Vermont artist Corliss Blakely accidentally discovered her iPhone could function as a canvas; her finger a nontoxic alternative to the oil and watercolor paints she has spent the past 35 years working with.

Blakely has been featured in Mac Format and Digital Artist magazine in England, for her iPad and iPhone paintings of still lifes and organic forms found in nature.  

These “iPaintings” are being showcased in the Flynn’s Amy E. Tarrant Gallery from July 2 to Sept. 5 to coincide with the summer Flynn Garden Tour.

Titled “Visions of Nature” these paintings have been created in a seemingly unnatural way, while portraying natural subject matter.

Her website, www.ipadpaintings.com, displays some of her paintings, such as one of delectable red peppers, unrecognizable as anything created by a digital device.

Blakely found her unusal medium at her studio one day.

“I was at my studio waiting for a panel to arrive for a commission,” Blakely said.  “I was sitting there with my iPhone and thought I would buy an app and see what it was like. That day changed everything for me.”

The new medium Blakely found that day proved to be a great thing for her.

“Now I can paint anywhere at any time and I’m not dealing with toxic paints and mediums,” she said.

Blakely thinks this sort of artistic use of readily available technology could have big effects for future generations of artists.

“I think that we are at the cutting edge of this technology with the iPhone and iPad, she said. “The idea that you have a studio in your pocket is where I’m at … [this technology] will change the way artists create.”

Though some may disagree with her marriage of technology and natural beauty, Blakely does not care, she said.

Blakely may have only recently begun her endeavors in iPad and iPhone art, but she has been featured in art shows already and has many future plans.

She participated in a summer show in Windsor, Conn. with what were said to be the 14 most accomplished iPhone artists in the world, and in October, she will be a featured speaker at the Mobile Digital Artist Convention in New York City.

At 652 Main Street from Oct. 1-4 and 8-10, the paintings will be displayed with oil painting counterparts for viewers to see the difference.