In February, I took a course, Create beautiful abstract artworks on your iPhone or iPad, using the learning platform, Skillshare. The image above is the first piece I made in this course. As instructed, I created this on my iPad using a source image from NASA, which was then edited in the app, Glitché, to create the spiky, 3D effect. I took the resulting image into the app, Mextures, to edit the colors and add texture effects.

This was my first experience using these apps. I wasn’t very familiar with creating artwork using my iPad. I previously experimented with Procreate, as well as used Snapseed to edit photos, but nothing like the abstract work from the Skillshare course.

This began my love affair with creating abstract artwork using my iDevices. I made a goal to post a new piece of artwork to my Instagram for thirty days, and kept posting new artwork beyond the original thirty day goal. Even though I may not have posted something everyday after the original thirty, I created something everyday. I branched out into other apps, other source material, anything that I could bring into an app and edit.

What I learned in this exercise of everyday creation is that consistent practice, experimentation, and striving to meet a goal, are all essential to learning and growing in a skill.