"Acoustic Guitarist on Brick" PE5 - PhotoPaint - A Last Gasp!

Acoustic Guitarist on Brick

I have reached an impasse. With this blog, I have tried to educate many in the use of certain graphics programs. Now I must admit that I am unable to keep up with the Newest and Best of the programs being used now by many. This blog has grown obsolete as have my graphics programs.

Over 175,000 plus page views and almost 1,500 posts I find myself faltering in my efforts to use my personal workflow and the programs I use to create a truly exceptional experience for you, my readers.

I just can't find time to continue or reasons to keep posting to "gatzkART!" any longer.

I must allow my past efforts to remain for those who wish to explore all the posts here for their own reasons.

I want to thank those who were regular visitors to this blog. Your interest in my digital visual artwork and music has been greatly appreciated. Priorities change, advances march on and sometimes one finds oneself at a loss.

Please return and use this blog as a retrospective of digital artwork and music made with great enjoyment and a desire to share. It will remain until the curators of older and lost artifacts on the Internet fade away.

I will not delete it, but it will, from this time forward, become inactive.

Sincerely yours,
Kirk Mathew Gatzka
Digital Artist and Independent Musician

Music and Digital Visual Art by Kirk Mathew Gatzka using PicsArt Photo Studio

"How to: Street Musician Classical Guitar" PE5 Plus

Street Musician Classical Guitar

From an online free photography site, I saw and chose A "Street Musician Playing a Classical Guitar." I saved the original photograph to my computer and opened it in Corel Painter Essentials 5 (PE5.) 

Here I selected the picture for digital painting. I used the Watercolor Sketch setting with some Grain. I chose the Opaque Acrylic Brush and painted it. After it completed the digital painting I used the Soft Cloner Brush to add back in some details to the face, hands, and guitar. I then saved the large file as a bitmap image file.

I now opened the piece in Paint.NET. I found and selected a painted wood texture file. I added this as a new layer resizing it to fit the whole image. I applied the property Lighten to it while reducing the Opacity to 88%. It added a complimentary touch to the image. I also added my signature as a layer sizing it and placing it in the lower right-hand corner. I merged all the layers and saved this iteration.

Next, I resized for display. 72dpi, 1220 X 813 pixels, with compression set to 90%. I saved this file as a JPG with a new name.

I have been endeavoring to learn a new song from Joe Bonamassa (Bad Company's tune,) "Seagull." I played it on my Martin DRS1 and sang along. One stanza in the song is odd to me, that is where the Seagull gets shot down. I don't own guns or shoot anything, so I, for myself, sing it "I'll Never Shoot You Down!" Seeing that I will never record the song for publishing, I did not think that the authors would mind so much. It is just a small change for my taste.

I continue to practice on the Martin and have let my 12-String set for a while. I will bring it out after I get more used to playing my newer 6-String.

"Vintage Abandoned House" PicsArt Photo Studio Plus

Vintage Abandoned House

I opened this photograph of a "Vintage Abandoned House," in PicsArt Photo Studio on my computer. I applied a tool to make it a Sketch-like image. After that, I used the Draw tools to select a couple of different Brushes to hand paint the sketch in color. (I have a Wacom USB Tablet with stylus connected to my computer for painting.)

I used the Mask tools to add a Border to the piece. Not quite what I wanted I added a Photo of a Rusty Texture using the Screen property. Using the Text tool I added my name and the year. I saved that image to my computer.

I went to Paint.NET and adjusted the Saturation for additional color. The blue painted sky lost some of it's blue to an overcast look. I saved the large image again.

The steps were simple, except for the painting by hand which took some time. I used Paint.NET to resize to display size. 95dpi, 1220 X 813 pixels, with 85 Compression for a smaller image. I save it with a new name.

I have three differing views of this Abandoned House in photographs. I did one other prior to this one. I may do the other photograph in a similar way. I think that the decay displayed is of interest to many readers.

With this post, I reached the Milestone of over 175,000 Plus Pageviews! Thank you for your patronage!

