Royal Recognition for Mobile Art as Fraser Scarfe Appointed First Digital Tour Artist
As TheAppWhisperer, I’ve spent years championing the incredible potential of mobile photography and digital art, so it’s a true delight to witness this transformative moment for our community. His Majesty The King has appointed his very first digital tour artist for an overseas state visit—an honour bestowed upon none other than Fraser Scarfe, a name that will undoubtedly inspire mobile artists everywhere.
Scarfe, 38, joined the royal entourage on their recent four-day state visit to Italy, capturing the King and Queen’s journey through Rome and Ravenna using the most versatile of modern canvases—his iPad Mini. The King, himself a passionate watercolourist, reportedly admired Scarfe’s use of digital tools and viewed several of his works on the return flight to the UK.
Once rejected by major art schools for being “too traditional”, Scarfe’s journey is as remarkable as his art. Having begun his working life in a fish and chip shop in Horncastle, Lincolnshire, he later founded his studio and “stumbled across” the Royal Drawing School (formerly the Prince’s Drawing School), where he was awarded a full scholarship in 2012. He now serves as Head of Education Delivery at the institution, blending classical discipline with contemporary innovation.
Throughout the tour, Scarfe produced 15 digital artworks on his iPad using Procreate, drawing with his finger or stylus, as well as carrying a traditional sketchbook in which he made on-the-spot observations in pen—resulting in a further five or six paintings. His creative approach is a seamless fusion of traditional craftsmanship and digital innovation, demonstrating how both can co-exist and elevate one another.
He is the 42nd artist to be appointed for a royal tour since the tradition began in 1985, and this latest commission underscores a significant shift: the embrace of digital art at the highest cultural levels. It’s deeply encouraging to see the King—who has long supported the arts—not only recognising mobile digital creativity but actively endorsing it. The position of tour artist is funded personally by His Majesty and is inspired by his lifelong interest in visual art. Artists selected for the role are invited to interpret the journey freely, and Scarfe spoke warmly of the trust placed in him to work without restriction.
“It was an honour and a privilege,” Scarfe shared. “His Majesty was very keen to say that I should use it as an opportunity to work in whichever way I see fit… no constraints.” That spirit of artistic freedom is at the very heart of what we celebrate here at TheAppWhisperer. Mobile devices, far from being mere tools for consumption, offer boundless creative potential in the hands of an artist.
Scarfe’s perspective aligns beautifully with our ethos: “We don’t want to lose the time-honoured ways of making paintings and drawings, but I think it’s really important that we look at ways that digital technology can support the creative industries and enhance them.” He hopes his work will encourage more people to explore their creativity through the devices they already carry with them every day.
As a digital artist, Scarfe brings a fresh, expressive lens to royal documentation. “Everything [the King does] is documented so well by the press and the media, but having an artist allows a different way of capturing things,” he said. It’s this very nuance, this unique emotional and interpretive depth, that makes mobile art so compelling—and so vital to our cultural storytelling.
It’s also worth noting that His Majesty has long shown an appreciation for digital artistry. He has previously visited David Hockney—one of the pioneers of iPad painting—and took a personal interest in Scarfe’s Italian works, engaging him in conversation about them on the flight home.
Scarfe’s digital works now stand as a permanent record of the state visit, with some expected to enter the Royal Collection. From Procreate on an iPad Mini to the walls of the royal archives—what a powerful testament to the legitimacy and enduring value of digital art.
This is more than just a personal achievement for Fraser Scarfe—it is a landmark moment for all who believe in the power of mobile artistry. It marks a turning point where digital artists are not only recognised but revered, and it sends a clear message: the future of art isn’t waiting in the wings—it’s already in our hands, lighting up our screens with imagination, purpose, and boundless possibility.
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Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter, creator of the world’s most popular mobile photography and art website— TheAppWhisperer.com— TheAppWhisperer platform has been a pivotal cyberspace for mobile artists of all abilities to learn about, to explore, to celebrate and to share mobile artworks. Joanne’s compassion, inclusivity, and humility are hallmarks in all that she does, and is particularly evident in the platform she has built. In her words, “We all have the potential to remove ourselves from the centre of any circle and to expand a sphere of compassion outward; to include everyone interested in mobile art, ensuring every artist is within reach”, she has said. Promotion of mobile artists and the art form as a primary medium in today’s art world, has become her life’s focus. She has presented lectures bolstering mobile artists and their art from as far away as the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea to closer to her home in the UK at Focus on Imaging. Her experience as a jurist for mobile art competitions includes: Portugal, Canada, US, S Korea, UK and Italy. And her travels pioneering the breadth of mobile art includes key events in: Frankfurt, Naples, Amalfi Coast, Paris, Brazil, London. Pioneering the world’s first mobile art online gallery - TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com has extended her reach even further, shipping from London, UK to clients in the US, Europe and The Far East to a global group of collectors looking for exclusive art to hang in their homes and offices. The online gallery specialises in prints for discerning collectors of unique, previously unseen signed limited edition art. Her journey towards becoming The App Whisperer, includes (but is not limited to) working for a paparazzi photo agency for several years and as a deputy editor for a photo print magazine. Her own freelance photographic journalistic work is also widely acclaimed. She has been published extensively both within the UK and the US in national and international titles. These include The Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Popular Photography & Imaging, dpreview, NikonPro, Which? and more recently with the BBC as a Contributor, Columnist at Vogue Italia and Contributing Editor at LensCulture. Her professional photography has also been widely exhibited throughout Europe, including Italy, Portugal and the UK. She is currently writing several books, all related to mobile art and is always open to requests for new commissions for either writing or photography projects or a combination of both. Please contact her at: [email protected]
