"Hoodie Two" Corel Painter

Hoodie Two

I am really busy lately. I did this late last night. Taking the basic steps, I did previously, I Digitally Painted this image. I used similar workflow as the last post I did. Corel Painter 11 is the main program I used, and for resizing for display Corel PSP Pro X3.

I refer you to the previous post of "Hoodie," Mans Portrait, for details. My appologies for such a short post! But I wanted to get this out today. {Click on HOME for the last post prior to this one.}

I have been working on a New Song and doing guitar and writing exercises. Singer-Songwriter, and Digital Artist. Sometimes something suffers while others are completed. Creativity is hard work!

Artists in the Plus "In The Spotlight with Nicole Monroe" Picasa - Corel

In The Spotlight - Nicole Monroe

I missed the live show but caught it on YouTube. This Singer Songwriter can sing and play! I took a Picasa 3.9 full-screen capture and did some editing there.

I cropped the image to fit, and applied Warmify for color. I used the HDR tool with a slight radius and no fade. I then applied the Museum Matte framing to the image and saved it.

From Picasa I opened with Corel PSP Pro X3 applying the Smart Photo Fix and boosted color. I used the Skin Smoothing tool and the Digital Camera Noise Removal tool as well. I added my signature and saved again. I then resized for display and saved that iteration.

If you, too, missed the live show, here is the link to YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIQdQQ3txiw#at=256

I want to apologize for not posting as often, Things have been busy this month! As I am certain it has been for others as well. Thank you for your patience.

"Let's Talk About Music with James Olmos " Picasa 3.9 - Corel - Plus

Singer Songwriter James Olmos

"Let's Talk About Music with +James Olmos " is the theme of today's image. I missed the live show but watched it on YouTube.  As you can see it is a Hangout On the Air on Google+ streamed and recorded  for us who miss the live show. James sang and played many of his own songs with great emotion and skill. He has an EP available on his website and is coming out with a new album this Summer.

I used Picasa 3.9 to crop the image from a screen capture. I then warmed it up with the Color Temperature and Warmify.

I took that and used the HDR tool applying that. I saved the iteration after I added the Museum Matte and altered the color of the mat, adjusting it's width.

Saving that I opened with Corel PhotoPaint and added my inverted signature with the property Add for transparency.

Watch the show and visit James site!

The YouTube show is at this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=I6kwc5oGlWo#!

James site is at this link:

http://jamesolmos.com/fr_home.cfm

Many thanks to our hosts  +George Miller and +Diane Cobb for the great show! 

"Danni Rosner - In The Spotlight - Artists In The Plus" Corel - Plus

I took some screen captures of Artists In The Plus "In The Spotlight with +Danni Rosner ." I opened them in Picasa 3.9. There I cropped each picture and resaved them. I took them into Corel PSP Pro X3 and applied the Digital Camera Noise Removal and Smart Photo Fix saving them again.

Using Picasa I made a short slideshow in WMV format. I converted that with Freemake Video Converter into an FLV file and imported it into Blogger's player. This is my first attempt at a video other than YouTube's formats.

Danni gave a wonderful performance and interview! She is a talented and effective singer songwriter! Here is the Link to +John Voshell +Artists In The Plus "In The Spotlight":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdUxAvulgII&feature=g-user-u

"Vintage Young Girl Playing Violin" Corel PhotoPaint - Dover Clip Art

Vintage Young Girl Playing Violin

I am keeping with a music motif with some Dover Clip Art from my Dover Publications Sampler folder in Picasa 3.9. I selected the "Vintage Young Girl Playing the Violin," and a background of Butterflies in black and green, and some sheet music. I opened them in Corel PhotoPaint and did my cutting, erasing, placing of the Girl on a bed of leaves (also Dover Clip Art) with a Bird accompanying her playing.

I used the Tone Curve to give the Girl and Bird and leaves some depth. I copied and pasted them onto the Butterflies background. On the background I did use Color Replace White to Green for the pleasant coloring. I added the sheet music from the Free Vintage Digital Art folks. which I promptly placed behind the Girl and Bird. I used the property Multiply on the music score.