"How To: Double Embarrassment" PicsArt Plus

Double Embarrassment

I began today's image with a photograph of a Young Lady with her Guitar. Her hand is covering her face in a gesture of embarrassment. I opened it in PicsArt Photo Studio on my computer. I applied the Effects tool HDR2 to it. This gave me a base image to work with.

I opened another image of a Group of Trees for Texture and adjusted the property and opacity of it to allow the main image of the Young Lady show through. I merged these together. I used the Curves Tool to add some depth. Next, I used the Mask Border Tool for a border to the image. It was coming out as a Sepia toned visual.

I added the clipart of an old Camera in the corner. Then using the Clone Tool I duplicated the Young Lady, thus the title, "Double Embarrassment."

I added the image of my signature and date in PicsArt. I merged all layers and saved the large piece.

I used Corel Painter Essentials 5 (PE5) next. I chose the Watercolor Sketch setting with a Dry Brush and painted the scene. I used the Soft Cloner Brush to add back in details to the face, hands, and guitar. I saved with a new name.

Now I reopened the image in Paint.NET to Adjust the Saturation to about 175. This brought out many additional colors in the image. I saved again as a large image.

For display size, I used Corel PhotoPaint and resampled the image. 96dpi, 1220 X 813 pixels, 75 Compression, 25 Smoothing, saving the smaller image with a new name.

I have recently found out that when viewing my blog page on my Android Tablet, using the Chrome browser, I can no longer play any of the songs on the CDBaby Kiosks. This may be Adobe Flash Player related, as I can play them with no trouble on my computer using Firefox, and I have an updated version of Flash Player. So I apologize in advance if you also have similar problems with playing the songs Full Previews. (May also be a JavaScript problem.)

I looked for HTML5 music player code on CDBaby's site but they haven't changed any of it. If you have any difficulty please leave a note on the blog about this issue. Thank you.

"How to: Alone with Her Thoughts" PicsArt Plus and Recording Setup Noise

Alone with Her Thoughts

I recently found this photograph of a young gal "Alone with Her Thoughts," by this magnificent Tree. I wanted to try some experiments on it with my computer software. I first chose the PicsArt App and used a Local Boost Tool (enhance,) next I applied the Effects FX HDR1 tool. With this tool, I upped the Unsharp Mask and upped the Saturation. Then I used the Curves tool to add color depth. I adjusted the Brightness to -20, and the Hue to -23.

I went to Mask, to add some Texture using the property Multiply reducing the Opacity. Again in Mask I added the Black Border. I used the Text tool to select my font and added my name and year.

I saved that iteration and opened it in Corel's PhotoPaint. Here, I increased the saturation again by 25. I saved the file. I Resampled for display at 72dpi, 1220 X 813, an Optimized JPG with 75 Compression, 25 Smoothing. I saved with a new name.

I did have some time this Sunday afternoon to practice playing scales on my Martin DRS1 6-String Guitar. I again was using QuistJam Backing Tracks on YouTube through my Line 6 PodXT Live and headphones as to not disturb my wife or the neighbors.

I also did some reading on "Electronic Noise," that troubles my PC setup with the PodXT Live. I believe, through my reading that I have two culprits for noise. My RCA cables are not shielded and the fans of my PC add noise when I use the Microphone. I may have another problem with unshielded USB cables and the main USB cable from the PodXT Live to the PC may add to noise or hum problems. Interesting reading with some expensive solutions ranging from $20.00 to $630.00.

I learned that proper Grounding is also an important key to reduction of noise with electronic components. I have some investigating to do now with my current setup. 1) I have the PodXT Live connected with a basic quality USB cable. 2) I have the Speakers and Headphones connected to a Technics SA EX320 amplifier, using the Phono Aux output with the unshielded RCA cables.

I can either plug in the Shure PG58 Microphone in (on a boom stand,) or plug in my Guitar into the PodXT Live. I can't do both at the same time. I have two other input jacks on the PodXT Live, one for an additional guitar pedal, and an Aux input for playing MP3's through the system. The MP3's would not be recorded onto the DAW or recording software I use.

Curiouser and curiouser.

