"How To: Forest Pathways Continued" PE5 Plus

Forest Pathways

I selected another Forest Pathways photograph for my Series of images of recent days. I like this one for the Trees and the less traveled path. I first opened in Paint.NET and applied the Artistic Ink Sketch tool. I had the color set high, and the Ink Medium. The trees looked great but the sky was washed out a bit. I increased the Saturation from 100 to 123 and this helped the sky colors. I saved the file.

Next I used Painter Essentials 5 from Corel (PE5.) I did an auto painting of the Pencil Drawing with the Pencils, Pens, and Markers, Dry Ink Brush. It was very light. I next switched to the Impressionistic Painting for more punch to the image. I selected a Digital Watercolor Dry Brush and auto painted again. Fantastic colors now embellished the image.

I hand painted some details back in using the Soft Cloner Brush to bring out the trees a bit more clearly. I saved that file.

In Corel's PhotoPaint I opened the Forest Digital Painting and the Ink Sketch I had done earlier in Paint.NET. I copied the Ink Sketch to the clipboard, closed it and layered it on the Painting. I adjusted the layer with Curves to lighten the colors a tad. Then I adjusted the Opacity about 75%. I merged the layers and applied Saturation increasing it also.

In Picasa, I tuned the image by increasing the Shadows. I added a Border and Matte and saved again. In Paint.NET, I Flipped the image Horizontally to have the Pathway Curve to the opposite way, as the other pathways images in the Series seem to go the same way. I added my signature layer and merged the layers. I saved again for the final large piece.

To resampled the file for display I used PhotoPaint. I resized it at 120dpi, 75 Compression, and Smoothing at 25 for a smaller footprint. I renamed the file and saved for display here.

Just a reminder that I am going to Introduce a New Song on CDBaby the beginning of February 2016. The Song is "I Still Remain." Simple format without much fuss in the mix. Vocals and my 12-String Seagull Guitar Played and sung live into the Line 6 Pod XT Live and recorded on my computer. Look for it's release!

Also a mention for Grammarly the Free Grammar program. I used it to write and correct this blog post in Blogger. It works well and has a Premium version that would enhance anyone's writing. I recommend it.

"How This Was Done - Wooden Corduroy Bridge Impressionistic Style" Corel

Wooden Corduroy Bridge

Another Free Photograph I was given to use. A "Wooden Corduroy Bridge," in the forest. With Autumn here and the colors soon to change I selected this for today's theme. I opened the file in Corel PSP Pro X3 and applied the Smart Photo Fix, increasing the color and adding shadow and deepening the highlights. I used the Saturation Vibrancy tool on it. I saved that iteration.

I opened Picasa and selected the adjusted image. I applied the Ortonish tool to the image, and saved that. I then opened it in Corel Painter 11. There I did a Quick Clone, selected the Artist Brush Auto Van Gogh and auto painted the piece with smaller brush strokes.

Saving that file with a new name I reopened it in PSP Pro X3 and also opened the pre-painted image. I copied and layered that over the painted piece. I then played with properties (using the Overlay property) and opacity. This boosted the detail and depth of it. I added my Signature as a Layer and merged all to one layer (background.) I saved that iteration with a new name. Viewing it full screen in Picasa, I was satisfied with the final piece.

I then resized the image for display and your consideration.

I haven't been working too much on new songs lately. My Son got married, and my wife and I collaborated on a song for the Bride and Groom to sing at the reception for them. "Dream Has Come True," was my first real collaboration with my wife, we both really enjoyed it. It was well received at the reception and we were given a surprisingly enthusiastic round of applause. My Son and his new wife appreciated it and that was very important to us.

It is a simple tune with shared parts and the 12-String for accompaniment. I may share it on SoundCloud if I have enough room left to post. It is only 2:25 minutes long! Long enough to get the sentiment out.

"How To - Impressionistic Lighthouse" Corel

Impressionistic Lighthouse

Today I wanted to work on a Landscape, particularly this Lighthouse from Morguefile's Free Photos. I opened the full color photograph in Corel Painter 11. There I Quick Cloned the image, selected the Artists Brushes Auto Van Gogh. Using a small Brush size I used Select Esoterica Auto Van Gogh to auto paint. This gave me a beginning point for an Impressionistic piece.

I changed to the Digital Watercolors Brushes, a Coarse Dry Mop brush. I used a Purple Lavender like color to add some shadowing to the Lighthouse and surrounding area. The image was still very much like the original photograph but with small brushstrokes and now the Lavender shading.

