"Let's Talk About Music with Guest C Bret Campbell" Corel - Plus

C Bret Campbell

"Let's Talk About Music with Guest C Bret Campbell"

I watched the show on YouTube and did a full screen capture. I opened it in Corel PhotoPaint and applied the Local Equalization to the image for High Contrast. Using the Tone Curve I added depth to the colors.

I then used the Effects Art Strokes Watercolor with light settings for a watercolor look and feel. I then deepened the colors with the Saturation tool. I used Filter Forge's Frames Film frame to darken the outline of the image.

I did this while listening to the program on YouTube enjoying Bret's music and the chatting of the other guests.



Catch the Show here at this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3tMPIQDbqJ0#!

"Art Nouveau - Gypsy Muse Young Lady" Mayang's Textures - Paint.NET - Corel

Art Nouveau  - Gypsy Muse Young Lady

I was able to get an image of a "Gypsy Muse Young Lady," and decided to use this image as Digital Art.

I opened from Picasa 3.9 with Paint.NET and applied the Oil Paint effect on the image. Setting the paint brush size up and the coarseness setting up for texture in the strokes.

I went to my external hard drive folder for Mayang's Textures of an Art Nouveau floral. I rotated it and fit to size to the Young Lady image. I used Corel PhotoPaint to do this. I also used the property Multiply to add transparency. I adjusted the Opacity to let the Young Lady show through. This added much with a Art Nouveau texture.

I used Filter Forge Photo Effects Vibrance to add punch to the colors and applied the Tone Curve for depth. I added my signature in white and resampled to display size.

"1,100th Post! Grunge Guitars" Paint.NET - Corel - Plus

Grunge Guitars

For today's image I selected a photograph of our two guitars upright, leaning on the couch. I opened from Picasa 3.9 with Paint.NET and used the Ink Sketch tool on the photograph. I ended up with a pen and ink, black and white, image.

I browsed to my Pictures folder on my external hard drive and went to Mayang's Textures. I selected a metal rust texture and loaded it as another layer. Still in Paint.NET, I resized the texture to fit, used the layer property Multiply, and merged the layers, saving that large iteration. I opened the file in Corel PhotoPaint.

I next went to the Internet to find some fonts of paint splatters that I could use for adding to the grunge look and feel. I found Split, Splat, Splodge and WTC Rhesus TT fonts for free use. I applied the paint splatters, and used the Distort, Wet Paint tool for the drippings. I changed the opacity of the splatters showing the background through them for effect of aged splatters.

I used the Filter Forge Photo Effects plugin for Vibrance to add some punch to the colors. Added my signature in white and resampled for display.

I played my 12-String Seagull last night and practiced for a couple hours. Some new chord progressions and a few tunes. Green Day's "Warning," Coldplay's "Clocks," and Emerson, Lake and Palmer's "Lucky Man," (without the synth.) As I get older my calluses don't take long to begin hurting after only a short time, well I blame it on age and FMS.

All in all I really enjoyed my practice on the guitar, and the singing, too.

"Let's Talk About Music with 'Paul Platt' as Guest" Picasa - Corel - Plus

Paul Platt

I watched the broadcast on YouTube as I missed the live show while playing with my Grandson yesterday. I opened Picasa 3.9 and did a few screen capture's.

I manually cropped one capture. I then applied the Warmify tool and then the HDR tool in Picasa. I used the Boost feature for some punch to the colors, slightly lightened the standard setting as I have a lot of contrast in this image.

I added the Museum Matte frame with a warm color for the matte. All the while I worked on this I was enjoying the concert, listening as I created.

Paul Platt is one of my favorite Singer Songwriters that I have been introduced to on Google+. I really like his 'Storybridge,' song, it's smooth and mellow with a rhythm that takes you along with him on his musical travels.

You can catch the show here at this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=sEalpTvlOBY

Wait a little while till they get him full screen as they had some technical difficulties at first. Worth the wait!

"Let's Talk About Music with 'Tom Baillies' as Guest" Picasa - Corel - Plus

Tom Baillies Playing his Dobro

I watched the YouTube version of "Let's Talk About Music with 'Tom Baillies' as Guest" Tom was playing his Dobro guitar and played some slide style as well as sang. It's his guitar of choice for song writing.

I opened Picasa 3.9 and did a screen capture. From there I cropped the image manually in Picasa. I applied the Warmify feature for color.

I used the HDR feature for effect, and then applied the Lomo tool. I then looked at Cross Processing but did not like that so I reversed it to the Lomo image. I then selected the Museum Matte frame and altered the matte color to a warmer color.