Step by Step: Bluegrass Guitar Session at the Library" PE5 Plus

Bluegrass Guitar Session at the Library

I have another Guitarists photograph to share after I worked on it digitally. The "Bluegrass Guitar Session at the Library," is the image for today's post.

Working on my computer I opened the large photograph in Windows 10 Photos. I enhanced the image and added some shadows to it, saving it with a new name.

My next step was to open it in Corel Painter Essentials 5 (PE5.) Here I selected the Illustration settings. I grabbed a brush from the Pencils, Pens and Markers called the Thick N Thin Marker Brush. I digitally painted the image as an Illustration.

I then added back in some details, like the strings of the guitars, the hands, and faces, painting by hand using the Soft Cloner Brush. I wanted to add some texture to the image so I applied the Apply Surface Texture tool.

I selected a coarse paper type, adjusting the Lighting with a quiet flesh tone color. This added warmth as well as the texture to the piece. I saved this large iteration at 300dpi using the same name.

Now I opened the file in Corel's PhotoPaint. I adjusted the Hue to 0, the Saturation to 25, and the Lightness to -10. I added my signature layer to the file, sized and placed it and merged the layers. I saved that iteration with a new name.

For my final steps, I used PicsArt. I applied a black lines border Mask from PicsArt. I used the Tool Curves to add depth to the colors just a bit. I saved that file with a new name.

I had used the large file to make changes in PicsArt, so I had to resize the image for display. I did this in Paint.NET 72dpi, 1220 X 813, 75 Compression, I saved this with a new name.

Be sure to click on the image to observe it at the large size for detail and texture. 

Musically, I have been practicing on my new Martin DRS1 6-String Acoustic Electric Guitar, acoustically without amplification. I have been working on accurate finger placement for my chord playing. Along with that, I listen to Backing Tracks from QuistJam on YouTube, playing scales by ear trying out differing keys and leads. It is improving my playing as I do this, really enjoying the time spent.

"How to: Guitar Man in Vintage House" PE5 Plus

Guitar Man in Vintage House

I selected another Guitar Man and a Vintage House photographs I found free to edit online. I opened the Guitar Man in Paint.NET and used Edit to Select All of the photograph. I applied the Eraser Tool and hand erased all the black background. I saved this with a new name as a PNG file to keep the transparency. .I closed that file and then opened the Vintage House photograph.

It was the interior of the older house used as the background layer. I applied the Effect Ink Sketch lightly to this. I reopened the PNG file and stretched to fit the large interior photograph. I had copied it to the clipboard and pasted it as a new layer.  I merged all layers, then I saved this file.

Next, I used Corel Painter Essentials 5 (PE5.) I adjusted the color of this large image with the Equalize tool. I then selected the Modern Painting setting with a Dry Bush and digitally painted the image. Afterward, I hand painted back in some details using the Soft Cloner Brush. I saved this iteration.

I used Corel PhotoPaint to Add my signature layer, saving this large image. Then I resampled the piece to display size. 72dpi, 1220 X 813 pixels. I decided to add one more Effect. Using Distort, Wet Paint I added dripping to the entire piece. I saved this for display with a new name as a JPG file with 75 compression and 25 smoothing.

"Digital Watercolor Acoustic Guitar Player" PE5 Plus

Digital Watercolor Acoustic Guitar Player

Continuing with a series of Acoustic and Electric Guitar Player images I share this one today. I believe that I did get the original photograph through Pixabay, free to edit.

I opened the photo in Corel Painter Essentials 5 (PE5.) I first applied the Equalize tool, setting the Black to 18% and the White at 100%, with the Gamma upped to 62%. This action gave me more color depth and fullness.

Next, I used the Watercolor Sketch settings with the New Simple Water Brush. I digitally painted the photo and saved the large iteration. I examined the results of this, and I found it pleasing to the eye.

I now opened it in Paint.NET, and here I increased the Saturation to 110. I also added my signature as a layer. I merged the layers down. I saved that image.

Opening it in PicsArt App on my Smartphone I used the Tools Enhance at 92 with Saturation set to 20. I applied the Effects FX, HDR1 blur at 25, unsharp at 1.0, saturation at 0.46 with the fade set to 25. I saved that iteration.