I did all the work for this Digital Collage in PhotoPaint. I resampled to display size, adding my signature in white (again Inverting the black signature.) I saved the medium size iteration for display.

Musically I have been researching Chordings for Double Drop D Tuning and have found a couple of references with PDF files. Which I downloaded but then lost my page I was on so I can't share the Links.

I may use this tuning for a new song I am working on. The meter of the lyric is very different to what I usually use. So I am going to have to be really creative with the chords and melody and the chorus and verses and bridge. I am excited about it!

Feels great to be thinking and feeling musical again.

"Song and Chords along with Photograph" Corel - Plus

My Wife as a Child on a Carousel

This is the photograph of my Wife that inspired the song "Lil' Miss Lillian Decides."   ©2010 by Kirk Mathew Gatzka.

Here are the Chords and Lyrics, the link is to the song on SoundCloud:

Am   D7
Lil' Miss Lillian decides
Am   D7
Over on the East side
Am   D7
Round and Round, Its been said
Am   D7
Up and down, No one's ahead
Am   D7
The Carousel rides
Am   D7
You are alongside
     G
of me.

G      Em      Am7    D
Light from the stereo
G      Em      Am7    D
Radio in my eyes
G      Em      Am7    D
Tearing up to cry
G      Em      Am7    D
Watching the video
G      Em      Am7    D
Black background lies dark
G      Em      Am7    D
Colors vibrant radiate
G      Em      Am7    D
Music loud plays its part
G      Em      Am7    D
Like it did in the Park

Am   D7
Lil' Miss Lillian decides
Am   D7
Over on the East side
Am   D7
Round and Round, Its been said
Am   D7
Up and down, No one's ahead
Am   D7
The Carousel rides
Am   D7
You are alongside
     G
of me.

G      Em      Am7    D
Storms from television
G      Em      Am7    D
Lightning for the lost
G      Em      Am7    D
Thunder, loss of vision
G      Em      Am7    D
Who cares what it costs
G      Em      Am7    D
Blazing seconds bright
G      Em      Am7    D
To return to black and blue
G      Em      Am7    D
When it is going to?
G      Em      Am7    D
Where is it? There's no clue.

Am   D7
Lil' Miss Lillian decides
Am   D7
Over on the East side
Am   D7
Round and Round, Its been said
Am   D7
Up and down, No one's ahead
Am   D7
The Carousel rides
Am   D7
You are alongside
     G
of me.
G      Em      Am7    D repeat end on G

I used Corel PSP Pro X3 for this rendition of the photograph. I applied the Infrared tool and then the Time Machine Daguerreotype tool. I did not know my Wife at this time we met in 1970 and have been together through many difficult times, but our relationship has survived! I have a photograph of us on the About Page from the 70's if you want to take a look.

Have a listen to the song and enjoy the image.

"Review 'Merry Go Round' by Shani"

"Merry Go Round"

I had the privilege of creating an image of Singer Songwriter +Shani S  and as a result I won a signed copy of her new Album. I have spent time listening to it today closer than my first pass. The image you see is of the cover of the album, I did not create it. Credits are on the Album cover inside and out.

Entitled "Merry Go Round," it is alternative pop with great emotion and strong songs. She has a delightful singing voice and the mix is fabulous. One of my favorites is the song "I Am," and I really like the bluesy intro to the title song "Merry Go Round," my second favorite. A bit of RnB piano in it and a pleasant blues guitar riff that relaxes you and then she sings again about it being "bolted to the ground." Fantastic!

I don't regularly review albums so you'll have to excuse my few words and if I am inaccurate in the terminology. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire album. It is soft, tender, hard hitting and emotionally charged with fine lyrics and wonderful backup musicians along with great Artwork.

Her website is at:  http://shanirose.com/

"Singer Songwriter Max Lugavere" Corel PhotoPaint - Plus

Singer Songwriter Max Lugavere

I watched the "Concerts in the Plus," last night with Max Lugavere and Paul Platt being featured. A great show with fine singer songwriter music! Artists in the Plus hosted this concert on a Google+ Hangout and streamed to YouTube. I caught the show on YouTube.

I did a screen capture and opened with Corel PhotoPaint to crop and save it. From Picasa 3.9 I opened in Corel PSP Pro X3 and resized it, used the Smart Photo Fix and Saturation Vibrancy for punch to the color.

