"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.

"The Brown Door and Green Scooter" Painter Essentials 5 Plus

The Brown Door and Green Scooter

Looking for additional "Door," photographs I discovered this one on UNsplash. "The Brown Door and Green Scooter," is good subject matter for a Digitally Painted image.

I opened the photograph in Corel Painter Essentials 5 and selected the Illustration set. I chose the Artist Brush, Van Gogh Small, then digitally painted the image. It altered some of the colors but left a brilliant palette.

Many details need some restoration so I selected the Soft Cloner Brush and touched up the Steps. Door, Flower boxes, and the Scooter.

I went to Effects and Apply Image Texture to add some texture to the image. I used the Image Illumination setting and applied that. Look at the larger image by clicking on it for a closer look at the texture and details.

I next used Paint.NET to add my signature layer. I used the property Multiply, and deselected all, then Merged the layer down. I saved the large iteration.

Using Irfranview I opened that and resampled to a display size, saved with a secondary name.

"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.

"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!

"Picasa Collage Van Gogh Style" Corel Painter - Plus

Picasa Collage Van Gogh Style

In Picasa 3.9 I selected two photographs. One was portrait the other was landscape, of the Lyon and Seagull Guitars. I used Picasa's Create Collage Superimpose at 16:9 setting. This gave me a large, almost panoramic image. I saved that iteration.

I opened it with Corel PSP Pro X3 and used the Digital Camera Noise Removal on it then the Smart Photo Fix. I used the Saturation tool for Vibrancy then applied Curves for color depth. I saved that iteration.

I then opened with Corel Painter 11 and did a Quick Clone, used the Auto Van Gogh feature with the brush setting at 32.9. This Auto Painted the image with a Van Gogh look and feel. I saved this large iteration with a differing name.

If you look closely you can see the Music Stand, as well as the overstuffed chair and a corner of a painting on the wall. The lightness of the musical paper on the stand slightly offsets the blanket on the chair's back.

I used Filter Forge's Photo Effects plugin Lomo feature for color changes with in the piece and a frame. Though I had to alter the size of the canvas to do so as I am using the free Filter Forge plugins and they work only on images less than 3,000 pixels. My beginning image was over 5,000 pixels wide. So I resampled in Corel PhotoPaint to a display size prior to using the plugin. I added my signature and saved the display sized image.

961 posts and climbing to 1,000 slowly but surely.

"Red Orchids" Van Gogh Style - Corel Painter 11 - Plus

Red Orchids

Simple post today. This photograph was taken by my son Keir M. Gatzka. From Picasa 3.9 I opened with Corel Painter 11 and made a Quick Clone. I selected the Artist brushes Auto Van Gogh set at 37.8 and increased the Jitter slightly. I applied the auto painting feature.

Saving that file I reopened in Corel PSP Pro X3 and added the painterly frame. I saved that iteration and opened with Corel PhotoPaint. Here I added my signature in white and using Filter Forge's Photo Effects applied Vibrance to the image. I resampled the image to display size and saved again.

Listening --- Kirk Mathew Gatzka --- Come To Terms