Simply saved the image for display, 72dpi, 1220 x 813 pixels, at 75 compression, giving it a new name.

A few simple steps to create a nice looking Digital Watercolor.

"Step by Step: Electric Guitar Player XI" PicsArt App Plus

Electric Guitar Player XI

Another free to edit, a photograph here is the "Electric Guitar Player XI." I opened the picture in the PicsArt App in Windows 10 on my computer. I selected the Tools Enhance and upped the color a tad.

I used the filter in Artistic Effects called Polygon. This gave me some triangular shapes within the image. I adjusted them to show as many as I could without losing the piece's stability. I saved the large picture.

Next, I went to Lighting and grabbed a Bokeh layer, on this I used rotate tools to place the bulk of the lights on the bottom of the image. I used the property Screen to add the lighting. I went back to the Tools and chose the Curves to add depth to the colors, using the full RGB setting.

I added a border, selecting a blue and black balance for it. I then went to the Text tools and added my name and the year choosing black for the fill and outline. I saved this again.

I looked at the image in Picasa 3+ and decided to add some HDR appearance to the piece. I adjusted the Radius to a level setting and the Strength to a medium low one. I did this with Picasa's HDR Tool. Saving that I opened the image in Paint.Net to resize the piece for display.

72dpi, 1220 X 813, with 75 for compression, were the settings for the display picture. Be sure to click on the image for the larger view in your browser. Use F11 to see the Full Screen and F11 to return to the browser's regular setting.

"Digital Collage of Images Created with PicsArt App" Picasa

Collage of Images

While ill I created some images on my Tablet using the PicsArt App. I enjoyed using this App so much I got the Windows 10 version installed now along with AutoDesk's Sketchbook on my computer.

I did quite a bit of layering and using of PicsArt filters to create each image you see in the collage. I used polygon tools, mask layers, some clipart, some hand painting as well. Each piece will stand on its own, but I wanted to show the versatility of PicsArt.

I like the selection of tool for each thing you may want to do. I can "Enhance," a photograph, with a simple click, alter the strength of the changes with embedded tools. I can adjust Curves for RGB or the differing colors Red, Green, Blue individually.

I add layers directly and quickly by adding a photograph, with the selection of different properties, and adjust the opacity, too. Free clipart comes with the App as well as some great Fonts.

And the App will let you buy more Fonts and Collections for only about $00.99 each. I have not purchased any additional ones myself, and I am still finding many ways of creating great images without adding any yet.

PicsArt also has many #freetoedit photographs to offer to the user. I used some of them and some from Pixabay, and Unsplash. It also has multiple FX, Artistic, and other Filters to apply to your works.

I created the Digital Collage with Picasa 3+, which is no longer being supported, but still the current version works fine. After creating the Collage I saved it and opened it with Corel PhotoPaint. There I resampled from 120dpi to a 72dpi image, 1220 X 763. I saved it as an Optimized JPG 75 compression and 25 smoothing. I saved the display image with a new name.

As you share your works with the PicsArt Community, you can set it up to share with your other Social Media, too. I share with my Facebook timeline each time I post a new image to the Community. You can select how and where to share.

One other thing to mention is PicsArt App allows you to create Gif Animations of your creations in a step by step manner. Gif Animations are not accepted everywhere but are great fun to create.

"The Lone Street Musician" PE5 Plus

The Lone Street Musician

Another photograph of "The Lone Street Musician." I liked the image from the beginning. A Street Guitarist, possibly a singer as well, presenting himself in a corner of a plaza.

I opened the file in Corel Painter Essentials 5 (PE5.) I began by applying the Pen and Ink Drawing settings. I tried one brush but it was not very clear, and I wanted a clean, bright Pen and Ink look. So I set the Brush to the Dry Ink and painted again. This gave me a better drawing.

To add to the Ink Drawing, I selected the Detailed Watercolor setting. A soft light brush was chosen the New Simple Water Brush. I digitally painted again. This gave me a Pen and Ink Watercolor image.

