"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

"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.

"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."

"How to: Vintage Rusted Truck In The Forest" PE5 Plus

Vintage Rusted Truck In The Forest

Another great photograph of a "Vintage Rusted Truck In The Forest." I like these honorable old vehicles that have seen better days of service. Here we see that it was labeled a "Resort Beach," service truck.

I opened it in Corel Painter Essentials 5 (PE5) and used the Effects: Equalize then upped the Saturation Uniform Color to 71%. I saved the large file. Next, I used that image to digitally paint. I chose a Pastel Drawing set for this. I selected a Chalk, Pastel and Crayons Brush the Scratchy Jitter Smooth Brush. After the digital painting I used the Soft Cloner Brush to add back in some details of Rust, and color to the Forest. I saved this iteration.

Opening in Paint.NET, I applied the Effects, Artistic, Ink Sketch lightly. I added my signature layer and merged down the layers, saving with a new name.

In Corel PhotoPaint, I adjusted the Saturation to 23 and used the Tone Curves to add depth. I quickly used Picasa 3+  and applied the Warmify filter to the full-color image. Saving that I used PhotoPaint to resample for display an Optimized JPG, 150dpi, 1220 X 810 pixels, Anti-aliased, Maintaining the aspect Ratio.

I have been using the free program Grammarly while I type my workflow. It is very helpful in Blogger to make corrections on the fly to my descriptions of each step I take to create an image. You can even Ignore a recommendation if it does not fit your narrative style. I recommend it.

"You Won't Get Away With That With Me!" PE5 Plus

You Won't Get Away With That With Me!

I grabbed some very nice photographs from UnSplash recently, free to edit and modify. I had some time on the computer enjoying working on this post. I have done many Older Men images. So I thought, when I saw this photograph with so much personality I had to work with it. A classic Older Woman with Glasses and a Bright Hat.

I opened the photograph in Corel Painter Essentials 5 (PE5.) I began by applying the Effects: Equalize to increase color, then added the Woodcut effect. I minimized the heaviness of the woodcut for a better image. I saved that and used the resulting image to digitally paint. I selected the Watercolor Sketch, admittedly one of my favorites. But instead of using a watercolor brush I chose a Photo Painting Brush: Bristle Oils Cloner Brush.

This gave me a wonderous image. I next used the Soft Cloner Brush to brush back in by hand, some details. Clearer Eyes, eyebrows, glasses and her fantastic wrinkles. I saved that large iteration at 72dpi.

Now I went into Paint.NET and added my signature layer and merged it down. I used the Curves to add some more depth to the colors. I also Upped the Saturation of the colors set at 110. I saved again this time at 150dpi.

I used Corel PhotoPaint to resample for display. I selected an Optimized JPG at 150dpi, 1220 X 915, Anti-aliased, and Maintained the Aspect ratio. My compression was set to 75 and the smoothing to 25, I saved the display image with a new name.

I have been enjoying working on my art on my Tablet. I use a Samsung Galaxy Tab S 8.4 tablet. I like the PicsArt App and the Autodesk Sketchbook App for creating art for blogging, Facebook, Google+ and, Twitter. Still learning to use the tablet for artwork, but having a great time doing it.

I have been jamming with my Martin DRS1 6-String Acoustic Electric Guitar. I found some great Jamming Backtracks on YouTube through QuistTV called QuistJam. First class jamming backtracks, I did subscribe to their feed. I am not a lead player yet, but I am working on learning scales like the Pentatonic Scales and others by ear. By myself and headsets I don't disturb too many in the neighborhood. I really enjoy the A minor tracks a lot, as I can fit the Pentatonics in and practice the scales, and try Improvising around the backing. Now to get an amplifier for some real action!

"Homage to Van Gogh - Sun Flower" PE5 Plus

Homage to Van Gogh - Sun Flower

Among my favorites of Van Gogh's work are his Sun Flower paintings. I found this photograph online (free to edit.) I thought of him right away. I wanted to do a representation of his style.

I opened the photograph in Corel Painter Essentials 5 (PE5.) I selected the Watercolor Sketch set, choosing the Artists Brushes - Van Gogh, I digitally painted the image. I switched to the Colored Pencil Drawing set and used the same Van Gogh brush, painted some more.

