carry my 12.9" iPad Pro as well as a minimal traditional sketching kit. The satchel is weather-resistant, well constructed, and looks good too. There's a grab handle for carrying, or use the adjustable, padded shoulder strap to carry it like a vertical or horizontal messenger bag. It has loops on all four corners of the bag to attach the strap to your liking. The four loops are also handy for when the bag is converted into sketch mode - the strap is attached to opposite corners to support the slate around your shoulder while standing or sitting. I found this mode to be especially useful as my left arm which normally supports the iPad while I'm drawing gets to rest a bit. There is a tripod mount on the bottom of the bag, which I have attached to my tripod but not actually used out in the field. I believe that it will perform as expected, it looks well thought out and constructed.

The apps that I use primarily on my iPad Pro are Procreate and Tayasui Sketches Pro. Procreate is extremely versatile in the amount of customization with brushes and layer effects. I've become accustomed to the interface while using it for other types of drawings and can work pretty quickly with it's features. I'm getting more familiar with Tayasui Sketches Pro and like the pen tool and watercolor brush, which I think looks more like traditional ink and wash than what's available in Procreate. I could probably emulate the look of the tools of Sketches Pro in Procreate if I played around with the brush settings or sought out other brushes available for download.

Here's what I bring to my Urban Sketch meetups:

Etchr Slate Satchel - large

iPad Pro 12.9" with anti-glare screen protector (also gives the screen a bit more tooth, like paper)

Apple Pencil

Moleskine Watercolor Album 8" x 5"

Stillman & Birn Pocket Beta Series Sketchbook

Prima Marketing Watercolor Tin filled with Prima Marketing Watercolors

Tube of Winsor and Newton White Gouache

Niji Large Water Brush

Pentel Aquash Water Brush

TWSBI Eco Fine Fountain Pen with Noodler's Lexington Gray Ink

Platinum Carbon Extra Fine Fountain Pen with Platinum Carbon Ink

Pentel Pocket Brush Pen

Caran d'Ache Technalo Water Soluble Graphite Pencil

Blackwing Pencil

Col-Erase Orange Pencil

Uniball Signo White Gel Pen

Mini Water Spritzer

Kneaded Eraser

Paper Towels

35mm Slide Holder for Viewfinder

Small bag with charging cables, earphones, and ink cartridges

External Large Capacity Battery charger (sometimes, depending on need)

Sketch Wallet

Flat Water Bottle

Snack

Folding Three Leg Camp Stool with Shoulder Strap