I wanted a more distinct Impressionist feel so I selected the Auto Van Gogh brush again and enlarged it's size. I applied the Auto Painting. I was pleasantly surprised to see how this moved the Lavender color into the Skyline. I adjusted the Exposure a touch in Painter 11 and then saved the large file.

This iteration I opened in Corel PSP Pro X3 and played with the Saturation Vibrancy (33,) and the Curves to add punch to the colors. I saved again and opened this in Picasa for a full screen view. Some of the coloring was too dark. I applied the Smart Photo Fix tool, in PSP Pro X3 adjusting the color, upping it a tad. This also Brightened the image. I added my signature as another layer, sized and fit it, used the property Lighten and merged the layers to one. I saved again to a JPG format 72dpi.

I added a painterly frame and the Ornate Gold Frame to the finished image. This lent it some elegance. I saved this iteration as an 16-bit TIF file and then Resized for display here, saving as an 8-bit JPG.

Be certain to click on the image to enjoy the large view of it. Please remember my Art and Music (10 songs on CDBaby) are For Sale as Posters simple or framed and matted at Zazzle. If you see an image you would like to purchase see My Art and Music For Sale Page for my email to request I post the image to Zazzle for you to buy.

I don't have all my images currently on Zazzle for purchasing, so write me and request the image you would like. Thank you.

"Step by Step Digital Impressionism" Corel

Tree and Foggy Trail

This began as a photograph from Unsplash Free Downloads. It was a Trail leading off into the fog, with a prominent Tree. I wanted a Watercolor look but an Impressionistic Style. I opened it in Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4. I selected the Impressionistic Style with a Watercolor Brush and applied a partial auto paint to it. I then used the Impressionistic Dry Brush to add to the Style of the image.

After that had completed I used the Hard Cloner Brush to paint in details to the Tree and the Trail. All this in Impressionistic Colors. I saved the large iteration as a TIFF file. I opened it in Corel PSP Pro X3.

Here I applied the Smart Photo Fix to the entire image, adding brightness and contrasts to it with a bit of sharpness. I added my signature as a layer and used the property Lighten for transparency. I merged all layers and saved that file.

As the image had its own fullness of color I did not change the Saturation at all. I resized the image for display in Image, Resize. This I saved as a JPEG.

Corel Painter Essentials 5 has been on sale for around $39.00 on various sales sites. I am tempted to buy it but am saving up for an 8.4" Samsung Tablet. So I am hanging onto my money for now.

I would recommend it to anyone who wants to turn photographs into paintings, or paint from scratch. It is a good program from the Corel Painter group.

"Impressionistic Digital Watercolor, Barn and Clouds" Corel

Impressionistic Digital Watercolor, Barn and Clouds

I started with a desire to do a bit of something different on this afternoon. I selected a Free Stockvault image of a Barn and Clouds. I opened in Picasa 3.9 and applied the HDR filter to it, raising the impact a bit. I saved that file iteration. I then imported into Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 and used a Watercolor effect on it using the Impressionistic dry Brush, with Intense Color selected.

Saving that file as a TIFF file I opened in Corel PhotoPaint and used the Tone Curve to add depth to the colors. I also added my signature as a layer and merged them. I saved the large file and then Resampled to display size. I wanted the colors to Pop, so I applied the Filter Forges Vibrancy to the display size piece. Between the Tone Curve and the Vibrancy tools I got the punchy colors I wanted.

I have always enjoyed old Barns and Beautiful Skies in photographs. I enjoyed making an Impressionistic image today.

I am working on a new song titled, "I Still Remain," I don't have a lead for it just yet. I am an Improviser of leads and not a lead Guitar Player. Plus I am using different Tones for it playing on my Seagull 12-String Acoustic through software and the Line 6 POD XT Live for lead. Ever try to bend double the strings on playing a lead? It is very difficult I can assure you. So it remains to be seen what I come up with.

"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!

"Dear Prudence - Digital Impressionistic Watercolor" Corel

Dear Prudence - Digital Impressionistic Watercolor

This image began as a screenshot of Alanis singing "Dear Prudence." I opened the screenshot in Corel PhotoPaint with New From Clipboard. I cropped the image. Then I saved the large file.

Next I opened in Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 and painted it with the Watercolor setting, I used the clone brush to make the eyes and mouth clearer. I used Impressionist Brushes setting on it as well.