Saving that iteration I opened in PhotoPaint and applied the Local Equalization tool then used the Tone Curve to add depth to the image. I also used the Tune Blur to smooth out some rough spots.

I used the Soft Clone brush to clone out some unwanted artifacts. I saved again and reopened in PSP Pro X3. Here I added the Polaroid frame and black border to finish the image.

993rd Post to gatzkART! closing in on my goal of 1,000 posts. I had hoped to do that this month but I may end up reaching it in November 2012.

"Singer Songwriter Deni Gauthier" Corel PSP Pro X3 - Plus

Singer Songwriter Deni Gauthier

Yet another Artists in the Plus "In the Spotlight" Interview and Singing with Deni Gauthier A Singer Songwriter, caught my interest. I did a screen capture of Deni performing and opened it in Corel PSP Pro X3 where I cropped it. I also used the Digital Camera Noise Removal and Smart Photo Fix on the image.

I then saved that large image and opened with Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4. There I applied the Detailed Watercolor auto paint with settings for Rough Paper, and the Impressionistic Brush.

I used the Soft Cloner to bring back some details in the face. I saved that and through Picasa 3.9 opened with Corel PhotoPaint and did some free-form cloning to rid the image of artifacts. Saving that iteration I opened with PSP Pro X3 again.

There I added the Polaroid frame and a black border and saved once more at a display size.

992nd Post for gatzkART! Please continue to come back for our almost daily posts as we reach for that goal of 1,000 posts!

http://www.denigauthier.com
http://www.facebook.com/denigauthier

"Multi-Guitars Revisited" Corel PSP Pro X3

Multi-Guitars Revisited

I was browsing in Picasa 3.9 through many folders and ran across this image from 2009. It is a composite of two photographs take with an older Digital Camera, our first. It was only a 5 mega pixel camera but took pretty good photographs, but was not sturdy at all and began to have parts fail after a short time. A lesson learned the hard way, buy as much quality that you can afford in a DSLR.

I opened this image in Corel PSP Pro X3 and resized it to a larger working size. I applied the Saturation Vibrance to it to punch up the colors for a fresh look. I then added the gold frame using the Picture Frame feature.

I kept the old copyright notice, as you can see, but it is an updated version of an oldie but goodie. I resized for display, and also added to the EXIF data upon the save.

988th Post to gatzkART!

I also posted my song "Wait Until Morning" to http://soundcloud.com/gatzka-music Come and have a listen, comments are always welcome. Acoustic Guitar Community  also has it posted there with other songs I've written.

"Threshold the Guitarist" Corel - Plus

Textured Guitarist

I used Google's Advanced Image search for free Guitars photographs and found a guitarist. I also visited Mayang's Textures and got a new blue scratched and peeled texture.

I opened the texture with Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 and auto painted with the Detailed Watercolor feature. I saved that and opened in Corel PhotoPaint and resampled to the size closest to the guitarist image.

I opened the guitarist image in PhotoPaint and selected Image, Transform, Threshold and lessened the detail of this Black and White image. I saved that altered image.

I reopened the blue texture now a watercolor, in PhotoPaint. Then using Picasa 3.9 I copied the guitarist image and pasted it onto the texture. I adjusted the size of it and applied the property Multiply to it to allow the texture to show through. I saved that iteration.

Opening this in Corel PSP Pro X3 I added color Vibrancy to give more punch to the color. Using the Time Machine Photo Effect I selected 1960 processing and gave it a outline. Then I used Picture Frame for the thin Black frame.

Saving that larger iteration, I opened in PhotoPaint to add my signature in white.

987th Post! Stay with us on our way to our goal of 1,000 Posts!

Still working on the new song "Wait Until Morning" It's coming along fairly well. I hope to record it on my computer soon, so I can share it. I'll probably post it to the Acoustic Guitar Community, or make another slideshow like I did with "Revel DADGAD."

"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

"TerryLynn Melody Singer Songwriter" Corel - Plus

Singer Songwriter TerryLynn Melody

+Artists in the Plus on Google+ had an "In the Spotlight" Hangout the other night featuring TerryLynn Melody. It was once again a wonderful show with a fine interview. TerryLynn also played her Tacoma guitar and sang for us. As a Singer Songwriter she does amazing work.

