Hello.  My Name is Kirsten Malinee.  I’m a new member of the TB&CO Crew and I’m incredibly grateful to create the monthly Mobile Art Challenge for the Art Journal Emporium.  Creating and exploring new ways to create on my mobile phone and tablet has helped me stay in touch with my creative spirit no matter how busy I am and no matter where I am.  Today’s mobile phones and tablets have become art studios on the go.

Each month I design a Mobile Art Challenge for AJE and post it for the members along with a tutorial.  The tutorials focus on apps and workflows that can be tweaked and personalized to fit each person’s unique style.  It’s very easy to outfit your mobile devices as mini art studios with just a few apps, some storage, and a little bit of organization.

Weaving back and forth between the art you make with your favorite non-digital mediums and the the digital art you can create on your mobile devices makes for endless possibilities.  Truly there are no limits to your creative exploration.

Here are some of the reasons that Mobile Art is important to me and some of the reasons you may want to join us as in the AJE as you develop your own mobile art practice.

1. Mobile art is Creativity on the Go
   You may not always have the time you need to sit down with your art journal or open up Photoshop on your computer, but I’m fairly certain you have your phone with you most of the time.  Having a mobile studio in your pocket gives you the opportunity to fill those unplanned moments with creative exploration.
   
   
2. Mobile art is about Play (Trial and Error)
   You will find your favorite formulas and workflows by experimenting and playing.  There are no worries about the next choice you make ruining your artwork because of that marvelous undo button.  Working on my phone doesn’t feel like a big deal.  I have no expectations about creating my next masterpiece because, on my phone, I can try a little of this and add a little of that just to see what happens.  Mobile art is about freedom.  The freedom to explore without worrying about mistakes.  There are always new discoveries to be made.
   
   
3. Which leads to Happy Accidents
   You can click along with an“Oooh. What does this button do?” attitude and suddenly something you do will take your breath away.  That’s a happy accident. When I’m playing on my phone or tablet, I trust that I will always find something unexpected along the way.

I hope you will consider joining us for the Mobile Art Challenge in the Art Journal Emporium.  Each month you will have the opportunity to explore different apps and creative ways to use them with step by step tutorials and examples.  This month we experimented with blending digital and analog art to create ‘mixed media’ masterpieces using ArtRage.  In October we created spooky images with Scratch Cam and Pixlr and next month … who knows what will happen.  I look forward to seeing you there.

For more information on the Art Journal Emporium visit Art Journal Emporium - Tangie Baxter & CO.

[posted by Kirsten]