Art with an iPad When UK based artist Derek Culley found that his CMT (Charcot-Marie-Tooth) caused him problems painting with oils or acrylics while standing at an easel, he faced a crisis of confidence. He wondered whether his loss of grip strength and the fatigue in his “jelly legs” would end the only profession he had ever known. His answer came while watching a documentary on the artist David Hockney, who uses the Brushes app and a stylus to “paint” on an iPad. The documentary spurred Culley to try his hand at digital art. The medium took some adjustment after so long working in paint on canvas or paper, but after a period of trial and error, he found that he had a new way to make art. Born in Dublin, Ireland, Culley “caught the bug” from his art teacher at the age of 15 and had his first studio at the age of 16. The studio was a garage in the alley in back of his house, and he worked at a local bar cleaning and serving drinks to pay for it. Culley started at Dublin’s National College of Art and Design but only lasted three weeks because he didn’t like his fellow artists. A series of “food on table” jobs followed while he taught himself art. He later completed a master’s degree in marketing at Brunel University, concentrating on the visual arts in Britain. Culley has participated in numerous group shows and solo shows since 1986 and is a recipient of a Pollock-Krasner
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Foundation Grant for artistic merit (New York $25K) in 2006. According to one critic, Culley is known for his instinctive approach, which “combines a bold primary colour palette and expressive handling of form to create paintings of undeniable power.” Culley demonstrates a strong influence from the New York School, this critic said, and his admiration for painters like Jackson Pollock is readily apparent in the composition of his abstracts and the energy of his mark making. Culley didn’t discover that he had CMT until he was 40. Culley needs orthotics to walk. He has chronic fatigue and greatly impaired balance. His arms are withering away, his hands are losing strength and grip, and he can’t hold a knife or fasten a button. On the plus side, he says, he no longer has to wash the dishes. Making art on an iPad takes a lot of patience, Culley says. But it has restored his confidence and forced him to think outside the box. He now does ink-jet prints on canvas, paper and acrylic panels. With the technology of the iPad and the Brushes app, he can replicate images and make a series using the original iPad painting as a template Culley completed a Masters degree in marketing at Brunel University from 199294, concentrating on the visual arts in Britain. Prior to this, Culley was a founder member and chairman of Celtic Vision alongside