The Arrival Of Spring In Woldgate East Yorkshire 25th April 2011
Signed Print

A country track is dappled with the shadows of the trees above; the leaves have returned and yet a few branches remain empty. The rural landscape is made up of the knd of flat colour, dots and scribbles, fine lines and gestural marks that immediately single this out as a digital drawing. David Hockney first took to using the iPad to create digital drawings – and prints – in 2010 when he took the device with him to Yosemite to act as a digital sketchbook. He soon fell in love with this new medium and began pushing its limits just as he had with lithography, etching and screen printing throughout his oeuvre. Now in his mid 80s Hockney remains as prolific as ever thanks to this new technology which allows him to create editions at the touch of a button. As an artist always seeking agency in the printmaking process, the ipad has liberated him from the studio, from the printing press and from the need for assistance, resulting in images that are spontaneous and charming in conveying the immediacy of his touch. This work is one of 49 drawings that became digital prints, dating from the 1st of January 2011 to the 2nd of June, documenting the arrival of spring in the artist’s home county of Yorkshire.