"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
 

Kirk Mathew Gatzka | Search for It | CD Baby Music Store

New Song on CDBaby for Full Preview and For Sale. Have a listen and comment or review the song, here or on CDBaby!

http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/kirkmathewgatzka11

‪#‎CDBaby‬ ‪#‎indiemusic‬ ‪#‎previews‬

Kirk Mathew Gatzka | Search for It | CD Baby Music Store

"New Song: 'Art for Arts Sake' now available on CDBaby"

http://cdbaby.com/cd/kirkmathewgatzka5

CDBaby MP3 For Sale

I have a series of songs coming up in March. Each one as a single, that you can listen to the full song before considering buying. As for today, I just added the newest song here and on Facebook. You will find "Art for Arts Sake," to be an upbeat tune, just vocals and my 12-String. I call my genre Alternative Folk/Rock. Click and have a listen!

As always hope you like what you hear! Thank you for your looking into my Music as a Singer-Songwriter!

Kirk Mathew Gatzka | The Roof Instrumental | CD Baby Music Store

Kirk Mathew Gatzka | The Roof Instrumental | CD Baby Music Store

A melodic Instrumental in the Alternate Tuning DADGAD. Mellow and smooth for Easy Listening, it starts out slowly and builds to a climax ending. All tracks written, played and mixed by myself. Have a listen.

Kirk Mathew Gatzka | Hook Line & Sinker | CD Baby Music Store

Kirk Mathew Gatzka | Hook Line & Sinker | CD Baby Music Store

Go to CDBaby and listen to the full song now, instead of a clip. 

This song was actually inspired by a singer/songwriter discussion about "hooks" in our songs. How we use them and if we do or don't. It readily came to my mind as I sat and wrote it. The later part of the song says, "you set the hook," just like fishing for trout or bass. 

Kirk Mathew Gatzka | Open Secret | CD Baby Music Store

Kirk Mathew Gatzka | Open Secret | CD Baby Music Store

"Free Download of 'Play This Game' on SoundCloud

Free Download of "Play This Game," a song about people who are game players and self-centered. The singer refuses to play along with their "Games." Listen and go to the SoundCloud to download for free! This is an original song written and recorded by myself. Too many Bosses and not enough Workers! So, do you want to continue to play their games? I would guess No!

https://soundcloud.com/gatzka-music/play-this-game-2-noise

"Now On Sale At CDBaby = Open Secret" - CDBaby

See shopping cart to your right ->

I've finally done it I have placed one of my Original Songs up for sale on CDBaby.com! Please see the shopping cart on the right hand side of this post.

I am quite excited to offer this song for sale. It is an intimate tune for those that are in a relationship without any secrets. It was once said that this song "has a honest quality to it." It isn't easy to be this open in any relationship, but communication is one of the most important parts of one.

Please consider buying this song. I am very proud to offer it as my First Single on CDBaby!

I thought that you might want to read the lyrics:

Open Secret ©2014 Kirk Mathew Gatzka

It's an open secret

It's a big idea

Nobody knows it better

Than you

It's an open secret

That I'm trying to endure

Nobody knows it better

Than you

Time to see clearly

When I'm being obscure

That you can freely

Read me

Something's are well known

Everything is not

But what's to disown

When nothin' is what you got

I've got to grow up

Time to take on what's tough

Even though I know it's rough

I think I've had enough

    

It's an open secret

It's a big idea

Nobody knows it better

Than you

It's an open secret

That I'm trying to endure

Nobody knows it better

Than you

  

It's an open secret

It's an open secret

It's an open secret

It's an open secret

It's an open secret

Thank you to all who have listened to it on SoundCloud, Now you can own your own copy! Click on the Cart to purchase at $0.99! Visit my CDBaby page Here

"Lil' Miss Lillian Decides" Video - Logitech - Audio - Line 6 Toneport UX1

This song was inspired by a Black and White Photograph of my wife as a child on a Carousel. Probably circa early 1950's, she was riding by herself, but I include in the song that, "I'm alongside, of you." "Lil' Miss Lillian Decides," is ©2010 Kirk Mathew Gatzka, All Rights Reserved.

