What Apps Are We Using This Month? with Susan Detroy

Welcome to TheAppWhisperer’s section, “What apps are we using this month” series, where we discover which apps you are particularly enjoying. Kicking us off today is none other than Award Winning Mobile Artist, Susan Detroy

Hello, I am Susan Detroy. I live in Oregon in the Willamette Valley.  I am a lifelong artist living in the Pacific Northwest. I grew up in the Midwest in southern Indiana along the Ohio River. My ethnic heritage is German with Scottish. I lived a conservative life until, in the 60s, I studied and lived in Mexico and Spain, which opened my world. I migrated to Oregon in 1971, living a communal life, started calling myself an artist, and came out as a lesbian. In the 90’s I made self-taught films and photographs with roll film. Through 2010, I made art and worked in the arts, running a photography business and working as Gallery Director, Consultant, Teacher and Art Curator. 

In 2023, I work part-time managing medical on-site galleries. As I age, my life is primarily focused on creating art, marketing and promoting my art, and producing collaborative art projects. When I am not making art, I am biking and adoring nature.

I have developed ten series in my lifetime, coming fully into app-driven art in 2016. I like to produce artwork utilising digital devices for editing and creating. I occasionally mix my digital art with hard-copy pieces. 

I capture imagery with my iPhone 12, editing and manipulating it on my iPad Pro. 

I started a series in 2016 that grew into a project titled “Portrait of a Woman.” I draw from self-portraits, changing my own face, melding and combining with natural elements while focusing on the power of women ageing. This series includes still images and moving videos. My creation incorporates still images often with Hipstatmatic, blending using my own face and making moving videos and NFTs with video editing apps. 

Same capture using Hipstamatic and simultaneous app capture 

 Single Image ‘Dandies” Used iPad editor and Flikr editor 

Four distinct Hipstamatic options of the same rose same time of day slightly different angles

Four captures with four Hipstamatic combinations using the same angle and same structure 

With the apps used in May and June, I have been creating artwork for my studio newsletter, including NFTs as well as for social media, Instagram and my pleasure.

I use Cap Cut often, combining and changing iPhone-recorded videos for my newsletter. I use this app to produce several of my “Corona Diaries” short videos and YouTube videos.  

Video Leap is a fun app I have used for several years, similar to Cap Cut. 

Motion Leap  and Story Z I use to create fanciful and meditative art pieces 

Snapseed is my go-to workhorse editor that has many features that fit my work 

Almost every photo used in the iPad editor has been through this native app. 

I recommend Hipstamatic, available for iPhone and iPad. The Hipstamatic camera app is my go-to app for capturing still images, primarily outdoors. I use the app on my iPhone 12 Pro. I have yet to use it on the iPad Pro. I like the number of possible options to create a variety of moods, black and white and colour, abstracted, muted and nostalgic images. I have built a library of combinations. It is easy to purchase additional camera combinations, digital filters, lenses, and film types. These mimic analogue film and camera types. I enjoy the potential emotionality of the app. I can run through the filter and combinations until I find a way to capture that aligns with my artistic intent. My work method is to take several images of the same view. I set the app to allow a native image and the Hipstamatic app image to simultaneously load to my photo file. I like combining several images in one social media post to give multiple views of the same capture. The app connects to Tintype.

I recommend Clip2Comic for still and video for iPad, available for iPhone. Clip2Comic can be used to create edited still images and videos. This app manipulates and changes both still and moving images with a playful, sometimes animated output. It has a free version with the company logo watermark and a paid subscription with no watermark and more features. The app feels easy to understand with various levels for editing colours, styles, and adding your signature if you wish. I often create more than one version of my clip or capture and combine them in an additional edit in another video editor.

Other apps I enjoy and use often include Waterlogue, a standard go-to app for creating painterly imagery. I like using it with florals.

Pixlr, I was about to delete, tried it, changed my mind and now using it, particularly for my self-portrait pieces.

 Snapseed is a big favourite I use often with its many tools and looks. I particularly like the expansion tool.