The next step was to increase color depth of the piece. I selected Equalize from the Effects. There I set the Black Point to 21.2% and left the White Point at 100%. I altered the Gamma to 60%, and this punched up the color. I saved this large file with a new name.

Next, I opened the file in Paint.NET. I selected the Line Brush at 3 points, with a Backwards slash setting. I hand painted a light border with the brush. I opened my signature file, copied it, and added it as a new layer. Using the property Multiply, I then merged the layers. I saved this file at 100% compression.

I now only needed to Resize the piece for display. I adjusted it to 72dpi, 1220 X 1049, with 75 as the compression. I saved this file with a new name.

"Street Musicians" PicsArt App

I downloaded a number of great photos from Pixabay today.  I have been using my Tablet to create images with the PicsArt App. I did at least four images that I posted to PicsArt and Facebook.

This image was one of those I created. I used a number of filters one called Comic Effect. I also increased the Saturation of the piece adding depth with the Curves tool.

I highly recommend both Pixabay and PicsArt App. They are among the top features on the Internet.

I searched for "Street Musicians," on Pixabay, also for free to edit content on the PicsArt community.  They have many choices for doing digital artwork.

I have found that PicsArt has many tools for layering, drawing, and other things that make it a great app.

Some people who want to may get the latest version of PicsArt App for Android devices on the Google Play Store. It is currently free to download and install.

Join Pixabay for the larger image download. I have been very pleased with the content of photos and textures there.

You can also use Pixabay from a browser.

Street Musicians 

"Gal Playing Acoustic Guitar in a Field" PE5 Plus

"Gal Playing Acoustic Guitar in a Field"

I selected a large photograph of a "Gal Playing Acoustic Guitar in a Field," for today's post. It was very soft in lighting to begin with, but compelling. I opened it in Corel Painter Essentials 5 (PE5.) The first thing I did was apply the Equalize tool, setting the Black point to 25.1%, the White point I left at 100%, and the Gamma at 50%. This added more color depth.

I continued to Adjust the Colors using Uniform Color setting the Saturation to 31%. I saved the large file with a new name. In PE5, I used the photograph now adjusted to paint. Selecting the Watercolor Sketch settings I used a Digital Watercolor Dry Brush to paint.

Next, I used the Soft Cloner Brush to hand paint back in details to the Face, Arms, Hands and the Guitar. I decided I wanted to add more Texture to the image; I applied the Apply Surface Texture. Using the Paper setting, I checked Invert to change the light direction. I picked a Light Fleshtone color for the lighting, creating more warmth for the image and texture.

After applying that, I saved the image again.

I opened that large image in Paint.NET. Here I added my signature layer using the property Additive for transparency. I saved the image with 100% size and compression. Then I resized the image to 72 dpi, 1220 X 813, setting the compression to 75%. I saved that for posting with a new name.

I have been putting my new Martin DRS1 6-String Acoustic Electric through its paces, both Acoustically and along with some jam tracks from QuistJam on YouTube. Playing acoustically I used different tunings, Double Drop D, and DADGAD. I am enjoying this Martin Sapele Guitar! It has great tone and good action for both lead and rhythm playing. I haven't done any recording or songwriting other than some poetry/lyric work lately. I am trying out a new chord progression but have yet to add any melody (singing,) or lyrics for that.

"Vintage Truck and Arches" PicsArt App

I utilized PicsArt App for this image today and yesterday. I began working on it on my tablet. I layered two photos of the Truck and Arches.

I applied enhanced color, and saturation to the truck,  then I added a watercolor filter. I took the Arches photo and added it. I resized the image of the Arches to fit the Truck. I changed the opacity, to allow the Truck to show through, using the property Overlay.

I next used the painting tools on the Truck. Slightly more color depth for the next step,  I hand painted it. I used the Text tool for my name and year.

I saved at various times before the final product. "Vintage Truck and Arches."

Vintage Truck and Arches 

"White Bicycle with Flowers in a Field" PicsArt App Plus

White Bicycle with Flowers in a Field

I have been garnering some photographs from various sources, and unfortunately, I did not keep track of the sources. This image was started on my Tablet in the PicsArt App. I applied a few different filters. First, I used the Artistic Watercolor filter increasing the color a bit. I also used the Fx filter HDR1 for that sharpness on the White Bicycle and Flowers. I added my name and year with the Text tools. I saved that large image, and it backed up to my Google Photos.