"Guitar Harp Player"

"Grunge Guitar Trio" Corel PhotoPaint

Grunge Guitar Trio

Getting some advice on the song "Playing In A Vacuum," to highlight another verse, and drop one chorus. Perhaps a change in the Key as well, then back to the original Key.

With the song in mind I worked on a Digital Collage today. It has a grunge background and a trio of guitars. I added a snippet of the song's chords and lyrics using a Typewriter font. In keeping with the grunge theme I added wet paint drippings to the words and some paint splatters.

On the three guitars I applied Little Ink Pot's Thredgeholder for a rough sketch look and feel. I deliberately kept a balanced composition. I did apply the Tone Curve to the cracked concrete background to enhance the color depth.

I did all this in Corel PhotoPaint with Picasa 3.9 for browsing to the folders where I had the images of the background, and guitars.

Listening --- Bob Seger --- Night Moves

Irish Music - Vector Graphics - French Taste - PhotoPaint

This digital collage image began with a crop of one of Mayang's Textures in pink and green, in PhotoPaint. I selected individual pieces for ascetic reasons and placed them in the collage.

I chose a piece of Irish Music from Dover Publications sampler, and also French based pictorials from the same. I added a Vector Floral bowl from work I had done previously. I also added a crane that I did in Photoshop 7 when I had that program on a Mac. To add to the musical theme I added a classical guitar and an arch-top electric guitar.

I merged all of them into one layer and applied Filter Forge's Photo Effects Lomo enhancing the color and framing the piece at the same time.

If you look closely you can make out the name of the musical piece, "The Blackbird," which is to be played "with spirit." Easier to see is the word "Champagne," and a French restaurant poster is in the background behind my vector graphic floral.

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Now playing: Bob Welch - Sentimental Lady
via FoxyTunes

My 12-string Seagull Guitar

A simple post today. Here is a representation of my 12-string Seagull Guitar. I applied various filters using Flaming Pear in Painter. I added a grunge frame using Filter Forges Freepack 3.

This image started out as a photograph that I modified some time ago and then added the effects mentioned above. It truly is a beautiful 12-string and I am happy to own one.





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Now playing: Kirk Mathew Gatzka - I'm Counting On You 3 Acoustic
via FoxyTunes

Grunge Guitars - Baby Blue Texture - Paint.NET - PhotoPaint

Digital Collage with a Grunge flavor and Guitar motif is today's image. It is a return to one of my favorite motifs grunge guitars. I took a selection of a large texture file with baby blue paint and gray / white paint from Mayang's Textures. I opened it in PhotoPaint and using it as a background I applied the Tone Curve for depth, leaving the saturation alone for a change.

I opened a dual guitar photograph taken by myself, in Paint.NET. Here I applied the Effects> Artistic> Pencil Sketch filter using a larger pencil point for the sketch.

I copied this to the clipboard and pasted it into the background layer in PhotoPaint, using the object property Color Burn I merged it into the image. I then added a snippet of guitar chords and lyrics from my song "Better Left Unsaid." Also adding some paint splatters and drippings.

Using Filter Forge's Freepack 3 for film frames I first added blue borders and subsequent two film frames to the image.

For easier reading here is the snippet of chords and lyrics I used in today's image:

"Better Left Unsaid"

A Bm C#m D
We're looking on the bright side
A Bm C#m D
Brushing it off the shoulders
A Bm C#m D
Feeling like a million dollars
A Bm C#m D
Are you jealous? Do you smolder?
E E7

Chorus

F#m C#m
I call that inappropriate
F#m C#m
For two many reasons
F#m C#m
Never been a better time
F#m C#m
Link to the past lessons
G E
But some thing's are best left unsaid
G E E7
Rumors get ever widespread.

The song can be heard at my link to My Page at the Acoustic Guitar Community on the right side of the blog. It is listed first on that page in the player on My Page. You are welcome to go and listen to it if you so desire.

