ABOVE: 1985 ‘Embryo’ watercolour – Dougie Chowns. Birthing New Zealand as an adult embryo to the world. Stanley Kubric enjoyed this work, always sitting beneath it having dinner in Great Missinden, England with film producer Michael Orrom and his wife Mary, a sculptor.

TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION

My life changed when I started Art School in 1952 at age 15. Shortly after World War Two, the UK was getting back on its feet with the Festival of Britain, a massive exhibition to promote British industry, arts and crafts and above all British creative talent in all its forms. The destroyed South Bank of the River Thames, then a massive bomb site, was an ideal place to rise from the ashes and celebrate 100 years since the Great Exhibition of 1851.

My Art School, termed today a university, was a brand-new building. The main entrance up a narrow wooden plank; scaffolding, builders’ materials everywhere, but on the first floor was the Art School. I was for the first time in my life in my element. I arrived daily at 8am and often only left after getting into a night life class finishing after 9pm. Few named courses as such existed; it was not yet known what warn-torn Britain required of an Art School, other than teachers. Aware however that industry would be founded on creativity in all its various forms, drawing skills were considered important. The ability to graphically put down ideas on paper – be it the concept for the world’s first passenger Jet airplane, close by at de Havilland; a film at Elstree Studios; a Joan Littlewood Theatre Workshop stage set or a Barbara Hepworth Sculpture. The pencil in the hand of a creative mind was what it was all about. Most creative concepts and inventions start first as a scribble, a drawing.

Sixty-five years later the emphasis of the drawn line and eye hand control appears to be considered not important. The invention of the computer – a keyboard operated machine – passed first into the hands of copy typists, not always someone expected to be a creative. Sadly, today the importance of copywriting appears to have declined as well. At my first job in Mayfair, London, later bought by Saatchi & Saatchi, most of the copywriters had come down from Oxford or Cambridge and were well-known, respected Silver Quill poets and writers.

Not until the 1980s when I was setting up a Polytechnic Craft Design Diploma, did Computers become available, but few experienced ‘ideas people’ knew how to turn them on, let alone use them. They were not user-friendly to the established creative designer of the day, and far more expensive than pencil and layout pad. A new breed had emerged, often talented hippies. I was fascinated by a Scots friend in Madrid who drove a Morgan car, wore shorts, had long straggly hair and never appeared to wear or have anything else. He worked for IT&T and later designed the Indian government’s seminal computer system I believe. He talked a language that I did not understand, with a beautiful Scots accent. He lives in Nicaragua today, I suspect in the style of Sir Arthur C. Clarke, the man who foresaw the ‘Satellite’ and possibilities that we now enjoy in today’s world. I bet Arthur used a pencil and paper as well, especially with Stanley Kubrick when concepting the genius of Oscar-winning film ‘2001’.

Graphics speak louder than words. Our appalling motorway signs are good examples of “I don’t need to see how not to do it,” as Ingres said turning away from a Delacroix painting. While in hospital for five months recently, I was annoyed by the lengthy incomprehensible parking instructions for visitors. Anything but easy to read and understand. Government forms also often appear to be designed by people unable to write a telegram, let alone think graphically, or with an understanding of the use of graphics, image and colour to communicate. Maybe colour deficient themselves. A high percentage of average people are and never know. Do I hear you say “grumpy old man” – or sour grapes? – Not true! I am typing this on my Apple iPad Pro, so there! I am saying that the computer is only a tool, but a tool best used by a trained expert – for whatever.

In my opinion the 1951 Festival of Britain organisers understood the marriage of the creative mind, the place of graphics and use of colour and valued the hand that initially sketches ideas and concepts. Yes, one awful mistake was that de Havilland Comet went for the ‘look’ of square airline roof hatches and passenger windows; these constantly fluctuated in high pressure with each flight stressing the 90-degree corner rivets much more than the oval. But remember that high altitude pressurised metal fatigue was unknown – not apparent when high altitude bomber crews wore oxygen Q masks to fly non-pressurised aircraft. Square windows looked good but sadly were not functional good design. Conversely today’s designers’ heads, full of technicalities rather than looks, can equally get miffed – too close to the technology, that is, too close to the trees to see the wood. I like the story, true or false, that when millions of dollars were spent by NASA to invent a pressurised ball pen for use in space, the Russians used pencils.

The resulting work of a trained creative thinker and their computer is quite different to that of a non-creative bean counter who works with only already known data. Sadly, unlike the directors of the 1951 Festival of Britain, those making cutting edge decisions often appear to lack creative awareness, or simply do not trust the ‘crazy’s’ who are often the most creative – the computer industry that our whole lives revolve around was the brainchild of Hippy dreamers – likely first with pencils and paper… but I would say that wouldn’t I?