I saved the file and opened with Corel PhotoPaint and added my signature saving again.

Here is the link to the YouTube HOA:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_yWcd-jOok&feature=c4-feed-u

A fine show!

"Gypsy Woman Digital Collage and Linux Experiment" Corel - Plus

Gypsy Woman Digital Collage

Recently we received a Dell Latitude X300 throwaway laptop from the garbage. It's screen is broken with an "S" sized crack that blacks out part of the screen.

It had a password protected Bios and Windows 2000, also password protected. I was able to go to Linux as a way to break into the OS.

I made an Ubuntu boot disk, LinuxMint boot disk and a PuppyLinux boot disk and all failed with a PAE kernel failure. With some consultation with a friend I got SnowLinux Non-PAE E17 boot disk made and it booted and took a few hours but I finally made the laptop HDD bootable.

I also had been given a VGA flat screen monitor, that I plugged in and it worked so I could see all the screen. The only drawback is that the battery does not work and the AC adapter is from my wife's laptop, which has no battery! So I have to share that adapter!

I am still learning SnowLinux and it's capabilities. But It did take me away from creating for my blog.

Today I have time to create. I took two ladies faces, one a free Vintage Gypsy, and another a Steampunk image from Dover Publications Sampler. I merged both as the central focal point in Corel PhotoPaint. I added two dressed women, a flapper and well-dressed lady.

Also from Dover Clip Art I used a mandolin, matching the Gypsy aspect. And a butterfly and a corner Victorian sample to the upper corners.

In PhotoPaint I made it into a quadtone and then converted to an RGB image. I took KPT's Collection Pyramid Paint and painted the image with a blue tint.

Saving this image I opened it in Corel PSP Pro X3 to add the cloud and sky frame. I added my signature to the image using the Visible Watermark and a PNG file.

I saved the large iteration and resampled for display.

So after my adventures with Linux (which I am still learning) I had time to create this double faced woman's portrait for your enjoyment.

"That Show with Billy Wilson" Guest Singer Songwriter Meri Amber - Picasa 3.9

Singer Songwriter Meri Amber

Meri and Her Dad

I used Picasa 3.9 to edit both images of Meri performing, and her Dad singing with her. I cropped the images from the Screen Captures and applied the Warmify tool.

I then used the HDR tool set low for effect. After which I used the Lomo tool for the vignette. I added the Museum Matte and frame to finish off both of the images.

I did not go outside of Picasa's tool for editing at all. I kept the steps simple and hopefully effective.

TSBW can be watched on YouTube at this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Wrne27lf3yA

The Show also was featuring photography and Meri plays at the end of the show.

"Pillow Talk" Corel - Plus

Pillow Talk

Another angle of our two guitars the Seagull C12 and the Lyon 6, taken with my Canon Rebel XTi with Manual settings. I used only the light coming from the nearby window. I cropped the shot in the viewfinder, leaving a portion of the couch and floor visible. Both guitars are crossed at the upper neck balanced on the pillow, thus "Pillow Talk," is the title.

From Picasa 3.9 I opened with Corel PhotoPaint and began by applying the Local Equalization tool to the entire image, for High Contrast. I used the Tone Curve tool to add depth to the colors. I then used the plugins from Filter Forge: Photo Effects Vibrance and the Film Frame for a punch to the colors and a dark frame.

I like the warm bronze and browns of this image. The High Contrasts jump out of the dark frame. Leaving a warm and interesting result.

"Bright Petunias and The Bridge" Corel Painter - Paint.NET - Corel PSP Pro X3

Bright Petunias

The Bridge

I began this image with a Dover Publications Sampler of Petunias in black and white. I opened in Painter 11 and selected the Camel Watercolors Brush and painted the Floral. I selected unusual colors for a punchy effect to the image. 

I then used a Gouache Cover Brush resized for the solid colors in the background. I saved that iteration and from Picasa 3.9 opened with Corel PSP Pro X3. I upped the colors with Saturation Vibrancy. I added my signature with the Visible Watermark tool. 

I then proceeded to experiment with differing frames for enhancement of the painting. I selected the black and white scroll work and then I added the ornate frame, still in PSP Pro X3. 

The second image is from a Challenge photograph on Painter Talk Forum. I manipulated the image in Paint.NET, using the Oil Paint effect. I saved that iteration and opened from Picasa with Corel PSP Pro X3 and added Brush Strokes and some Vibrancy to the colors. 

