I am interested in developing software tools that automate some aspects of the drawing/painting process, rapidly presenting a range of compositional possibilities that can be accepted or rejected by the artist. Software can generate compositional possibilities that might not have occurred to the artist, that might enable him/her to break out of stale patterns and head off in a fresh direction. In a sense, part of the experimental process is being automated, leaving the essential decisions of selection and discrimination to the artist. I view these apps as tools that permit an enjoyable and absorbing process of free play, that could also be of practical utility to an abstract painter.

I now have several Android apps available for download on the Google Play store, which can be found here:

ArtofAbstraction

Here is an image produced by my Binary Paint app, first published on 5th July, 2015.  The premise of this app is very simple - you simply accept or reject each change to the painting suggested by the app, and the composition builds up as a result of these "binary" choices. This allows you to see a lot of novel compositional possibilities, but still have the choice to reject or accept them.

Four Winds is an abstract "painting" generating program that creates abstract compositions that constantly evolve over time. The "paintings" use a range of different colour schemes that range from harmonious (according to colour theory), to more discordant. The longer the composition is left, the further it evolves, as different areas of colour compete with each other. Here is a screenshot of the app in action:

"Pixel Camera Paint" is a program that allows you to point your device's camera at objects and scenes, continually capturing different parts of the scene and layering pixels over what is already there. This creates pixelly, glitch-like images which can range from highly abstract to photographic, depending on how the camera is held and moved. Here is an image produced using the Pixel Camera Paint app: