Palette Creatures Released!

New palette creatures are now swimming in an alternate setting.   For those not familiar, palette creatures are colorful shapes that actually show up on my watercolor palette after a watercolor painting session.  When I spot them, I take a photo and play with them in Photoshop.  Some creatures require more attention than others.  This …

A Slight Tint

This portrait was created with thin layers of oil on watercolor paper.  It was monochromatic (green hues). Later I tinted slightly in Photoshop. Happy Graduation L!

Watercolor Wednesday

A very simple little watercolor with a small Photoshop tweak, (the angle of the hair drips;)  

Behind The Curtain

Bird-childish watercolor images merged with a photo of my curtains.

Feeling Blueish

*This post was written long before the events in Boston however, “feeling blueish”  is an apt title for today. Photoshop has a very cool feature found under Image>Adjustments>Variations.  I’ve clearly been experimenting with Variations. Since color can dramatically change the way a piece is viewed; the way it feels, Variations helped me decide how to …

Bird-Child Series

This is the second birdie child-vison influenced image. Most of the elements in this piece began as really loose watercolor paintings. I brought them into Photoshop and digitally placed and painted. I almost always put in a little more work after I show you what I’m up too. This piece is no exception, but I …

Digital Doubles

A wild wind blew through my neighbor’s yard, causing a very long piece of packing plastic to take to the sky and dance.  Naturally, I shot many photos of the performance. Later, I pulled the images into Photoshop and positioned them one atop the other to create the image below. Then, I sampled areas of the image …

Vision

I woke up with an image reflected on my retinas. I had an overwhelming urge to realize the vision.  It had to be dreamy-loose but also had to adhere to my vision. I began with a watercolor sketch, but the color was too vibrant.  It needed to be somber. I took a photo of the …

Watercolor Wednesday

Fantasy drama with a little digital intervention.

Watercolor Wednesday

For those interested in process, above is the finish.  Below is the entire composition before I worked to my satisfaction.  I enjoy lifting the color to refine the painting. I may refine the finish a little more, but I will wait a day or two to see it with new eyes. The only downside of …

Fall Portrait

Here is Fall, just as we come to the official close of the season. You many recall my  Winter  and  Spring  portraits. I’ve only Summer to go, and the Four Seasons will be available as prints. Below you can see the progression of the face. Nothing fancy, just using the brush tool in Photoshop to act …

Sketchbook Magic?

Ya know how you see figures and creatures in marble, wood grains and shadows?  Below is an example of a sketchbook entry where I’m actively pulling out what I see, in an effort to allow others to see the same thing. I’ll try to clarify: The first two images are from my new sketchbook.  I’ve …

Digital Painting Tutorial Part 3

Final “Spring” Because Spring is part two of a four-part project, I had be sure that the choices I made for this piece will harmonize with the previous work. I have a very clear vision of the overall project, and have decided to contrast the moods of the seasons greatly.  On the other hand, I will …

Sketch Distortions

Quick sketches with a twist of Photoshop distortion to push them just a little further. .

Digital Painting Tutorial/Spring Part 2

Okey Dokey, part two is mostly about the way I manipulated my photos to provide a back round and a dress for Ms. Spring.  There have to be myriad ways to deal with photos incorporated into digital paintings.  I’m simply revealing the way I went about it in this piece.  And, I have no problem …

Stripes for Illustration Friday

Illustration Friday‘s prompt this week is stripes.  And, while my above entry is less an illustration and more a portrait, I couldn’t help myself.   I love to paint real people.   As my penance for not pushing the illustration angle, I decided to make watercolor my medium for this challenge.  My watercolor skills are …

A Page From My Sketchbook

*Update: A fellow artist mentioned that she would like to see the original sketchbook entry without the influence of Photoshop.  Great idea, so..here it is.  Oh, I should probably say that the deep blue is acrylic paint smudged onto a blue watercolor wash with an old (worn out 😉 credit card).  The “drawing” is simply …

Remaining Marketable

This isn’t easy to admit.  My work is well, sort of old-fashioned.  At least, it’s not HOT.  Not a big deal, I can change, except I really don’t want to.  Let me back up a bit.  What I love to do, is not as marketable as it could be, and I am really not at …

Kid’s ART

You may have seen my Emmadroid portrait and tutorial.  In THIS piece, we have a portrait of Emma’s feet. But this time, it’s Emma’s work. Emma began with a digital photo that she cut apart and reassembled, embellished by various Photoshop filters.  She then painted her feet, using a Vis Tablet, bringing continuity to the …

Emmadroid:A Partial Tutorial

As promised, a tutorial covering the basics.  In evidence are the magic Photoshop conveniences of gradients, filters, and made to order brushes.  I do not have time this week to cover the alchemy of making the hardware, which is simply a Photoshop enhancement via filters, that takes ordinary lines and turns them to silver and …

Afraid of the Dark

Creeping closer and closer to Halloween night, we are.  What’s out there?  What’s in the closet?  What’s in the basement?  Darkness. Happy Halloween! Below is a quick digital painting tutorial at it’s most basic.  Quite traditional, were it not for the Wacom stylus and tablet.  This piece could just as easily been created with acrylic …