"Glasses Beard - Mans Portrait" Corel

Glasses Beard - Mans Portrait

A Mans Portrait using some Auto-Painting in Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4. I had applied a number of auto paint styles to the original photograph. I had first used Corel Painter 11 to Auto Van Gogh paint the color version. Using Corel PSP Pro X3 I upped the Saturation Vibrancy.

Back in Photo Essentials I applied the Impressionist style. which amplified the Van Gogh look. I used the Simple Watercolor set at Saturate colors next. I also used Wet on Wet Watercolor style on the image. Each step added something to the overall image. I attempted to use dry brushes at different times and simple watercolor ones as well.

The image now had lost quite a bit of detail, especially his Glasses. I had used PSP Pro X3 to make a grayscale copy of the original and saved that earlier. I now opened the image in Corel PhotoPaint. I also opened the grayscale image and copied it to the clipboard. I then pasted it over the multi auto painted image and applied the property Multiply to add back in details I had lost.

I had tried to paint it in Corel Painter 11 but just wasn't satisfied with my results today. So I played with Essentials 4 and it's many styles. The final step of adding back in details made the image satisfactory. I believe the photograph came from the Morguefile, but sometimes I lose track of my sources. Stockvault or Morguefile I am not certain on this one.

I added my signature and resampled for display in PhotoPaint, saving the large image as a TIFF file, then the display image as a JPG.

I have added on gatzkART! Blog another CDBaby player that plays the Series of Three songs, Blind Guide, Collision Warning, Reckoning and the Bonus track Something Amazing. I discovered that it played one song right after the other. Thus it tells the story of the Individual who started out self-centered and selfish, warned of a prideful crash, his reckoning as well as his turning around. Scroll down on this blog to the list of Blind Guide and play the series, Full Preview of all four tunes. Purchase which ever you like! $0.99 is not too expensive! Enjoy my unique style of music!

"Penciled, Painted, Bird" PicsArt

Done with PicsArt App on my tablet. Simple post mobile device.  Photo by Chris Allsebrook.

"Messy Hair and Beard - Homeless Man" Corel Painter

Messy Hair and Beard - Homeless Man

Another Digital Watercolor in Corel Painter 11, with accents in Corel PSP Pro X3. I have this Homeless Man Portrait from the Morguefile, his hair and beard are amazingly messy. I had to paint it.

I first opened it in Paint.NET to use the Artistic Ink tool for a Pen and Ink feel to the basic piece. I saved the large black and white image, opening it in Corel Painter 11. I used the Digital Watercolor Brushes, a Coit Ink Brush, and a touch of Gouache. I believe that this Man was one I already painted with his Hand under his chin and cheek. (See earlier portraits of Homeless Men.)

I am working on another song. I have lyrics, no chords or melody yet. I am going to try to make it a Classical Rock song, if I can swing the lyrics that way. I have been listening to Joe Bonamassa a lot lately. His brand of Blues Rock is really good and inspiring. I could never, as this point, reach his level of expertise. He started playing the Blues very young, by four years old it was obvious that he would excel at his craft.

One of my favorite songs by him is, "Slow Train," done in Acoustic style. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKE3itL4ApY

Have a listen if you like Acoustic Blues Rock!

"Resting On Two Hands" Corel

Resting On Two Hands

I had another Homeless Man Portrait from Morguefile, I wanted to share. I opened the Portrait first in Paint.NET and applied the Artistic, Ink tool, with no color, just black for the Ink. I saved that large file and opened it in Corel Painter 11. I used Digital Watercolor Brushes, some Ink, Chalk and Gouache. I digitally painted the image. Saving it as a TIFF file it kept great color.

After I painted it I opened it in Corel PSP Pro X3 to add my signature layer. I tried the Saturation Vibrancy, but it made the image look too brightly colored. I did not save it that way. I saved the TIFF with my signature layer merged.