I simplified the colors using Posterize for an even more painterly feel. I then added a Paper Texture to the image and saved, then resized for display, added my signature and saved..

Two Painterly Images today! Click on them for more detailed views.

I had time to practice my guitar playing yesterday and worked on the finger calluses on my left hand. I did play some Blues lead with a Backing Track as well as played chord progressions and some songs. I ended up with a gravelly throat for I was really punching out the choruses! Sore fingers today but a satisfied inner self. 

"Grunge 6 and 12 String Guitars Digital Collage" Picasa - Corel

Grunge 6 and 12 String Guitars Digital Collage

With today's digital collage I started with Picasa 3.9. Using the CTRL key I selected individual photographs of the 6 and 12 String guitars photos. I used Picasa's Collage maker feature and selected a mosaic of the photographs. The touch of red comes from our dining area that is a sittings area now. and I used the couch as a background for the photographs.

I saved the collage automatically in Picasa and then opened with Corel PhotoPaint. I applied the Local Equalization tool, for the High Contrast with a full 255 setting. I then used the Tone Curve tool for adding depth to the colors.

I like what I had but decided to add just a touch more Grunge to the image. I saved the original large iteration, resampled to a display setting, adding my signature. I used Filter Forge's Metal Rust to that. I used a rust addition that added only a small amount of metal rust to the image. I saved that digital collage.

With this collage I have just about used up the 28 or so photographs I did with my recent Guitars Photo shoot. I may use them in other images but I think it's time to practice on my 12-String, I could use some practice!

"High Contrast Guitars" Corel - Plus

High Contrast Guitars

From my recent photo shoot of our two guitars, I used my Canon Rebel XTI DSLR to take these. I opened Picasa 3.9 and browsed the photographs, I selected this one of the full bodies close up, with just a small gap between them.

I opened with Corel PhotoPaint and applied the Local Equalization, for the High Contrast. I used the Tone Curve to give depth to the image. I like the wood and lines that are emphasized.

Using the Filter Forge plugin I added a slight film frame deepening the color of the edges. Keeping the color dark and contrasting I saved the image with my signature and then resized for display.

"Waiting to be Played Today" Corel PSP Pro X3

Waiting to be Played Today

I really should practice on my Seagull C12 12-String today, it is my favorite guitar, of our two. Here is another photograph taken with sunlight coming from the right hand side of the image with darker shadows to the left. I laid them out on the brown couch, the C12 on it's side and the Lyon 6 on it's back.

I opened Corel PSP Pro X3 and selected this photograph to adjust. I am enjoying the workflow I have done recently on the other Guitar photographs. Noise Removal, Smart Photo Fix, Saturation Vibrancy, Color Balance Tungsten and High Pass Sharpen. This really warms up the image and shows off the deep wood tones of both of them.

If you look close you can see my etching on the 12-String's pick guard. I selected a Hummingbird instead of a Seagull. It being a smaller bird and the addition of some floral touches. Just above the pick guard you can see my playing scars on the soundhole, this guitar has seen many years of stylized rhythm playing and now some scale playing. It's hard to bend two strings at a time when playing lead. But it is rewarding to play a little Blues in pentatonic scale with a backtrack.

The Lyon 6 is my least favorite guitar. If it were a higher priced Washburn I would be happier with it's tone, but unfortunately it sounds more muddy than I like. Lesson learned when it comes to guitars spend a little bit more to get a better guitar! It is my son's guitar and he has a hard time pressing on the fingerboard as it is a narrow one and his hands are on the large side. So he is trying to learn to play his Yamaha Portable Grand Piano. He likes it much better.

"Of Crossed Guitars Seagull C12 and Lyon 6" Corel PSP Pro X3

Crossed Guitars Seagull C12 and Lyon 6

From my photography session the other day. I crossed the two guitars to contrast them and their differences. I used a brown couch and a patterned pillow to prop them up at the crossing point.

I opened from Picasa 3.9 update with Corel PSP Pro X3, I recently reviewed Corel's newer X5 version, very nice implementation.

In PSP Pro X3 I applied the Digital Camera Noise Removal, and the Smart Photo Fix with an increase in color. I wanted a sharp warm image so I applied the High Pass Sharpen tool and the Effects Color Balance Fluorescent Warm. I then increased the Saturation with Vibrancy to punch up the colors. I used KPT Collections Equalizer for some additional Vibrance, turning up the settings.

I added my copyright and name and saved the large iteration. Then I resized for display and saved with an new iteration name.

Today is a busy day so to even have time to do this was precious time. Glad I could do it!