Holidays

I had hoped to finish my mule deer and have gotten quite a bit done.  However, the holidays have encroached on my painting time and now I see that he will have to remain partially unpainted until after the holidays.  He is standing patiently munching on a bunch of flowers from my wildflower garden.  I have decided to name him "Flower."  I can't wait to show him off, but won't do so until he is finished.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS.

I will type at you in January.

Meanwhile enjoy Kiki the Schnauzer.

Back to Painting

I am currently working on a beautiful mule deer buck that frequented our yard with a few lady friends in the last few weeks.  I got stopped by life-type responsibilities and the breakdown of my Wacom pen.  I got the new nibs in due time, adjusted the sensitivity of the pen and am now ready to paint again.  I am eager to show you the results, but it is just not ready yet.  I will put him on the website as soon as I am finished.  Thanks for dropping by.

"Kitty" the Calculating Feline

I recently completed this painting of an extraordinary house cat named "Kitty."  Apparently no ordinary name stuck so the cat retained the nickname of her class.  Kitty is a pretty cat with a wild streak.  She attacks canine invaders by sitting in wait behind a chair and leaping out unexpectedly to terrify all comers.  Bathroom doors remain closed as she has a predilection for toilet paper.  She may leave it in clawed tatters or roll it out upon the floor.  She tiptoes regally across the half-wall above the stairs to drive the dog crazy, then dashes down the stairs in a mad sprint calculated to evade all pursuers.  This is not a memorial painting as Kitty is alive, well, and as mischievous as ever except when she is cuddled up with her loving owner.

Kitty

My Wacom Tablet

I have been working on a painting of a mule deer lately, but began having trouble with the pen that comes with my Wacom tablet.  I suspected that I needed a new nib since the mouse was painting properly.  I found the nibs on the Wacom site, but was unable to determine whether they would be compatible with my older model pen and tablet.  So....I called Wacom support and talked to a young man who determined that all was compatible.  Then he patiently walked me through the process of finding out whether the pen's nib was the problem.  It appears that it is probably the troublemaker.

My interaction with Victor of the support team was outstanding.  He was patient and knowledgeable and spoke clearly to my personal needs.  He even sent me an email detailing the process for upgrading my driver.  If you have ever considered a tablet for your artwork, I highly recommend Wacom.  How can you lose when you have such excellent service at your fingertips?

Paint some pixels today.

From Trouble to Paintings

I have used blogger before, but I really messed up this new blog.  It took several days to get it working right and behaving normally with much outstanding support from the Blogger Help Forum.  In the meantime I learned a lot about Blogger that I didn't know before.  Now I am up and running again and continue to add paintings to the galleries.

People frequently ask me, "How can you paint a picture on a computer."  I am sure some think I paint a picture and take a digital photo of it.  Actually, I take the picture first and use it as a reference for my painting.  Photoshop has a brush engine that can make any kind of brush you can dream of.  I can paint with oil, acrylic, water color, pastel, colored pencil, charcoal, crayon.  I can mix the media if I want.  I can add texture so that the painting looks like it was painted on canvas, charcoal paper, watercolor paper and others.  Some brushes smear the pixels and move colors around just like using paint.  I have a Wacom tablet which allows me to hold an electronic brush (mouse in pen form) like a pen, pencil or brush.  This makes it easier to get the free flowing strokes as if I am actually drawing or using paint.

Make a mistake?  Undo.  No odors.  No paint in my hair.  No studio needed.  No drying time (except after printing).  Can easily make multiple copies of any chosen size.

As you can see I love photo realism so my paintings look much like photos, but have more detail.  I don't take realism into the realm of fantasy as the surrealists do, but I want to have fur look like you can pet it and hair like you could braid it.  I love to make the eyes glow and sparkle.  I like to create images that are a little too perfect.

Like any other pursuit it takes practice.  Look at the painting below.  It was one of my first and I was baffled as to how to use the electronic brushes so I was experimenting.  The child is also very young with skin that had no imperfections to shroud.  It doesn't look very painterly, but I love it and learned from doing it.  You can see most of my efforts in the rendering of the background.  Hey...that's a start and we all have to start somewhere if we want to learn.

Troubles

Just want you to know that I am in the process of solving some design problems.  Please come back again when I get this up and running the way I want it.  Thanks.

Lady

Lady was a wonderful, mellow collie who helped to raise my grandson.  She was smart, loyal, and a joy to have around.  She crossed the Rainbow Bridge in 2011 and I memorialized her in a painting from the following photo.

Lady

The beauty of working from a photo is that I don't have to worry about my subject moving around.  In this case it allowed me to relive the memories after her death as I painted.  One of those memories is of her laying calmly amidst a bevy of boys who were engrossed in their video game.  One time I even found her sitting on top of one of those boys.  He didn't seem to notice that he was being used as a sofa.  You can see the finished painting here.

Yellow-bellied Marmot

This delightful creature inhabits the high mountain country, scurrying across the rocks and tundra, often giving a distinctive whistle.  They have gotten used to the tourist incursions during the summer and often pose for photos as this one did.

Photo of Yellow Bellied Marmot

He was the perfect subject for a painting.  You can see the painting here.

Getting Started

Welcome to the "Pixelated Paintbrush."

I have spent several days getting my thoughts in order for this blog and figuring out how I want to arrange it....and all that stuff.

I began painting in oils many, many years ago, but eventually found it too hard to set up easel and paints with numerous, vibrant children racing around.  I turned to other creative pursuits and eventually bought a Canon camera, which I love.  I learned Photoshop and started painting with Corel Painter using my photos as a starting point.  Soon Photoshop evolved to the place where it is possible to paint with their brushes.  With the help of some online and DVD classes I have learned techniques from Fay Sirkis and Patrick LaMontagne.  I can now paint with my computer and a Wacom tablet with no fuss, no mess, no smells (I love the smell of oil paint, but my husband doesn't).  I can use brushes designed by others or I can design brushes to meet my specific needs, and I always have any color I want at my fingertips.

You can see my gallery of paintings by going to the menu tabs.  I am in the process of loading those pages, but they will be sparse until I get the job done.

Thank you for stopping by.  I look forward to meeting you through your comments.

Mardi