Jazz and jazz iPad art at the Morris Graves, Fri. March 30

Rivulets of rain on the window and jazz everywhere....

Sunday Branford Marsalis lit up the night at HSU! This coming Friday the Redwood Jazz Alliance features Kitty Margolis, with dynamic drummer Allison Miller at the Morris Graves Rotunda. On Sunday Allison Miller as part of Honey Ear Trio, and our own Jenny Scheinman on violin, at the Arcata Playhouse.

I’ll be showing iPad Jazz paintings at the Humboldt Artist Gallery downstairs at the Morris Graves Museum of Art, starting Friday March 30, before Kitty Margolis' performance.

The Morris Graves Rotunda provides a lovely, intimate space for jazz and painting. I have created three jazz paintings here. The show will feature framed, signed, limited - series fine art prints, as well as unframed prints, and a few greeting cards. It will be up for a month during normal Morris Graves Museum hours.

All of the jazz paintings were created during live performances on my iPad. The framed pieces include Esperanza Spalding, the first jazz musician I painted live on my iPad, captured at HSU’s Kate Buchanan room in 2010. Since then, at the Monterey Jazz Festival, with iPad in lap, I've painted jazz greats Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock, Geri Allen and others. Locally I enjoyed catching the charming likeness of Ambrose Akinmusire on the iPad. It is very exiting that he will be the artist in residence at the 2012 Monterey Jazz Festival in September.

Looking forward to showing you my iPad art in print form for the first time.

I also invite you to follow me in this blog for regular posts of new art.

There is still space left in the "Finger Painting on Your iPad" OLLI class starting

Thursday April 19, 6-8 p.m. at the Aquatics Center in Eureka. www.humboldt.edu/olli

Sunday, last day at the Monterey Jazz Festival, iPad paintings of SONNY ROLLINS and others. Beautiful ending!

By the time Sunday came along I felt confident that I could paint on my iPad all over the sprawling Monterey Fairgrounds. After another indian meal, this time with a hot chai, I parked myself in the shade on the left hand side in the very front of the Garden Stage. Shade is needed for the iPad. The luminous touch screen is highly reflective. Tia Fuller was a very nice surprise. She was so happy to be there, and I was so happy to paint her pretty figure.

Steve Coleman and Five Elements followed and put me in a sweet mood as I let the music guide my strokes on the iPad.

The evening ended with a love fest, as big, red shirted Sonny Rollins, now in his mid eighties showed us that he was still the man. He took us out with his long and powerful rendition of Saint Thomas, his famous calypso influenced jazz. He pumped the air with his fist and he stood his ground. It feels damn good to have captured him on the iPad.

I am posting a detail of the Sonny Rollins image. Saving the whole piece for a special occasion!

Saturday at the 54th Monterey Jazz Festival: iPad paintings during live performances

I wandered over in the late afternoon, had a lamb curry with mango lassi and lingered with the Dumpstaphunk New Orleans sound in the warm sunshine. Having the MJF app on my phone and iPad was handy for figuring out what was happening where. One of the tough aspects of the festival is having to forgo so many potentially great acts. Can't be at more than one place at a time - more so if you want a front row seat and stay long enough to execute a painting. On Saturday I knew I wanted to see the pianist Geri Allen perform with the tap dancer Maurice Chestnut: Geri Allen & Timeline "A Jazz Tap Tribute to Sammy Davis Jr". And I did not want to miss Herbie Hancock, both events taking place at the big outdoors arena, the Jimmy Lyons Stage. I got there early and took a seat at the front, hoping no one would claim it....and went to work, cheered on by a couple of ushers. Painting in layers I started with the stage, struggled to add Geri Allen as she flicked back and forth in the giant screen above the stage, then drew in the shadowy audience in the coveted orchestra seats, and found a way to add the constantly moving marionette - like tap dancer. Such intense focus - that I nearly fell off the seat when its rightful owner showed up. Moved a couple of seats over and finished as the set finished. I loved the piano, and the tap dancing, and the visuals were compelling. And, having had such misgivings about painting in the big arena, I was happy to find out I could.

Herbie Hancock is one of my all-time favorites. On this painting he appears as a very small guy with his white portable keyboard. And tiny Herbie is multiplied on the overhead big screen. Just a fantasy! Herbie was painted from our regular seat in row G.