Saving that I opened in Corel PSP Pro X3, used Saturation Vibrancy set to 11 on it. I also added the Stained Glass frame in Image, Picture Frames. I added the layer with my signature and then merged all to one layer or background.

I had also added some Image Information, Copyright, Title, etc. and saved again. I resized for display and saved with a new name.

I enjoyed Alanis' version of "Dear Prudence," very much and I have not been a true fan of hers, but I did enjoy some of her earlier hits. This version is very different, though it is quite true to the original by The Beatles.

"Taylor Guitars Five Impressionist Painting" Corel

Taylor Guitars Five

I opened this photograph from the Taylor Road Show in Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4. I applied The Impressionist set, Colors Impressionist, Paper Basic, Brush Soft Edge Cloner. I added back in some details lightly for balance.

Saving this I opened with Corel PSP Pro X3 and used the Smart Photo Fix, Saturation Vibrancy, and added my signature in black. I then resized for display and also had added Image Information, Title, Copyright, programs used.

I have many more photographs from the Road Show, and I am uncertain if I will continue this series. Five is quite a few, but not too many for our viewers. Here are some links for you:

Taylor Guitars online.

Motor City Guitars online.

"Diesel the Min-Pin HDR Experiment" Corel - Plus

Diesel the Min-Pin

I recently took a photograph of my Son's dog, Diesel, that is a Min-Pin. He's about four years old, and is at his full grown size, which is small. He is a great cuddler and is a food driven dog.

I opened the photograph taken with my Canon Rebel XTi and cropped it. I then saved the cropped image. I reopened from Picasa 3.9 with Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 and painted it using the Impressionist setting, Rough paper, and the Watercolor brush. I saved that iteration after a bit of touch up with the Soft Cloner brush.

I opened it with Corel PSP Pro X3 and tried an experiment. I used the HDR tool to load two photographs, one painted the other not. Using the HDR tool I aligned both images and output the HDR result you see.

I saved that and added the Picture Frame in PSP Pro X3. Saving that I opened with Corel PhotoPaint to add my signature. It turned out to be a decent image of little Deese. Detailed but having that painterly look and feel.

"Impressionistic Alaskan Mountain View" Corel - Plus

Alaskan Mountain View

A post from my laptop, a short statement. This "Impressionistic Alaskan Mountain View," comes from a photograph taken with my Canon Rebel XTi DSLR, a couple of years ago now. I browsed to the photograph in Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 and auto painted it using the Impressionist settings.

I saved the large digital painting and reopened with Corel PhotoPaint where I added the frame using Filter Forge's Frames. I added my name and copyright as my signature is not yet on this computer. I resampled for display here.

A simple image with lovely color and brushstroke detail as you click on it for the larger view on your screen.

"Digital Ink 12-String Guitars Collage" Paint.NET - Corel

Digital Ink 12-String Guitars Collage [click for larger image]

I used multiple photographs of a Drama that I took in 2006. In Picasa 3.9 I created a Superimposed Collage of them. This blended them all into a color filled image with indistinct characters and letters. I opened it next in Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 and auto painted them using the Impressionistic settings. This gave me a good working painterly background for a collage of guitars. I saved this large iteration.

Next I searched for and selected two "12-String Guitars," images. I opened with Paint.NET and used the Ink Sketch with no color and a boost to the inking. I copied and pasted these into Corel PhotoPaint onto the background I made before. I duplicated the guitars and carefully placed them in rows, reversing them as I went.

Using the Font Bleeding Cowboys I typed the title. I used the Effects, Texture, Plastic tool for the three dimensional look of the title. I merged all and saved the large file with my signature. I resampled it for display size and saved that piece.

I used the plug-in Filter Forge's Frames to add a light film frame to complete the image and saved it one more time.

"Paisley Rectangles" Dover Clip Art - Mayang's Textures - Corel

Paisley Rectangles [click for larger image]

Late post this evening. I browsed to my Recent image folder in Picasa 3.9 and reminded myself I had gotten these four "Paisley," images from my Dover Publication Samplers. I first attempted to use CorelTRACE to create a vector image of the lower left hand image to color in with CorelDRAW. I soon found out it was a tedious job of patient work.

So I browsed to my Mayang's Textures and selected a greens and browns texture. I opened that with Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 and painted it with the Impressionistic settings Basic paper, Light Contrast color. This gave me a large work space for the paisley images.