I was asked by the daughter of a friend (an author) if I would illustrate her father’s Robert Burns poems translated into Gaelic. I liked the idea, but 50 or more drawings would be an impossible amount of work and time for me. However, if I could set up a live model to act out, pull a face, wave their arms to establish the illustration and take a photo to work with on a computer, then a labour-intensive job would be avoided. It’s only the final illustration that matters with the Printing Industry. How could that be done?

1) Pose the live person, perhaps as a frightened Tam o’ Shanter coming straight towards us as if on horseback.

2) Take a photo using iPad.

3) Download in Procreate, an excellent drawing application, then by selecting a new cell, trace the image with line on a second layer over the photo.

4) Then delete the photo layer underneath, keeping the line tracing.

5) A line illustration now exists after only minutes of work. The hard part easily and quickly done.

6) Lastly draw in on screen, using the provided electronic Apple pencil, his bonnet, some horses ears, a whip in his clenched hand, add some colour wash and include extra detail and – its complete.

. . . make a wrong line and a click reverts the drawing back to before you made your mistake – no rubbing out or redrawing, the illustration is three quarters complete, even ready to send as artwork to the publisher with one more simple click. The skill and effort of starting with a blank piece of paper drawing, re-drawing and re-drawing is eliminated. A morning’s work reduced to 10 minutes and the 50 drawings assignment is suddenly possible!

Pulled in as a one-off assignment to interview and film the American Air Force Computer Chief for NZ TV programme ‘Towards 2000’ in Seattle 1991, I experienced virtual flight at Washington State University in their HIT Lab – and loved it! I had become a self-employed full-time creative artist on my own beach, occasionally able to revert to previous skills learnt. It was the virtual flying that sold me on computers when they let me ‘beat up’ Seattle wearing a special glove and with hundreds of wires attached to my head and helmet. I have film of myself for TV flying this extraordinary mission. Lately I use an iPad Pro all the time, also two other devices. To draw, I use the Apple pencil provided and favour a Procreate application to work with. I also use the iPad Pro to shoot pictures, make movies, emails and face text, Skype, even to dictate, typesetting copy from the spoken word. iPad fits my needs as an artist and writer to draw, create artwork, involve photography from my library, to use for reference, or to speed a graphic concept, for example the book illustration as I described. I would be lost without my iPad. Their updates however are often a menace, changing files for the expected mass usage. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”

To find out if I could speed the Robert Burns illustrations, I experimented using an existing photo of myself with friends in a pub in Waikanae, made a tracing – and Viola! It took me only a couple of minutes. Again, technology provided an available drawing aid – as in my last issue of The New Zealand Artist Magazine with Jan van Eck in 1425 and his reflection mirror. So YES, I recommend using specially iPad Pro as its compact and may be used anywhere any time drawing on the computer screen itself using the special electronic pencil. But also, just your finger!

iPad Pro appears to presently be the best because your drawing appears under the pencil tool as if you are using a sketch book or sketch pad – the pencil can become a pen, a brush, a colour, an effect, an air brush, indeed a whole range of effects and sizes. The great benefit is that the image you are drawing is not on a separate computer or screen as with some others. Up to 92 overlay drawings may be achieved for the likes of film animation, not that you will likely require more than three layers. I am typesetting this editorial including pictures for editor Meg as I write in my conservatory, and will with one click, export it ‘Press Ready’ directly to her computer. However always remember the computer is only ever a tool. Unbelievably fast and useful to an old studio dog like me, even though I am hardly computer literate.

I know only what I know, and that is a mere fraction of the capabilities of these slim A4-sized computers. In a second and with a couple of clicks, it also lets me search images and information. If I know nothing of Jan van Eyck – he can be in front of me instantly via the internet, in both words and images. By the way…. I expect readers to check things I refer to when reading these features. Column space is expensive, and I often encourage the interested but uninformed reader to automatically check or read more on the internet about something I have only hinted at. An example when I suggested Salvador Dali’s moustache had a fighting bull connotation, Dali El Toro, while King Philip IV of Spain fought wild Boar – hence his moustache. Did you look him up, or that famous Velásquez painting ‘El Tela Real’ in London’s National Gallery? Do you think Philip’s tusks influenced the young Dali’s Toro moustache; I wonder?

Interestingly, reading text from a computer is often not always the way we read a printed page even though Kindle books have a massive readership. I suspect most mid-life or older people skim over paragraphs on the computer screen. Little is properly read to be absorbed. Am I correct?

I would like to believe my iPad Pro is replacing my sketchbooks – but you know, sketchbooks are far more interesting to browse through. No comparison – the iPad is just a very useful tool. Maybe it could be programmed to print out my images and then return them automatically by post as lovely bound sketchbooks – now, there’s a thought!