I downloaded the image to my computer. Opening in Paint.NET,  I adjusted the Saturation to 110. Then I used the Curves tool to add color depth to the piece. I saved this iteration.

Opening in Corel PhotoPaint, I resampled the image. 120dpi 1220 X 813 pixels, I saved as an Optimized JPG with 75 compression, and 25 smoothing.

I enjoy using the PicsArt App on my Tablet and combining the image creation with programs on my computer.

"How to: Red Espresso" PE5 Plus

Red Espresso

I have recently found a few new free to edit photographs from Pixabay, Picjumbo, and a few others. I had an email to myself of the sites which I promptly deleted today upon doing some email clean up. It is a listing from Kim Garst's Blog online. So I hope I can find it again.

I did not keep track of the source of this photograph I chose to digitally paint, but it was a large file size with great dpi and depth of colors.

I first opened it in Paint.NET on my laptop. I did some Adjustments using Curves for depth and increasing the Saturation to 110. I saved this file.

Next, I used Picasa's HDR tool with light settings for that sharp look and feel. I saved again.

I reopened the image in Corel's Painter Essentials 5 (PE5.) Here I selected to do an Oil Painting with Acrylic and Oils Brush: Opaque Detail Brush. It was a small brush which gave the oil painting much detail. I saved the file with a new name.

I added my signature layer in Corel's PhotoPaint, and saved this iteration. Then I resampled the file for display here. I used the settings 240dpi 1220 X 813 and saved with a new name. An optimzed JPG with compression at 75 and smoothing at 25.

With the Oil Painting having a white surrounding area I decided to add a Frame. I used Picasa's Museum Matte tool, giving it a red matte. I saved this iteration, slightly larger with the Frame and matte added.

Thus, you have the image for today, "Red Espresso."

"Woman Portrait" PicsArt App Pixabay

Found a new listing of free to edit sites. Chose Pixabay and selected this Woman Portrait.

I saved it and opened it up in the PicsArt App. I applied a Artistic pastel filter, and saved it. Then I hand selected colors to paint with using different types of brushes. Hand painting on the Tablet Galaxy Tab S 8.4 is a lot of fun.

I use a Stylus for the hand painting. It is a little awkward but I think I have been doing this fairly well.

I have been care giving for a family member of late. So I post on the blog using the Blogger App. Still learning and enjoying the apps that I am using.

I have not been able to play the guitars,  neither of them. There is a time to keep quiet and a time to make music. I have found that I am writing a bit of poetry. This is a good time for me to do it.

Soon enough I will be playing guitar again.

"NEW FREE Download of 'I Still Remain' on CDBaby!"

Guitar Player Chording D

After a month of having the songs "Open Secret," and "Something Amazing," FREE from CD Baby's site. I selected to change those back to paid downloads and add "I Still Remain," as a FREE download!

I did the Guitar Player Chording D a number of years ago. I recently found this version on our Laptop. I don't remember all the tools I used to create the Image, but I took the photograph myself.

I have been very busy caregiving for a family member. So it has been difficult to create new Artworks. I have been using my Tablet with free to edit photographs from PicsArt App. And using the Blogger App to post some art directly from my tablet..

If you were one of my listeners of "I Still Remain," it should now be available FREE from CD Baby's site. Look to the right panel and click on the Featured Post, click that Link and it will take you to the website where you can get it FREE!

"Redheaded Gal" PicsArt App

I did another image of a Redheaded woman portrait in PicsArt App on my tablet. I used a Pastel filter first,  then I added a line drawing on the image by hand. I also added some blended color with the different brushes.

I really like the App thus far,  as I continue to grow in learning how to use it. I'm sure that as time passes I will improve.

Nonetheless this is a great influence on my tablet created artworks. This was another #free to edit photo from the PicsArt community.  They have many more to select from.  Different types of people, things, and objects to choose from. 

A continuous improvement cycle.