Tuesday, December 15, 2009


M is for malice, originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins.
I finished my new series "T is for Trouble", you can see the entire set

here on flickr I hope to make it available in print some time soon.

Here is a short interview with me talking about this work on the prestigious fingerpainted.it blog.

Friday, November 27, 2009

Enzo


Enzo, originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins.

a portrait of a remarkable man and good friend, fingerpainted on my iPhone in brushes app.

The great dry'n


The great dry'n, originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins.

Bob blamed the liberals. Frank blamed Bob.

fingerpainted on my iPhone in brushes

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Gurdjieff


Gurdjieff, originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins.

fingerpainted on my iPhone in brushes app

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Goodbye Tony


Goodbye Tony., originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins.

They all thought Tony was packing heat. But all Tony was packing was a rubber duck.

From "Trouble before breakfast" by Matthew Watkins


fingerpainted on my iphone in Brushes

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Here is the first installment of il Maestro and Topoletto

A bigger fish


A bigger fish, originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins.

I was a small child on a beach in Mexico when an American tourist returned from a fishing trip. He had caught a big fish and was very proud of it. "That's some fish isn't it?"
It was, I nodded.
The very same day i was walking down the beach and i came across some strong fishermen pulling in long nets. They were throwing away massive fish, just like the one the tourist had caught. I grabbed a big one as he flipped in the wake and took him home. I could just barely pull him down the beach. I passed the tourist and showed him my fish. "That's some fish isn't it?
He nodded. Then he shook his head and walked away.

Fingerpainted on my Iphone with brushes app

Saturday, November 07, 2009

Matthew Watkins fingerpainting on RAI 3 Art News.
you can see the video of my latest interview with the rai here www.artnews.rai.it/
and click on the the text sabato 07/11/2009 Puntata VIII.

The night she burned


The night she burned, originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins.

"There are few sights so terrible as that of a ship burning on the sea".
-- Horatio McBeal


Fingerpainted in brushes on my iphone

Friday, November 06, 2009

The King of Hearts


The King of Hearts, originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins.

fingerpainted on my iPhone with brushes app.

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

The Lost People


The Lost People, originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins.

I see the lost people on my way to work. They wander the old salt flat. They come out after it rains.
They wander slowly with their head bowed. Looking. Always looking.
Always lost.

fingerpainted in brushes app.

Goodbye Tony


Goodbye Tony, originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins.

It had already been a very long day but no wild dogs were going to stop Herb from getting to Groveners Farm.

Fingerpainted on my iphone in brushes on a dusty path.

The traveling salesman


The traveling salesman, originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins.

It had already been a very long day but no wild dogs were going to stop Herb from getting to Groveners Farm.

Fingerpainted on my iphone in brushes on a dusty path.

Sunday, November 01, 2009

Say your prayers Wabbit


Say your prayers Wabbit, originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins.

The 5th painting in my iPhone mash with Benjamin Rabe.
I still don't know how the pesky rabbit got away.

Fingerpainted on my iPhone

A bad habit


A bad habit, originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins.

It was the smoke that gave him away.
He smoked Menthols - he'd been trying to quit for ages.
As it turned out that was his last cigarette.

From the series "Trouble before breakfast" by Matthew Watkins

Fingerpainted with my iPhone in brushes from a dark shadow.

Trouble before breakfast


Trouble before breakfast, originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins.

"He was back on his feet before i got to out of the door. The shot made the hairs on my neck stand up. I kept walking and had some breakfast."

Fingerpainted on my iPhone in brushes from a safe house.

Waiting for Jacob


Waiting for Jacob, originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins.

Fingerpainted on my iPhone with brushes

The first snow


The first snow, originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins.

Fingerpainted on my iPhone with brushes app.

Friday, October 23, 2009

The Washington Post on the emergence of Fingerpainting. I am honoured to be mentioned after Hockney and Colombo.

On the shoulders of giants

"If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."

Sir Isaac Newton

This is fingerpainted live for my friends at RAI educational. The making of it will appear soon on RAI Art News.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

The Server.
(written during a service outage. fingerpainted on my iphone with brushes app).

Day one. The server's down.