I next used the Apply Surface Texture Effect, using Original Luminance for the texture. I saved the large file.

Next I opened the file in Paint.NET and applied some Adjustments: Curves to add depth; Saturation set at 110 for the punchy colors. I added my signature file as a layer, sized and placed it, using the property multiply I then merged the layers. I saved that iteration.

Though Picasa is not going to be supported with upgrades by Google, I still use it. I opened it and added the Museum Matte to frame the piece. Saving again I used Corel PhotoPaint to Resample the file for display. I used 72dpi, 818 X 1200 Pixels, Optimized, anti-alias, maintained aspect ratio, and saved the display file.

Musically I am working on a new song and I am testing out a Martin DRS1 Sapele guitar to get. My family is going to get it for a wedding anniversary present if I like it. So far I am enjoying playing a 6-String Martin Guitar. I seriously like this Acoustic Electric. I think it will be a great addition to my song writing and improvised lead playing.

"FREE Downloads of CDBaby songs - Originals!" CDBaby - CorelDRAW

The Tally has been done. I had to disqualify one song as it was released in February 2016 and had many first time hits. So out of the remaining eleven songs the WINNER is "Something Amazing!" This will now show as it's price $0.00 for a Free Download.

As I reviewed the ALL TIME hits for all the tunes I saw that the song with the most overall Hits was "Open Secret!" AS A BONUS I MADE THIS SONG FREE TO DOWNLOAD AS WELL!

Two of my songs for FREE! "Open Secret," is at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/kirkmathewgatzka Visit the link and Select this BONUS song!

The winning song "Something Amazing," is to be found here: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/kirkmathewgatzka9 Select this for the Winner!

Both songs are available now at CDBaby for a FREE DOWNLOAD!

Thanks to all who participated and I hope you enjoy all my Music!

You will need to set up an Account with CDBaby to download the free songs. Put them in your Cart and Download for $0.00!

"Steps to This: Path To The River" PE5

Path To The River

Back to a Pathways image for today! I selected a Stone and Brick Pathway photograph to work on. I opened in Picasa 3+ and applied the HDR effect, Radius at 50% and Strength was Medium. I saved that file. My next step was to open this file in Corel Painter Essentials 5 (PE5).

I picked the Impression Painting set with the Acrylics, Oils Fine Camel Brush to digitally paint. I added back in some slight details with the Soft Cloner Photo Brush. The Impressionist palette really makes this image stand out. I saved this piece.

Corel PhotoPaint allowed me to apply the Tone Curve adding a slight depth to the colors. I applied Saturation set to 10. Added my signature layer and merged the layers saving the large file.

I used the Filter Forge Frames for a Film Frame on the image. I saved the large file again. I next Resampled the image for display. Set at 72dpi 768 X 1024 pixels, Anti-alias and Maintain the Aspect Ratio I saved to an Optimized JPG Compression at 75, Smoothing at 25 for display size.

A piece of advice for all who work on Digital Visual Artwork. Save your working file frequently! It saves a lot of grief if the program freezes or your computer acts up and you lose some of your steps already taken. If you like to save to the working programs native file format for recovery if the worst happens.

"How This was Done - A Snowed in Cabin" PE5 Plus

A Snowed in Cabin

Even though we have had a mild Winter here in Michigan, we have a considerable bit of Snow coming our way this week. Thus, my selection for an image today. "A Snowed in Cabin," taken from a photograph from Morguefile. I opened in Corel Painter Essentials 5 (PE5).
 
I went to the Effects first. I Sharpened the image, adjusted the colors with the Original Luminance Saturation set to 72%. I saved the large file. In PE5, I clicked on Use Open Image to select the file for Digitally Painting.

I chose a Pastel Drawing set, Chalk, Pastels, Crayons Square Hard Pastel Brush to paint with. Next I hand painted back in some details: Trees, Windows, Log Ends. I used the Soft Cloner Photo Painting Brush. I saved this iteration.