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Now playing: Kirk Mathew Gatzka - Better Left Unsaid
via FoxyTunes

Grunge Acoustic Guitars - Paint.NET - PhotoPaint

With a song in my mind I turned to a Guitar collage for today's image. It began with a photograph taken by myself, of two guitars almost straight on. 12-string in front and 6-string in back I positioned them with the fret-boards lined up and supported them on a rocking chair.

Opening the photograph in Paint.NET, I applied the Pencil Sketch to them and adjusted the curves for depth. Saving that I opened one of Mayang's Texture files with rusty rivets for the background in PhotoPaint. In Picasa 3 I located my adjusted photograph of the guitars and copied and pasted them into PhotoPaint.

Once there I made the image fit inside the texture and using the eraser on the guitars object I erased the rocking chair. I pasted them on the left hand side of the riveted center. Using Picasa 3 I located another 12-string guitar image and opened and resized that to paste opposite the dual guitars. I used the object property Multiply on all the guitars so the texture would show through.

Still in PhotoPaint I added some paint splatters using the Distort> Wet Paint> filter on them to get the dripping effect. I adjusted the opacity a bit to allow the background to bleed through.

I then added a chord progression for the key of D and applied the dripping paint effect to them as well. I added a wide black border to the image, then used Filter Forge's Freepack 3 Frames to add a grunge frame and a simple frame. Using the wand I selected the strip of color light brown and masked it applying Texture> Plastic> to it for a 3D effect.

I resampled the image for display on the web.

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Now playing: Kirk Mathew Gatzka - Sweet Laurie
via FoxyTunes

John R and Woodward Ave - Pencil - Watercolor - Painter 8

Downtown Detroit, Michigan at the corner of John R and Woodward Ave in the evening. This photograph was taken by my son Keir M. Gatzka.

I opened the black and white photograph in Paint.NET to apply the Effects> Artistic> Pencil Sketch> filter for a pencil based image.

I then opened the file in Painter 8 and used the same Watercolor runny bleach brush as previous posts, in varying sizes. I selected the colors to show the bright lights in the windows and the darkened buildings.

I saved the large file and reopened in PhotoPaint to resize and adjust the Tone Curves to darken and deepen the shadows. These buildings are not decaying but are used everyday Downtown.

Last night I played the 12-string plugged into my Toneport and using the Gearbox software applied a Clean Guitar tone called "Like Heaven" to the following chord progression:

E F#m A C#m repeat 4

C#m F#m repeat 3

A7 on 5th and 6th frets
D E hold

E F#m A C#m repeat 4

C#m F#m repeat 3

A7 on 5th and 6th frets
D E hold

I recorded it in Audacity and added a bass like lead to the tune, making an instrumental. I added a third track using the Gearbox setting for Arch-top Guitar with the bass turned up as a second rhythm.

Listening --- Triad Emaj --- Kirk Mathew Gatzka

Painter 8 - Watercolor Portrait

I found this watercolor portrait in my files yesterday. It's my Daughter and Son n Law sometime after their wedding, before they become new parents. They are younger here, which I can attest to being the parent.

I painted this with Painter 8's watercolor brushes. First I had used Painter's Sketch filter to give me a line image to work on. I selected a number of different brushes for this piece.

Using PhotoPaint I also applied Filter Forges Freepack - Frames for the watercolor look to the framing, added a 10pixel dark frame for viewing the larger image in your browser.

Yesterday I go out my 12-string Guitar and plugged it into my Toneport UX1 and suing the Gearbox software I looked up some chord progressions. I used a chord progression of A Bm C#m D E F#m G for some practice. I opened Audacity and began recording.

As with many incidents of recording I exported my tracks to an MP3 and listened to it in Windows Media Player. I kid you not it sounded horrible! I couldn't believe what started out to be a nice tune ended up so wrong! So I deleted it from my library and hard drive.

It may sound harsh but I still have the chord progression to play around with and I may create a more palatable song from it someday. But this one was not good at all. Sometimes that just happens!

