Washington Square Park, Manhattan, iPad drawing ©2012 Fotis Flevotomos on Vimeo.

On October 25, 2012, we posted "Drawing on the iPad," a brief introduction to digital drawing for people with or without vision loss. The present video is an example of the playback feature of the Brushes app.

But in reality it's a lot more than that. It shows — to me and to you — everything that my eyes saw on September 25, 2012 between 12:00 noon to 3:00 p.m.: the things that I spent time looking at and those that I passed quickly. It's the track of my gaze, a three-hour process compressed in 30 seconds.

The playback feature of the new drawing apps is important because it reveals how a picture is composed — the order in which the various elements of the composition are developed and modified. It also shows the different stages of the creative process and answers, to a certain extent, whether the work springs, as Jung writes, wholly from the artist’s intention to produce a particular result. This question is frequent in the work of many art historians and theorists.

Watching the making of a picture in extreme 360x fast forward is, in a way, the exact opposite of painting with low vision. Low vision slows visual perception down. It expands time, allowing a careful consideration of shapes and colors and of their qualitative relationships. It decomposes the visual world and creates confusion. But at the same time, it stimulates and generates enthusiasm and passion, keeping the eye active.

The NYPL offers classes for those who want to get a basic introduction to the iPad. View the library’s online calendar of classes.

See these links for more about art and low vision:

• Art and Low Vision: The Artist’s Eyes
• Art and Low Vision: A List of Accessible Museums in New York City
• Art and Low Vision: A Multi-Sensory Museum Experience
• Drawing on the iPad by artist Fotis Flevotomos
• Celebrating Art Beyond Sight: The Value of Creating and Appreciating Art for Those with Low Vision
• Barrier-Free Library Channel