They say they are moving it to a new location and improving services. But i know it's bouncing around in the back of a pickup near Tijuana. A man, a kid at the time of the dot com crash, is sitting on top of it and he's playing with a revolver and here is a bottle of Jose Cuervo perched on the CD tray. Mercifully it's almost empty.





Day two. It’s a Tequila sunrise.

Raul's head bumped on something in the dark room. Empty bottles clattered. A little light filtered through the broken slats, just enough to make the damp cement floor glisten. A voice in his head was saying "more, only gets worse" and it came to him through the fog.

The server.

Had he plugged in the mail server? He closed his eyes and laid his head back on the floor with an audible thump.

It didn't matter anyways, the generator had run out of gas hours ago.




Day three. A senseless waste of life.







Mack, tried the door. It was unlocked. He had learned a long time ago
to check before kicking them down. However much fun it might be.

- Looks like we got a runner.

- Dammit. That's the third this week.

There was an evil smell. Shafts of light penetrated the room like
unwelcome guests churning thick grey smoke into Carrara marble.

- Maybe not.

A green glow from the computer illuminated a collection of clear empty
bottles. A body lay on the floor. The right hand grasped a telephone.
There was a queer smirk on it's face.

Mack didn't need to touch him to know that he was already cold.

- Looks like the phone help got him. Call central and send over a
clean-up crew.

He picked up the reciever and put it back in place.

# Press one for sales, press two for support, press three now if you
already know your extension...
# Press one for sales, press two for support, press three now if you
already know your extension...
# Press one for sales, press two for support, press three now if you
already know your extension...

- 24/7 my butt, the poor gaffer didn't stand a chance.

# Hello this is Raul, email server 33453, it's bad here. Green stuff
is coming out of the back of the machine and it don't sound so good.
You'd better send someone over quick.
# Press one for sales...
# He broke the seal on another bottle - more only get's worse - and
he giggled.
Mack sidestepped the corpse and pressed Ctrl, Alt and Delete on the
grimy keyboard.

- And tell them the server's up.

When the music is over


When the music is over
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins

When the music is over
You'll pay up the piper
He'll buy you a whiskey
And cry on your shoulder

When the music is over
Just sit down and remember
You'll feel something hollow
An empty place in your belly

When the music is over
Come lay down beside me
It's too hot for talking
And too cold for leaving

Matthew Watkins 18.10.2009
fingerpainted on my iphone

Saturday, October 17, 2009

An important decision


An important decision
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins

At the age of 47 Howie had made an important decision. He would take out the garbage.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Jack Spoil


Jack Spoil
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins

There was nothing jovial about the chef Jack Spoil. He was impatient and ill tempered. He pushed his staff to the edge. He held the world in contempt. But the food, Spoil's food, was to die for.

Fingerpainted on my iPhone with brushes.

Nonno Marcello, a portrait for a friend


Nonno Marcello, a portrait for a friend
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins

Marcello was a submarine commander.


Fingerpainted on my iphone

Thursday, October 08, 2009

My recent interview about iPhone Fingerpainting on Neapolis

They interviewd me during my show. You can see the interview here.
It's towards the end.

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

La signora


La signora
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins

A force to be reckoned with.

Fingerpainted on my iPhone with brushes.

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Resistance is futile


Resistance is futile
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins

Google translator said "resistance is futile, prepare a pie"

Finger painted on my iPhone with brushes.

Saturday, October 03, 2009

Mourning after the night before


Mourning after the night before
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins

Day broke in a heartbeat. The smell of fried chicken was already in the air.

Friday, October 02, 2009

The Piper


The Piper
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins

I drew this while watching a recent political debate... I don't think it was by chance.

fingerpainted on my iphone with brushes app

Monday, September 28, 2009

The Banker


The Banker
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins



Fingerpainted on my iphone with brushes app

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Hello to my Swedish fingerpainting friends and thanks for publishing this post.
Thanks to Cult of Mac for the post!
L'iPhone art rappresenta la democratizzazione del processo di pittura: così come il basso costo e la semplicità del processo della macchina fotografica digitale ha privilegiato la spontaneità e l'immediatezza della fotografia, l'iPhone e l'iPhone art consentono una reattività maggiore nell'espressione dell'idea e di temi visivi con uno strumento accessibile a tutti. mw

Sunday, September 20, 2009


Showtime!