As I saved to JPG format for display, resized, I noticed the colors and detail blur. I took the image and ran the High Pass Sharpen on it. One more Sharpening and it improved the Ink details. I saved again for display.

"Tear The Curtain Down - New Song" SoundCloud

https://soundcloud.com/gatzka-music/tear-the-curtain-down

Tear The Curtain Down

My newest song, it is 8+ minutes long, reminiscent of Neil Young. Just Vocals and my 12-String, recorded in my Studio/Office Live. Not much in the way of mixing. Kept it simple.

NOTE: "Wait Until Morning," now available on CDBaby for Full Preview and Listening, after a short delay! 

Scroll to the Link below or the the Music Store towards the bottom and select songs for Previews. Listen before considering a purchase!

"Azure Eyes Digital Collage" Corel

Azure Eyes Digital Collage

NOTE: I have made adjustments to the New Song: 'Wait Until Morning,' with CDBaby. It is currently unavailable for the Full preview listening or purchase. As soon as I can I will have this corrected with them. They operate on business days, so it may take some time, Please be patient.

Today's image is a Digital Collage with Texture Blended Photography. The Woman Portrait is from Stockvault Free images and the Texture from their Friday Freebies. I opened the Woman in Corel PhotoPaint and applied the Threshold with color, made slight adjustments and went from there. I opened the Blue Texture and copied it and layered it over the Portrait. I used the property Multiply with some Opacity alterations on the Texture.

I liked the Azure Eyes of the Woman and wanted to show them fairly clearly. I decided I to make this more of a Digital Collage, I searched my Dover Publications Sampler images. I found the Two Flappers and added the layer with the property Multiply, erasing a line which surrounded them. Now with the Flappers on the left hand side, I balanced out the composition with a Floral Corner Accent. I merged all of these. I added my signature, and resized for display. Oh, and I had opened the large iteration (a TIFF file,) in Corel PSP Pro X3 adding Saturation Vibrancy for the Azure and colors brilliance.

"New Song 'Wait Until Morning' Now Available" CDBaby

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/kirkmathewgatzka10

"Wait Until Morning" is a love song. Two parties are trying to keep a relationship together, but are having difficulties. "You show me your answers, I'll show you mine," shows that they are discussing attitudes and thoughts about being together. The first party (the male singing,) wants to stay until morning. Hoping to express his commitment. But is he really committed to this relationship?

We don't really get to hear the other side of the situation, but, "if you don't mind," shows reluctance on her part to let him stay. The end of the matter is they don't stay together and the relationship is a bust. That's for another tune I suppose. Click on the link above for a Full Preview for your consideration. Thank you for listening!

"Blue Woman in the Woods" Corel

Blue Woman in the Woods

Instead of doing some Digital Painting, I wanted to do some Photography Texture Blending. I found a Womans Portrait from Morguefile, and a Texture from Stockvaults Friday Freebies. I began by opening the Woman first in Corel PSP Pro X3 and adjusted the Threshold to darken it. I then opened the Blue Texture file and layered it over the Woman. I sized it to fit the portrait. I then added to the image by adjusting the layer opacity properties. I upped the Saturation Vibrancy for the Blue Texture to stand out. I saved that file as a TIFF file format.

I opened the Woman in Corel PhotoPaint and used a differing form of the Threshold to allow some flesh-tones to show, along with the white space. I opened the previously Textured file and layered the two, using the property Multiply for transparency. I added my signature as a layer and merged them all.

I ended up with a multi-textured piece, with wood bark and the Blue, along with some Flesh-tones on her face. In the end I blended four or five layers to create this piece. "Blue Woman in the Woods." I saved that file iteration. I resampled for display and saved a final for post image.

NOTE: My New Song: "Wait Until Morning," is in process at CDBaby.com, I will be posting it soon. Keep in anticipation for this love gone wrong song.