Listening to - Blues Run One - by Kirk Mathew Gatzka

Seeking Guitars - Fractal Imagery

I found a medium sized fractal collage I had done in Apophysis quite a while ago and immediately coupled it with a crop close up of my two guitars. I combined them in PhotoPaint. The resulting image was very dark so I used Tone Curves and Brightness / Contrast / Intensity to adjust the visibility of the piece.

I added a chord progression and some lyrics from JJ Cale's "After Midnight." I want to give proper credit to Mr. Cale and his well known song. It was very popular with Eric Clapton's version.

I have posted recently that I did a cover version myself of that song using my 12-string guitar. I had a backbeat from Line 6's forum of Acid format wave file that I used as well. It does not sound like the original nor the version on Clapton's Crossroads DVD, done by JJ Cale with a medium beat and Eric Clapton playing some bars.

This image may place my roots in the late 60's psychedelia, but I don't mind being dated at all. Visually using fractals can make one's work up to date in that fractals are computer generated and usually fascinating in their scope. I have enjoyed making fractals since I first began computing years ago, and find them full of depth and interest.

Coupling my interest in music with fractals is not new for me, but has been a recurrent theme for me.

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Listening to: Amadou and Mariam - Beaux Dimanches
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1954 Kaiser-Darrin Convertible

Another car with a flare is the 1954 Kaiser-Darrin. Here is a represen-
tation created from a photograph by Kent M. Gatzka at the Frankenmuth, Michigan Auto Festival 2009.

A two seater, white convertible with a red soft top, this is one interesting vehicle. For more history about the Kaiser-Darrin click here on Conceptcars.com.

I created this image using Paint.NET and PhotoPaint and various filters and maskings. The unique car is show at a pleasing angle that gives the viewer an idea of it's interior and sleek body style.

In the musical area I have completed writing, "The Last Good Cowboy," song I have been working on and now I look forward to recording it. I haven't decided if I will use any lead for the song yet, but that usually comes with experimentation while recording. As I play back the basic song, singing melody, lyrics, and playing the 12-string I try to discover an interesting lead for the song. If I don't discover one I leave it simple with perhaps back up vocals tracks added.

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Now playing on Windows Media Player: Tim McGraw - The Cowboy in Me
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The Solitary Walker

The Solitary Walker is a photograph that was filtered in Paint.NET for an Ink Sketch look and feel. I was thinking it would make a good title for a song. I need to mull over that and see what I can come up with.

The bright colored tree seems to be the subject of the piece, but it is really the single person walking in the autumn color. The focus is not on him but the idea is. He is by himself in the brisk air of fall. Others were with families or friends, in groups of two or more. But he appeared to be by himself, alone.

When I was a younger man I would take long solitary walks. It was one way to deal with pressures of life, and on the other hand it was a real pleasure to do so. No one to talk with just the scenes I was in, walking and thinking. At that time I wasn't into photography as much as I am now. So I don't have any images from those days. But the memories are still fresh and clean.

The Solitary Man
©2009 Kirk Mathew Gatzka

Verse:
The memories are fresh and clean,
The solitary walks alone.
Air was pure and foliage green,
I was alone but also seen.

Verse:
Time stretched on before my sight,
I would walk on into the night.
A solitary young man alone,
Walking, Walking, Walking home.

Chorus:
Just a solitary man on his own,
Walking for pleasure, walking alone.
A solitary man on his own,
Always walking on his way home.

Verse:
Seasons come and seasons go,
Weather changes from hot to cold.
Scenes change slowly as I go by,
Routes may differ as I sigh.

Chorus:
Just a solitary man on his own,
Walking under pressure, walking alone.
A solitary man on his own,
Always walking on his way home.

Bridge:
Thinking thoughts so deep.
Watching the Sun creep,
Across the sky as it goes.
Walking, Walking with no purpose.

Chorus:
Just a solitary man on his own,
Walking for pleasure, walking alone.
A solitary man on his own,
Always walking on his way home.

Something to think about and possibly refine, needs chords and a melody line.

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Now playing on Windows Media Player: Staind - Tangled Up In You
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