I used Picasa3+ and applied the Museum Matte to frame the image, saving again. Then opening in Corel PhotoPaint, I created a Black 2016 Signature file and saved that with a white background. I copied that to the clipboard and pasted it as a layer into the open "Cabin," image. I merged the layers and saved once more.

I Resampled for display at 72dpi, 1220 X 938 pixels, Anti-alias and Maintained Aspect Ratio. I saved the new file with a different name at 75 Compression, and 25 Smoothing, as a JPG file.

If you enjoy my Digital Visual Artworks Comment, Plus, Like, Tweet your appreciation! All responses will be deeply appreciated! Do so now!

Do you Enjoy Indie Music? Look below to play some of my Original Songs while you view the Artwork.

"How I Did This: Clouds Over Road" PE5 Plus

Clouds Over Road

Selecting an enjoyable Cloud Strew Sky with Road and Fields photograph I opened in Corel Painter Essentials 5 (PE5). I first of all applied some Effects, Sharpened High, Adjusted Color with the Image Luminance - Saturation set to 72%. I saved the file with a new name.

Still in PE5, I chose the Watercolor Sketch set. I decided to use a Digital Watercolor Brush the Coarse Water Brush. After Digitally Painting the image I added back in, with the Soft Cloner Brush, trees, house, details.

Next I Applied a Surface Texture of a Rough Handmade Paper. I used Light controls, selecting Naples Light Yellow as my light, with Simple Lighting Checked. I saved the large piece with a new name.

In Corel PhotoPaint, I added my signature layer, merging it, and added some color depth with the Tone Curve tool. I saved the large file and Resampled the file for display. I set the file for 72dpi, 1220 X 818 pixels, Anti-alias and Maintained the Aspect Ratio, saving with these settings and a new name.

I used 75 Compression, 25 Smoothing, with Optimizing the image upon saving.

Artist's Page Link: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/KirkMathewGatzka

I need you to visit my CD Baby Artist Page, Listen to each of Twelve Tunes in whole (Free Full Previews) and PICK YOUR FAVORITE!

Comment on this below and the Song I will select will be from the total of what ones you VOTED for! That is correct Listen for Free, Vote on your favorite and the one with the most votes will be set as a Free Download $0.00 cost.

This song will be available after February 2016 to allow time for you to select and post (in the Comments) the one you vote for as your Favorite.

If I don't get votes needed to select the song I will examine the TOTAL song plays on CDBaby for each song and select the MOST PLAYED SONG  to make the FREE Downloadable Song. 

Please vote by your listening or by DMing me on Twitter, vote on Facebook or right here. The voting will end on February 29, 2016. Listen for Free and pick YOUR FAVORITE for a $0.00 cost download on CDBaby.com
 

"Red and Black Wood Hauling Vintage Truck" PE5 Plus

Red and Black Wood Hauling Vintage Truck

A little something different today. A "Red and Black Wood Hauling Vintage Truck," is the subject matter. I opened the photograph in Painter Essentials 5 (PE5). There I applied the Equalize tool, Sharpened the photograph and, Brightened it a bit.

Next I saved the file and used the image for Digital Painting. I did a Detailed Watercolor with the Soft Cloner Photo Brush. I next added more color and depth with the Illustration settings, a Digital Wash Brush. I added some line work with the Colored Pencil Drawing set, a Dry Ink Brush. I saved that iteration.

Opening in Paint.NET, I adjusted the Curves to add depth. Also, I adjusted the Saturation at 110. I added my Signature layer and sized and placed that with the property Additive. Merging layers I saved again.

I used Picasa 3+ to Warmify the colors and saved again. I next opened the piece in PhotoPaint. Here I resampled the file to 72dpi, 1220 X 813 pixels, Anti-alias and Maintained the aspect ratio. Before saving the display size image, I applied the Local Equalization tool, used the Tone Curve for added depth set at RGB. I saved the display file with a new name.

I am still learning about using Debian 8 Linux OS on my little Dell 1100 Inspiron laptop. I have tried to attach my Wacom Tablet to it and it worked immediately. I did an eyes and nose sketch with the touchpad and I then used the Tablet and Stylus to draw a full face. I also connected USB to an Epson Printer Stylus Photo 1280 I am trying to fix.