Saving that I opened it with Corel PhotoPaint and from Picasa 3.9 I copied and pasted the paisley images one at a time. I rotated each one to lay on it's side to allow all four to share the space. I resized them to fit and used the Tone Curve to darken the line work. Then I merged all.

I saved that and then resampled to a display size and applied my signature to the work. I Like paisley work and Impressionistic work as well, so I enjoyed my play with both styles mixed.

"Barn and Silo - Guitar and Banjo" Impressionistic - Corel - Plus

Barn, Silo - Guitarist, Banjo Player

Today I tried some digital painting using two different photographs. One of a Barn and Silo and the other of a Guitarist and Banjo Player jamming. I opened the first photograph in Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 and auto painted it with the Impressionistic feature. The second photograph was in Sepia tone. I auto painted that one as well.

On both I used the Soft Clone Brush to add back in details. Saving both of those images I opened from Picasa 3.9 with Corel PhotoPaint. First the Barn and Silo then I copied and pasted the Guitarist and Banjo Player onto that. Using the Erase tool I trimmed the Players to just the two individuals. I resized them, placing them on the canvas with 70% Opacity. I added my signature as well.

I merged them both together. I then took the Clone Brush at various sizes and added color from the Barn and Silo to the Players to bring them into the picture more distinctly. I saved the large iteration. After which I opened it with Corel PSP Pro X3 and used the Smart Photo Fix on it adjusting the brightness, shadows, midtones, and sharpness. I added the ornate frame using the Picture Frame feature in PSP. I saved the large file and then resized for display.

984th Post to gatzkART! 

I am working on a new song, "Wait Until Morning" but am uncertain of the chord progression and melody as of yet. I have one written down (chords) with a melody in mind, but am not sure I am done yet. Needs something, not certain what but it will come. I may do another slideshow of digital artworks with this as the soundtrack as I did with "Revel" DADGAD recently. It is posted to YouTube if you want to see it. Or check my posts to Google+ in my Profile (scroll down.) +Kirk Mathew Gatzka

"An Impressionistic Study - Allison" Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 - Plus

Allison Studying

I used a phone photograph for today's experimental study. This was taken by my son Keir M. Gatzka of a close friend of ours, quite a while ago. She was studying in the back seat of his car and as you can see the sun blew out some of the image.

I liked this because of the focus on her face. I opened this photograph from Picasa 3.9 with Corel PSP Pro X3 and used my photography workflow on it. I resized it, ran the Digital Camera Noise Removal and Smart Photo Fix on it. I adjusted the color, then used the Saturation Vibrance on it. I also used the Time Machine feature Cross Processing tool. I saved this file.

I opened with Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 and applied the Impressionistic auto paint. Then I used the clone brush to bring back details in her face and arms. Saving that painting I opened with Corel PhotoPaint and added my signature and saved again.

983rd Post! Still striving for that 1,000th post for gatzkART!


For browsing images try the Dynamic View tool on the right hand side column to see my many images in Google's blogger views.

Comments and shares are welcome.

"Dilapidated Shed" Impressionistic - Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 - Plus

Dilapidated Shed

A Wedding makes this a short post day! I am, of course, taking my camera. This is a rework of one of my favorite photographs. It was taken by a family member who will not be named but remembered.

I browsed in Picasa 3.9 to a folder containing some tiff files and this photograph was in there. I opened with Corel PhotoPaint and converted to a JPG file for use in Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4. After saving that I reopened with Essentials and applied the Impressionistic feature of auto paint with two differing sized of brushstrokes, both Swirly and set at Random with Rough canvas.

I stopped the auto paint when my eye was satisfied. I saved the file opened PhotoPaint and added my signature in green. Saving that iteration I opened with Corel PSP Pro X3 and added the ornate frame. I saved again and then resized for display.

This is all the time I have today!

"Alaskan Sunset" Impressionistic - Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 - Plus

Alaskan Sunset Impressionistic

Simple post from my laptop today. I opened from Picasa 3.9 this sunset and applied the HDR effect for color enhancement. Then I selected this photograph of an Alaskan Sunset and applied Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 Impressionist style with no changes to the setting. I deepened the colors using the Tone Curve in Corel PhotoPaint and added a watermark signature. Saving the large file I then resampled for display here.

