Dancers in Blue (after Degas)

I recently returned from Paris where several late paintings and pastels by Degas at the Musée d'Orsay knocked me out.

Towards the end of his life Degas was losing his eyesight, as a result his artistic process loosened up. Towards the very end, he painted in very broad strokes: smudging the oil paints directly on the canvas with his palm and fingers. Prompted by this insight, I was inspired to copy several late Degas paintings using the iPad Brushes App billed as “digital finger painting”.

Dancers in Blue (after Degas)          Al Doyle, 2011

The video below shows the progression of the drawing from start to finish.

This exercise in copying aims to demonstrate the usefulness of the iPad as an aid in teaching the basics of drawing and painting. One of the truly revolutionary aspects of the Brushes App is the ease of use. Drawing with you finger provides an artist with direct control not afforded by other digital paint applications.