Hockney began drawing on touch screens when he got his first iPhone in 2009. By 2010, he extended his practice to a bigger screen by using an iPad which, enlarged his artistic repertoire and enabled an even more complex interplay of colour, light, and line.
For many years, the artist began each day by doodling flowers, which his boyfriend would leave for him on his bedside table, and emailing his digitized bouquets to his closest friends. With the portable device and stylus in hand, Hockney is able to conveniently work outdoors without having to lug heavy materials with him.
Hockney has said: "I love drawing on an iPad and I thought it was a terrific medium. Everything is at your fingertips and there is no cleaning up. There is a huge artistic potential and I saw a new medium. I don´t care about trends.".
With these iPad Drawings from the series No. 751–1,000, 2019 David Hockney follows the course of the seasons through the window of his Yorkshire home. The viewer gets to experience the passage of time through the eyes of David Hockney and the use of his iPad to create the drawings.
The meticulous details, are achiever through the ability to zoom in on the iPad and execute even the tiniest lines, which would be impossible to do on paper or canvas. This edition is a prime example of the British artist’s characteristic work style. While celebrating spring, new beginnings, and blossoms – Hockney brings up colour and nature into one’s home. His strokes are almost a choreographed dance, from the pink blossoms to the tiny white dots emphasizing the tips and fertility of nature, as well as the circle of life; death (the winter) revived through rebirth (spring).