The printer was recognized and it attempted to print, which is the problem as it has not been printing. Blank pages came out. I think the print head is shot. Still playing with the printer to see what cleaning solution will do for it.

Overall my experience with Debian has been good. The laptop is slow to respond, with only 256MB RAM. But it is fun to learn any new computing tricks.

"How To: Dead Branch and Abandoned House" PE5 Plus

Dead Branch and Abandoned House

Pretty much done with my Pathways Series, I perused Morguefile for some interesting photographs. This particular one caught my eye. "Dead Branch and Abandoned House," looked very intriguing. I downloaded it giving it a new name for my file searches. I created a New Folder for more of my new works, including this one.

I opened the large file in Painter Essentials 5 (PE5) and first I applied the Effects, Equalize to lighten some of the colorings, knowing that I would add depth later. I saved that iteration. I selected Use Open Image to select it for painting. My Choice was the Watercolor Sketch (one of my favorites in PE5.)

I went to the Photo Painting Brushes and selected the New Simple Water Brush, and auto painted the image. I then selected the Soft Cloner Photo Painting Brush to add back in some of the Dead Branch Details. I saved the large file again with a new name.

I used Corel PhotoPaint for a few adjustments. I applied the Image, Tone Curve lightening the depth of color. I opened my signature file copied it to the clipboard and layered it onto the main painting. I sized and placed the signature using the property Add for transparency. I saved the large file once again.

I used Resample to make the piece ready for display. 72dpi, 1220 X 813 pixels with Anti-alias and Maintain Aspect Ratio to keep the picture clear.

I decided to punch up the colors and add a frame like look to the piece. I selected the plugin Filter Forges Photo Effects. Here I used the Lomo effect lightly to add some interest to the final display image. This darkened the colors and added a vignette to the image.

"How Did This Happen? My Adventure with Linux - Stone Pathway" PE5

Stone Pathway

UPDATE: I have been able to get Debian 8 LXDE to work on my Dell 1100! I still have some screen issues with funny lines and some missing words on login, but it is working. Added Audacity for recording and it works with a condenser microphone I have. Having fun with Linux issues!

I recently was given a Dell Inspiron 1100 Laptop with only 256MB of RAM and a 20Gig HDD and a CD Reader. Have you ever tried to install a form of Linux on a computer with so little RAM and no DVD-RW? My experience shows it is very difficult! I tried a number of flavors of Linux: Puppy; Lubunto Mini; Debian; and a 45MB version with a forgettable name.

Hours and hours later after Debian gave me a Login Screen. I logged in - OOPS! Something went wrong - White Screened! Not enough RAM I'm certain. Puppy Slackware version - no lettering on window Icons. Did not know what to pick for what, but I had a nice bunch of Icons on the desktop. Lubuntu Mini same story, Icons but with lettering, but CRASH! Not enough RAM! The 45MB version was a command line screen, not GUI, stuck without enough Linux knowledge for that! It Ran, though.

Days later I have now let the project sit for a time, frustrated, I need more RAM and I have a tight budget for toying around with an old laptop. Fun but time consuming and I have neglected my blog!

I decided to continue with my Pathways Series of Images. I selected this "Stone Pathway," which appears to be in a Park. Opening it in Painter Essentials 5 (PE5) I applied the Effects Adjust Color choosing Image Luminance to enhance the colors. Then I used the Equalize tool to add depth to the colors and saved the image.

I selected the saved image to auto paint. I chose the Pastel Drawing, Photo Painting Brushes, Chalk Cloner and Digitally painted the image. Picking the Soft Cloner Brush, I added back in some of the details of the photograph. I saved this image.

I opened it in Picasa 3+ and used the HDR tool with the Radius set low and the Strength Medium-low, and the Fade at 0. I then went and applied the Museum Matte for Framing the image. I saved again.

Next in Corel PhotoPaint, I added my signature layer and merged them. Applied the Tone Curve for more Depth of color. I saved again. I resampled the image at 72dpi 1200 X 823 pixels and set Compression at 75 and Smoothing at 25. I saved with another name for the display JPG file.