I was watching the simulcast on YouTube and did a screen capture of her singing. I opened it with File from Clipboard in Corel PhotoPaint. There I cropped the image. I saved that iteration.

From Picasa 3.9 I opened with Corel PSP Pro X3 and resized to display size. I applied the Smart Photo Fix and made adjustments to the color, shadows, sharpness and a bit more. I saved that copy.

Again from Picasa I opened with Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4. I auto painted using the Watercolor Sketch with Rough Paper. I used the Soft Cloner brush for some of the details and color.

Saving that iteration I opened from Picasa with PhotoPaint and added my signature in white, also using the Touch Up brush a bit.

I opened once more in PSP and added the Taped Frame using Picture Frame, saving that file.

979th Post to gatzkART! Still quite a ways from 1,000 Post. Steady progress continues.

"James Olmos Singer Songwriter" Corel - Plus

Singer Songwriter James Olmos

I attended an Artists in the Plus Concert Hangout on Google+ last night. +Vanessa Peters, +TerryLynn Melody, +Ryan Van Sickle and +James Olmos entertained us all. I watched part of it sharing with them and rotated out and finished watching on YouTube. I received permission to do this image from James.

I did a Screen capture of James Olmos to do a digital image of him. I opened the screen capture in Corel PhotoPaint and cropped it. I saved that then opened from Picasa 3.9 in Corel PSP Pro X3 to resize and do my usual workflow on the image.

After I did that I used the layer Duplicate with the Pencil tool, layering property Overlay, and merged them. From Picasa I opened with Corel PhotoPaint and used the Effect Distort Wet Paint for light paint drippings. I also used the Touch Up tool for a couple of spots needing attention. I added my signature before I did the wet paint look so it is dripping as well. I saved that iteration.

I reopened with PSP and added the Picture Frame and a black border. I saved that for display.

976th Post, still with the goal of 1,000 posts in mind. If I keep busy I may make it this month, if other things get in the way, it may not be until next month.

"Vanessa Peters Singer Songwriter" Corel - Plus

Singer Songwriter Vanessa Peters

I watched another "In The Spotlight" Hangout with Vanessa Peters hosted by Artists in the Plus on Google+. I missed the original Hangout but caught it on YouTube. Vanessa has been in the music business some ten years so she has paid her dues. She played a couple of her original tunes and sang. Wonderful style and singing voice. I gained permission from +Vanessa Peters and +John Voshell to use the following image.

Per usual I did a screen capture of the Event, between songs. I opened the capture in Corel PhotoPaint and cropped. I saved the resulting image, from Picasa 3.9 I opened with Corel PSP Pro X3 to resize for display and cleaned up the image a bit. Per my usual workflow on these images I applied the Digital Camera Noise Removal and Smart Photo fix. I adjusted color and sharpness and shadows.

Saving that iteration, again from Picasa I opened with Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 and auto painted with the Detailed Watercolor, Rough Paper, full rectangle. I used the Soft Cloner brush to add back in some details. Saving that iteration I reopened with PhotoPaint.

There I used the plugin Filter Forge's Frames for a film frame and also touched up a couple of areas with the Touch up Tool. I saved that iteration for display after adding my signature.

975th Post for gatzkART! and a posting to Google+ and Twitter.

+Kirk Mathew Gatzka on G+ and @kmgatzka on Twitter.

"Meri Amber Singer Songwriter" Corel - Plus

Singer Songwriter Meri Amber

I met Meri Amber in a Google+ Hangout. She is a Singer Songwriter as well. I received permission to use a photograph from Pinterest. So I ventured forth and discovered one I liked and downloaded it.

I opened it with Corel PSP Pro X3 and resized it for display. I used the Digital Camera Noise Removal on it and the Smart Photo Fix. I went to Softness and added some softness to the photograph. I saved that iteration.

From Picasa 3.9 I opened with Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 and auto painted with the Impressionistic feature. I then used the Soft Cloner brush to paint back in details of the portrait. Saving that I opened with Corel PhotoPaint and used the Tone Curve to lighten up the dark shadows. I added my signature. I saved that.