Over 200 people attended the opening of my show "l'arte ai tempi dell'iphone" at C & C consulting (Apple premium reseller) in Bari. Although I had done my best to explain that the pictures were all fingerpainted on my iPhone,
frequent demonstrations were necessary and appreciated.

My thanks to all those who attended, and all my fingerpainting friends who couldn't be there.

Some articles:
Fingerpainted.it

Cult of Mac

Wired.it (italiano).

Thursday, September 17, 2009

"fiat 500" Tibetan Carpet


"fiat 500" Tibetan Carpet
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins

This handmade Tibetan carpet was made in Katmandu by Di Nepi of Rome of my fingerpainted iphone drawing of my "lFiat 500" in brushes app. It's 2m x 2m and weighs 22 kilos.

"Lost Bunny" tibetan carpet


"lost bunny" tibetan carpet
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins

This handmade Tibetan carpet was made in katmandu by Italian carpet specialists Di Nepi of my fingerpainted iphone drawing of my "lost bunny" in brushes app. It's 1m x 1.5m.


Cavallino
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins



Fingerpainting:
From the name it's clear that using this technique you have to apply paint with your fingers. According to Wikipedia, it was originally formulated in 1931 as an art education medium for small children. You can find a special non-toxic paint to be used or you can prepare it yourself from flour or cornstarch.
from: blog.bootb.com/2009/09/17/fingerpainting-now-for-grown-ups/




http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2498/.jpg

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Rocco goes to work


Rocco goes to work
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins

So it was that Rocco at age 6 started his first day at work. He was sure to bring the Gazzetta dello Sport just like Mr. Farfalla said.

fingerpainted in brushes on my iphone at dinner.

Olive tree


Olive tree
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins

Fingerpainted on my iphone inspired by the great Korean brush master Choi du ho.

Market guy


Market guy
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins

Life drawing in the Monopoli market for my Korean friends.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Monday, September 07, 2009

The yard.


The yard.
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins

An ongoing story fingerpainted on my iPhone in brushes.

The Horse Latitudes


The Horse Latitudes
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins

Fingerpainted on my iPhone in brushes well north of the equator.

Friday, September 04, 2009

The Andromeda run


The Andromeda run
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins

My third Andromeda run in a month was bad enough without tweedle dee and tweedle dum piping in on an open frequency about intergalactic harmony and free credits. I am going topside to the head - I informed them - and you'd better be gone when I get back.

Fingerpainted in the milky way on my iPhone in brushes.

Friday, August 28, 2009


The player 1
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins

This is a character study for my friend Don Toporowski's upcoming book on the world of proffessional poker. Don is a ranked player and a clever writer. Check out his amusing poker blog.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Envy


Envy
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins

Fingerpainted on my iPhone w brushes.

Fork


Fork
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins

Fingerpainted on my iPhone after lunch in brushes after a great salad.

I remember the good old days


I remember the good old days
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins

Fingerpainted in brushes b2 on my iPhone over an old drawing.

Tre trulli al crepuscolo


Tre trulli al crepuscolo
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins

Fingerpainted in brushes beta2 on my iPhone.

The hare


The hare
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins

Fingerpainted on my iPhone in brushes beta2 v3

Olive tree branch by wall


Olive tree branch by wall
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins

fingerpainted on my iphone with brushes

Monday, August 17, 2009

Under the highway


Under the highway
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins

I was enjoying the sunrise and thinking what a cool place this was was and wishing that i didn't have a suitcase full of dough. That was when i heard tires squealing and the roar of a big sedan.

fingerpainted in brushes app beta V3 on my iphone

Dead man walking


Dead man walking
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins


There was only one window, but the sun was hot on his back. He was sure that the warm rays were going to burn a hole.

fingerpainted on my iphone with brushes app beta V3

deep in the forest


deep in the forest
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins

Deep in the forest there are butterflies you've never seen before.

fingerpainted on my iphone with brushes app beta V3

Dead man walking


Dead man walking
Originally uploaded by Matthew Watkins

There was only one window, but the sun was hot on his back. He was sure that the warm rays were going to burn a hole.

fingerpainted in brushes app beta V3 on my iphone.