This took me a few hours to accomplish, but I am glad to be making Digital Visual Artwork again! I will look into used RAM on sale for that Laptop and see if I can make it work. Someone with a little knowledge of Linux would probably like to own it. If I can just get it working!

"FREE Download of One Of My CD Baby Songs - Help Choose Which One!"

FREE DOWNLOAD VOTE!

I now have Twelve Songs on CD Baby for your listening with Full Previews. I am asking my readers to select your favorite song. The Song with the most votes will be set for a FREE CD Baby Download. That's right FREE!

Artist's Page Link: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/KirkMathewGatzka

I need you to visit my CD Baby Artist Page, Listen to each of Twelve Tunes in whole or part (Free Full Previews) and PICK YOUR FAVORITE!

Comment on this below and the Song I will select will be from the total of what ones you VOTED for! That is correct Listen for Free, Vote on your favorite and the one with the most votes will be set as a Free Download $0.00 cost.

This song will be available after February 2016 to allow time for you to select and post (in the Comments) the one you vote for as your Favorite.

Artist's Page Link: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/KirkMathewGatzka

I will total up the votes and set the price to $0.00 for a Free Download for the most Popular Song!

So, go to the link of my Artist Page at CD Baby, Listen, Select Your Favorite Song, Then tell me in a Comment below on the blog, or a Direct Message on Twitter or Facebook (or a vote on Google+.) The Song that gets the most votes will win. 

Rules: You can vote as many times as you want for your Favorite Song! You can only use one email address to vote.

gatzkART! The blog will announce the winning Song and it's availability on CD Baby, with a Link to the Song.

Follow this link to my Artist's Page on CD Baby. (Note: You may share this with others you feel may be interested in a FREE Download of Music!)

Artist's Page Link: http://www.cdbaby.com/Artist/KirkMathewGatzka

Here is the thing, if there is not enough participation for choosing which Song will be FREE, I will select one and set it's price to $0.00 on CD Baby. So a FREE Download for one of my Twelve Songs will still be announced on gatzkART! Blog, Twitter, Facebook and Google+! It's a Win-Win situation!

Listen for FREE, Choose YOUR Favorite, Get the most Popular Download on CD Baby!

ACT NOW! Listen, Vote, Get FREE Music! It's that simple!

"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 I Did This: Pathways Digital Watercolors" PE5 Plus

Pathways Digital Watercolors

Continuing with my Series of Pathway images I used this photograph of a Forest Pathway and applied Digital workings to it. I have not heard any comments about my Videos so I am going to use narrative discussions for the time being until I receive more feedback from you the viewer/reader of this blog.

I opened the color photograph in Corel PhotoPaint. Here I decided to start with a Grayscale image. I went to Color Mode and altered the photograph to grayscale. I then added back to the image RGB 24-bit color format. It remained grayscale, but now I could paint it in RGB colors. I saved the larger iteration.

Next step was to open the image in Painter Essentials 5 and Digitally Paint it. I selected the Watercolor Sketch set, with a small Digital Watercolor brush and auto-painted the image. I took that and saved it.

I then Hand Painted the image, with my Wacom Stylus and Tablet, using Digital Watercolor Brushes, I selected various brushes including a Broad Water brush. I selected to choose from the basic color palette multiple greens and browns to paint by hand. This gave a variety of depth to the piece. After I was done hand painting I saved the file with another name.

I had Picasa 3+ open and I went to Increase the Saturation tool and did just that, adding some punch to the hand painted image. I also selected the tool Warmify and applied that at a low setting. I saved again.

Back in PhotoPaint, I layered my signature with the property Add for transparency. I merged and saved again. I had found that I had older Filter Forge Filters to add to my PhotoPaint Plugins, so I did that using the Troubleshoot Compatibility on the setup files in Windows 10.

I applied Filter Forges Photo Effects Vibrance, more depth of color, and the Frames effects giving it a Film Frame. At that I looked at the image set to view large on my screen and was satisfied with the results. I saved the large file, then Resampled it to a 72dpi display size for this post. I used 75 compression, and 25 smoothing as I saved the display file.