Saudi artists stick to traditional paintbrush over digital stylus

Have you heard of the ‘paintbrush stylus’ yet? Although it has been a year or two since the release of this innovative piece of technology, not many artists are aware of its presence.
So, here’s basically what it does. The stylus is designed for use on a touchscreen canvas, allowing you to paint on your iPad or any of your touchscreen devices with your most-desired art-making app.
The paintbrush stylus comes in different brands, however they are currently unavailable at the local market. Painters and artists have different views about trying it out and owning one.
“I’ve never heard about the paintbrush stylus till now,” said Abdullah Bogis, a Saudi painter. “It looks nice and suits those who like to paint on their touchscreen devices. I assume the brush is going imitate realistic painting but on a digital platform. I think the normal pens for the touchscreen devices such as iPad do the same job, since both are at the end drawing/painting on a smooth glass surface. Not to mention that it is digital, so drawing will lack feeling and soul.”
Bogis is not looking forward to owning one, “I don’t own a touchscreen device, so I won’t be needing it. Plus, I prefer the traditional medium when it comes to drawing or painting.”
Bogis says if he intends on using the digital format, he would prefer a bigger machine with enhanced performance and a larger screen than an iPad.
“I have no idea about this technique apart from the iPad paintings by David Hockney, which were interesting but also disturbing in my opinion due to their lack of emotion,” says Stephen Alexander Stapleton, a British Artist and Founder of Edge of Arabia, a London-based independent arts initiative for contemporary art in the Arab world.
Stapleton describes the piece of technology referring to Gertrude Stein’s famous saying, “He has a certain syrup, but it doesn’t pour.”
Meanwhile, Mamoun Mohiuddin, an artist and character design teacher at Dar Al-Hekma College expressed the opinion, “It will strengthen employment and reduce costs. It will be the closest to a natural drawing and this is a good development.”