Interview With iPhone Artist Jorge Colombo

photo by Daniel Blaufuks, danielblaufuks.comWhen you look at the iPhone you might seen an advanced communications device, a mobile email solution, or a wireless internet solution. What you might not see as easily is an artistic outlet. 

Artist Jorge Colombo creates art using solely his iPhone with the Brushes application. Jorge has previously worked with other digital media, like short films, where he restricted himself to 60 seconds to tell a story.

We had a chance to ask Jorge about his iPhone creations, and whether we'll be able to get them to hang on the wall as well:

What attracted you to the iPhone as an art platform?

In no particular order: the portability of the medium, the ubiquitousness of the tool, the quality of the transparencies... and the fact I don't have to wash brushes.

The iPhone isn't your first digital medium. Tell us more about your one-minute films.

Same story: it all fits in my pocket. A poet doesn't need to carry much "gear" to create work, and that makes me jealous; so I try to reduce my essentials to a minimum. In the case of my movies (started years ago, initially just to participate in my friends' One-Minute Film Festival) I film everything with a digital point-and-shoot on video mode, and edit in my Mac's iMovie. I like the immediacy, the note-taking quality -- almost like sketching with a marker. For me the goal is not adding equipment, it's reducing it (while of course trying to keep decent quality levels on the final product.) I like making the machine almost invisible. And, well... right now I've been drawing with my finger!

Jorge Colombo, jorgecolombo.com 

What were some of the challenges to creating your iPhone art?

Let's face it: even with Brushes' 800% magnification capacity, the screen is still a bit tiny. I'd love to do one day the same thing on a letter-sized screen. Which may very well become common: the iPhone has poularized the notion that you can do a lot of computing on a touch-screen's virtual keyboard, so I'm waiting for a larger version. Also, drawing in bright daylight is actually harder than worling in the dark. If I had to this all the time I'd get a big umbrella. Very low-tech. 

What do you want to do with them? Are these suitable to be blown up as prints, or do you think they're best experienced on the phone?

They are going to be sold as prints; there's a 20x200.com edition in the works. The latest version of Brushes allows you to export files at a very decent resolution. But most likely I'll be doing illustrations in this medium.

How long does it take you to create each piece?

So far, none longer than half an hour. Especially in the winter -- after a while, my fingers started shaking.

What advice would you have for other artists considering using the iPhone as an artistic tool?

When there's a background and foreground, it's easier to fully finish the former before adding the latter. At least that's how I do it. And once in a while I save an image and duplicate it for safety even before finishing it. Also: by all means use the Brushes Viewer, its hi-res downloads do pay off.

Jorge Colombo, jorgecolombo.com

What do you think digital advancements mean for future artists? How could art schools change over the next five years?

I suppose this kind of work will become as ubiquitous as people recording their thoughts through a keyboard instead of a pen. Mediums will continue coexisting (I'm ALSO drawing with a pen or pencil all the time) but digital will probably become the norm, the majority; and it'll be good for schools to take that into account.

You can see more of Jorge's work on his website, www.JorgeColombo.com

We would like to do a series on creative people using their Macs (or iPhones) in making projects.If you know an artist, or other creative Mac person, let us know.