"Full Beard, Hat, Glasses" Corel Painter

Full Beard, Hat, Glasses

This photograph I garnered with permission from a Facebook group. I first opened it in Corel PSP Pro X3 and changed it to a grayscale image. I also enlarged it a bit to a display size, as it was a smaller photograph to start with.

Saving that I opened with Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 and used Detailed Watercolor with a Dry Brush for the watercolor appearance. I saved again as a Tiff file. Now I opened in Corel Painter 11. Here I used the Digital Watercolor brushes to paint using my Wacom tablet and Stylus. I selected Chalk brushes for some white and also some Gouache for white.

I used Tinting brushes for the background and added some greens as colors to build the image composition. I saved the image once more as a Tiff file. Opening again in PSP Pro X3 I upped the Saturation Vibrancy by 33. Saving it as a Jpg file for display.

"Snowy Rusted Vintage Truck" Corel Painter

Snowy Rusted Vintage Truck

I chose a different subject, one of my favorites, a "Snowy Rusted Vintage Truck." I opened in Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 and Digitally Painted with Watercolor Sketch, Dry Brush. Saving that I Opened in Corel Painter 11 and used the Tinting brushes to add color to the image.

I saved the large file and opened in Corel PSP Pro X3 to up the Saturation Vibrancy by 33. I also added some Image Information and my signature. I tried something a bit different here, I used the Effects, Textures and selected from the standard textures a Canvas one. I increased the size of it by 1 from 4 to 5. Adding a very nice finished look to the piece. Look at it enlarged to see the texture.

I resized to display size for posting and saved that iteration. Importing here for your consideration.

NOTE: My New Song is about to be released! It is entitled, "Wait Until Morning," and will be posted to CDBaby soon. I will be posting about it as soon as it is available.

"Full Beard, Long Hair" Corel

Full Beard, Long Hair

I made the time to do this Digital Painting this afternoon and evening. Using another Mans Portrait from Morguefile I painted the image in Corel Painter 11. "Full Beard, Long Hair," began in Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 as a Watercolor Sketch in grayscale.

I saved the large file and opened it in Corel Painter 11. There I used the Digital Watercolor Brushes on the face and beard. I switched to another layer for Liquid Ink Brushes to add details to his hair and beard. I also used the Inks for the background and added some more Digital Watercolor for dark contrasts.

I saved the large image after layering in my signature and merging Layers. I opened in Corel PSP Pro X3 for Saturation Vibrancy set at 33. I saved the image and resized for display here.

I have been working on two new songs for placing on CDBaby. I am completing the mixing now on one. The other is over eight minutes long and needs some thought and revising to make it practical for selling. Right now, I am enjoying working on it and don't mind its length.

Watch this blog for a posting about the new song soon! Per usual I will have it set for Full Preview for your consideration.

"Tablet" PicsArt

Quick update on the blog, I am not feeling well. I hope to post more information and art soon.

Working on a new song,  two actually.  One is CDBaby bound. The other is very long, eight minutes.

Watch this blog for updates.

"Daisies And Railing" Corel

Daisies And Railing

I began this image with an older photograph of "Daisies and our Porch Railing," outside our home. I opened it in Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 and used the Gouache setting with a Camel Brush. I digitally painted it there.

Saving the large iteration I opened in Corel PhotoPaint. Here I adjusted the Tone Curve for depth to the color. I resampled the image to display size. I then added my name and date, as my digital signature is on my main Desktop Computer and I am working on our Laptop.

I saved that smaller file to a new folder for 2015 Artworks.

It is quiet here in the North country and I am listening to chimes lightly ringing and mostly minor electric sounds. It is restful here, and I am happy to be away for a little while. We all need some time like this to relax and enjoy blue sky and warmer weather Michigan style.

"Near Clare, Michigan" Tablet

I am up North house sitting, so this is a brief post. I used my tablet for this image of the shed. I applied HDR to it, and upped the saturation.  Framed it all with tools available on the app.

The image is a simple one. I am relaxing and the Sun is out,  with a beautiful blue sky. Enjoy your day.