As a traveler, adventurer, and artist I have long enjoyed sketching and painting, but it was not until a bucket-list trip in 2012 where I crewed on a sailboat for the crossing from Fiji to New Zealand that I discovered a passion for channeling my creative side on the iPad and creating unique pieces of iPad art. My original pieces were quick sketches and watercolors created with the program Paper53. I also draw and paint, favoring oil pastel, ink and watercolor, working primarily in the program Procreate as I enjoy the numerous brushes and pens and wide color pallet to choose from. My art captures scenes from my travels around the world, travels shared with my photographer wife, Therese Iknoian. Frequently, my artwork is used to illustrate stories from our travels that appear on HITravelTales.com. Selected pieces of my iPad artwork are also created and sold specifically to benefit nonprofit organizations, such as Big City Mountaineers.
Enjoy a slide show featuring some of my favorite iPad art sketches and watercolors taken from my Paper 53 travel journal and painted or drawn while traveling around the world. Simply click on any thumbnail to view the artwork in larger size.
View of a small market as seen from a quiet dinner table on the patio at the Anna Blume Cafe in Berlin, July 2013.
My view of a lovely street in Bregenz, Austria, sketched on my iPad using Procreate in pen and water color.
Sitting on the sidewalk at a cafe one early morning, this Berlin scene caught my eye.
The Berlin Wall is a reminder to us all that freedom can never be taken for granted. Too many died and too many suffered. Walking along the wall today is a sobering, yet absolutely essential experience for anyone visiting Berlin. In fact, it is reason enough just to go to Berlin to see it.
We were invited into a local home just outside of Abaca, Fiji, where we were served coconut coffee as we watched an amazing sunset.
View from a bench in the Englischer Garten of the Seehaus Biergarten.
Quaint Haldenbergkappelle located on a hill just overlooking the village of Ailingen, near Freidrichshafen on the Bodensee – Lake Constance.
Looking out across Lake Constance from the harbor in Friedrichshafen, Germany. This was painted on an iPad using Paper 53.
View from the garden lawn of St Michael’s Mount across to Marazion, Cornwall.
Mevagissey is a picturesque, unique 14th Century fishing village located on the South Cornwall Coast. St Peter’s church, dating to the 10th century, offers quiet respite from the often busy harbor and is located on the northern edge of the town.
Poet Dylan Thomas referred to Mousehole (pronounced “mauzole”) as the loveliest village in England … and from this view in the quaint harbor on a warm summer day, gazing up at the village, it is hard to argue.
View of paradise, just outside of Blue Lagoon, Fiji, from the deck of the sailboat, Reality,
Nothing better than watching the sun set behind our sailing vessel, Reality, from Kouare Island, in New Caledonia.
We got a flat tire on our Toyota truck driving back from Abaca. I had time to paint the scene quickly on my iPad using Paper 53.
The lovely St Johannis Kirche in Wernigerod. I sat with my iPad in my lap to quickly sketch the scene using Paper 53.
My wife, Therese Iknoian, took this photo of me enjoying some quiet sketching time sitting at Anna Blume Cafe in Berlin, Germany. I create my iPad art using both Procreate and Paper 53.
Michael has authored more than 16 books and penned many hundreds of feature articles over the years with bylines in Men's Journal, Men's Health, Outside, The San Jose Mercury News, Portland Oregonian and more. His travels have taken him to all seven continents. He is a member in good standing of the North American Travel Journalists Association and a media member of the Adventure Travel Trade Association.
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