I reopened with PSP and selected a Picture Frame for the piece, saving it with a differing name.

974th Post to gatzkART!

"Corey Koehler Singer Songwriter" Corel PSP Pro X3 - Plus

Singer Songwriter Corey Koehler

I participated in a Artists in the Plus "Spotlight" Hangout on Google+ yesterday. I met Singer Songwriter Corey Koehler. Of course, I could not pass up on an opportunity for another Digital artwork based upon the Singer Songwriters I am meeting. So I got permission from Corey to do one for him.

I don't do Facebook, so my source was YouTube. I did a screen capture of Corey Playing his Taylor Guitar and Singing. I saved the file after opening it in Corel PhotoPaint to crop it. To resize it and do some color work on it I reopened it with Corel PSP Pro X3.

There I sized for display at 96dpi. I used the Digital Camera Noise Removal and the Smart Photo Fix on it. I took the layer and Duplicated it and applied the Effect Pencil on it and used the property of Overlay to make the background photo show through.

I Merged the layers and saved that iteration. I then opened with Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 and auto painted using the Detailed Watercolor rectangular setting. I then used the Soft Cloner Brush to paint back in some details to the face, hand, clothing and the microphone and stand.

After saving those changes I reopened with PSP and added my signature with the Visible Watermark tool. Then I added the old fashioned frame to it in Picture Frame. I saved that iteration.

This is my 973rd post to gatzkART!

"Rebecca Perl Singer Songwriter" Corel PSP Pro X3 - Plus

Singer Songwriter Rebecca Perl

I met another Singer Songwriter, from NYC, on Google+: Rebecca Perl! I was able to get permission from her to use this portrait for today's post. Her website can be found at: Rebecca Perl Music.

I got the photograph from her Google+ photographs and downloaded it. From Picasa 3.9 I opened with Corel PSP Pro X3 and resized it for working on it. I applied the Digital Camera Noise Removal tool to the photograph and added some color with the Smart Photo Fix. I saved the larger file.

From Picasa I opened with Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4. There I applied the auto paint Watercolor Sketch with no setting changes. I then took the Soft Clone tool and added back in some details of her face. I also painted a bit on the guitar and background. I saved that iteration.

I reopened in PSP and used the Picture Frame for the Polaroid Frame and added a 25 pixel black border. Saving that file for display, it's a little bit larger (click on it for the larger picture) than I usually post, so I hope the viewing time is not too high.

This is our 967th Post on our way to 1,000. Share and Circle on Google+ both myself and Rebeccca Perl. I am at +Kirk Mathew Gatzka and she is at +Rebecca Perl.

Thanks for viewing and comments are always welcome.

"Day Lillies Digital Detailed Watercolor" Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4 - Plus

Day Lillies

I browsed in Picasa 3.9 to a Garden folder and selected this photograph of Day Lillies. I opened with Corel PhotoPaint and applied the Adjust, Local Equalization tool for higher contrast. I then applied Filter Forge's Photo Effects Vibrance to add punch to the colors.

Saving that file I reopened with Corel Painter Photo Essentials 4. I used the Photo Painting Detailed Watercolor, Jagged Edge, Color, Saturate, Paper, Rough, and a Dry Brush. I auto painted the piece with these settings. I saved an iterative file.

I opened it with Corel PSP Pro X3 and Fit to Screen, I tried out some features before I selected Texture, Small Hatched Texture and applied that.  I used Image, Visible Watermark to add my signature.

I added the Picture Frame Rose Mat then the Golden Frame. I used Layers, Merge, Flatten to drop all the layers to one. I also applied Image, Increase Color Depth to 24 bit RGB. Saving that large iteration I then choose Image, Resize to 150dpi and 1220 x 1083 pixels display size for here.

Musically, my Son Keir and I have been working on an older song that I wrote many years ago (1981) using my 12-String Guitar. We are endeavoring to use his new Yamaha Portable Keyboard to learn the chords and the rhythm of the song "Spending the Afternoon." We will try to also play the melody after we get the other parts down first. Neither one of us are great keyboardist's at this point but we are working that out. It is a challenge and great fun.

"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.