Listening --- Peace and Quiet

"Impressionistic Butterfly with Foliage" Corel Painter 11 - Plus

Impressionistic Butterfly with Foliage

Today I selected another photographic reference from the Painter Talk Forum. I opened from Picasa 3.9 the "Butterfly with Foliage," with Corel Painter 11. I made a Quick Clone then I chose the Artist, Auto Van Gogh with the brushstroke set at 37.5. I then auto painted it with Effects, Auto Van Gogh.

I saved the large iteration and closed Painter 11. From Picasa I opened with Corel PSP Pro X3. There I applied Hue and Saturation Vibrancy at 33.

I then selected the Image, Picture Frame and applied a loose edged frame. After which I applied my signature with the Visible Watermark selection. I went back to Picture Frame and added the gold frame. I adjusted the color depth with Curves. I saved the large file again. Then resized for display saving that iteration.

Listening --- Emerson, Lake and Palmer --- From the Beginning

"Guitar Player 3" Digital Collage - Corel PhotoPaint - Plus

Guitar Player 3

As with other backgrounds I have used lately I started with a colorful Mayang's Texture. I opened with Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 and again applied the Impressionistic auto paint.

I saved this large file and opened Picasa 3.9. I searched for another Guitar Player image I could scan in and found one. I opened Corel PhotoPaint and scanned it in. Using Little Ink Pot's Thredgeholder I made it like a Ink Sketch halftone. I copied to the clipboard and pasted, erasing unwanted background from it.

I enlarged the Guitar Player to almost fill the image. In Picasa 3.9 I found a circle of multiple guitars and added it with copy and paste. I used the property Subtract for transparency. I also scanned in a grid of a chord progression and turned it on its side for the length of the image. I used the property Multiply for transparency.

I took one of my Jim Dunlop guitar picks and scanned it in and pasted the image onto the piece. I used the property Invert and erased around the pick. I added my signature and saved the large iteration. I added a Desert Blue 40 pixel border, saved again then resampled for display.

Listening --- Kirk Mathew Gatzka - I Love You So Much

"Verse and Chorus" Digital Collage Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 - Plus

Verse and Chorus

For this image I began in Picasa 3.9 browsing my folders and found a watercolor paper for a background. I opened with Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4. Using Impressionistic auto painting I chose a watercolor brush set at fade in/fade out and random brushstrokes, full canvas. I auto painted the background. I resized the image to a display size, as it started out as a small file size, and saved the file.

From Picasa I opened with Corel PhotoPaint. I browsed in Picasa for a guitar image and ended using a Dean 12-string image. I copied and pasted onto the background and erased the white portions surrounding the guitar. I used Object, Feather set at 10 to soften the edges.

Again in Picasa I found a photograph of a young lady playing the guitar. I copied it to the clipboard and opened with New from Clipboard. Now I used the Eraser again to get rid of details I did not want. I then applied Little Ink Pot's Thredgeholder filter to the end result to create a ink like effect.

I resized that image and pasted it onto the background above the guitar, using the property Multiply I made it transparent. I fitted the gal guitar player to the guitar. I merged all the pieces I had thus far.

I next chose Effects, KPT Collection's Lens flare and added two lens flares to the image. I used Notepad to search for a snippet of guitar chords for Verse and Chorus and cut and pasted them into the piece. I applied the Effect, Distort, Wet Paint to the lettering and merged with the background layer.

I added my signature and saved that iteration for display.

Listening --- Fleetwood Mac --- Crystal

"Three Irises" Digital Impressionism - Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 - Plus

Three Irises

I selected another older photograph of "Three Irises," rather close up and cropped for today's image. I browsed my external hard drive and found this photograph already cropped to focus on the 3 flowers.

I opened with Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 and selected Impressionistic auto paint and kept the default settings; Full image, Impressionistic colors, Basic paper, and Impressionistic Brush.

I saved at 100%, highest quality jpg format. I then opened with Corel PSP Pro X3. There I applied Hue and Saturation, Vibrancy to give the colors more punch.

I added my signature using the Visible Watermark, Lower-right corner. And then added the Golden frame with Image, Picture Frames. I saved that iteration.

I did not resize because of the cropping done to the photograph, plus the frame, was almost 1000 pixels square, just slightly more. So the image was large enough, yet small enough to display here.

I'm still investigating those discovered Postage Stamps, some of which I shared yesterday. I really need to spend some time sorting them as they are not all in an album. There are a few duplicates as well and differing countries, too. Like putting together a puzzle, this is going to take some time.