Enjoy this video showing the creation of this art, Winter Wonderland Fawn, using the new Winter Wonderland Collection of backgrounds.

I'm asked frequently, "What collections do you recommend?"  And of course it all depends on what kind of art you wish to create, whether you're doing a portrait or full scene, whether you're looking to create realistic art, or more expressive art with an abstract feel.  But as you know, I do a ton of wildlife art scenes like this:

To create a scene like this, I would begin by looking at some of these collections:

Impresso Pro by Jixipix is a fun program I found to create paintings out of photos.  You can get Impresso Pro here.   This program is an automatic painting program, and has a variety of presets included to give you different looks for your finished art.  I usually use the program to get a beginning simple painting effect, and then I take the painted image over to Procreate on my ipad to further refine it, or even totally repaint it in some cases, to create my paintings.

In the video below, I show you how to set up the exact preset I use to start my portrait style paintings in this software.  I've included 3 screenshots of the 3 different layers, which you may wish to print out or refer back to when setting up your own preset to match mine.  Note:  Make sure to save the preset after you set it up, so you'll have it for the future!  I show you how to do this in the video. :) 

The preset settings I give you in the video work well for a portrait style painting such as this one of my eagle.  I had already blended my eagle photo with a background from the new Art Journal Series 3 Collection before starting my painting.

The Canvas Layer settings:

The Alla Prima Layer Settings:

The Background Paint Layer Settings:

I think we all can agree, 2020 has been a difficult year for many people.  It's become a year filled with darkness for some, with depression and anxiety on the rise, worldwide.  In the video below, I talk about how I deal with it, and what I do to pull myself out of it, if only for a little while.  I hope you'll enjoy watching the creation of "Leave Darkness Behind".

In this video, I show you how I use auto-painting software to create a more realistic painted image.  Most auto-painting software presets use the same size brush throughout, which is not necessarily how a piece would be painted in the studio.  I show you how I use three layers of an auto painting preset -- with slight changes in brush size on each layer -- to create a painting just as I would when painting it in my studio and using different brush sizes. 

Let's address something I think many artists who do what I do with their photos, textures, digital painting, etc are guilty of - using terms to describe the artwork and the work of others, which, in my opinion, devalue the artist's creativity, vision, and hard work.

This is a list of my most hated words I see in comments about my art:

Edit
Editing
Manipulation
Manip
Treatment

When I see those words tossed out in comments, I immediately get sinking feelings in my stomach.  I feel as if my art has just been tremendously devalued.  I feel as if the time and effort, creativity and skill with what I do has just been put on the ground and stomped on.  Seriously - those words really, really bother me.  I'd just as soon NOT see a comment, than see those words in any way connected with my ART.

My art is ART.  No matter how I create it, what tools I use,  or how long it takes me - it is all ART.

I do not publish my "straight photos" anymore {except some on my stock photo site from time to time}.  Everything I post is ART I have created using a combination of various mediums, applications, tools, techniques, etc.

The words EDIT and EDITING gives me the impression the viewer thinks I just hit a button and spit out the creation that took me 4 hours, 8 hours, even days, to create.  "Editing" is what I do to brighten, sharpen, or crop a photo.  PERIOD.  While "editing" is often involved in the beginning, or very end, of my process, it certainly doesn't describe what I do in the least, and I actually feel insulted when I see the term.

Another word I absolutely loathe is "manipulation", or even worse, the shortened version some use, "manip".  While the first definition of the word means to use or handle in a skillful way, the other definitions associated with the word are negative.  Whenever I heard the word "manipulation", it leaves a negative feeling behind for me.

I think the absolute worst for me is when someone says "great treatment!" when referring to my ART.  A "treatment" is something you receive from a doctor for a medical condition.  I'm really familiar with the word treatment after the last year and half with my health issues.  I do not like it at all used in concert with my art. 

Recently, I published the above piece I worked on for many, many hours.  It was a piece which involved mixed media of a photo {for the outline reference of the subject only}, digital painting, and the integration of layers and layers of hand painted textures which I painted in my studio.  It was a seriously intense and involved piece of work, and to have someone refer to it as a "treatment" is just insulting, in my opinion.  Almost like the word "edit", as if I just hit a button and made that final image instantaneously appear.  It doesn't work that way.  Not with me, anyway.

My art is ART.  Period.  I make a point when I am commenting on my customer's creative work to refer to it as ART, or  as a creative WORK, because that's what it is.   My customers create ART.  They spend many, many hours, days, some even weeks, and use many mediums {because my textures and backgrounds are composed of MANY mediums in their creation}, and they use a variety of tools and skills to create their masterpieces.  I will not devalue their work by using words that imply they just hit a button and made it appear, or that they did something negative to make the work what it is, or that their work somehow went through some medical process.

When you refer to your work and that of others as what it is - ART - you are giving the work the true value it deserves.  

In my previous blog post, I gave you guys a TON of ideas of things you can photograph while stuck at home during these challenging times.  Then I made a short video I put on Facebook, along with two more videos.  I'm placing all three videos here for you to watch, and hopefully you'll feel inspired to create some new things. :)  

P.S.  In video #1, I talked about the backdrop board course I took, which is where I learned how to make the boards shown in the video.  You can find that course here if you're interested in taking it and learning how to make your own backdrop boards.  

Despite the fact I made this blog post earlier during the virus quarantines about things you can photograph while quarantined, I still see some of my photographer friends and customers complaining they don't have anything to photograph.  So, this post is for anyone feeling "stuck", and that they don't have anything to photograph and creatively work on during these challenging times!

Let's talk about Duane Keiser.  So who is he?  Duane Keiser is a painter I've followed for many, many years.  He's the one who began the "painting a day" movement with his small paintings of simple subjects, often food items and other things anyone would have around the home.  The painting shown above is just one of the many examples of art he has created over the years.  Take a look through his Painting A Day blog for inspiration! 

I have compiled a list of simple subjects he has painted over the years.  This is by no means a comprehensive list.  This list is designed to help give YOU creative ideas of things you can photograph and create art out of while stuck at home during times of quarantine.  I hope you will find it useful in your creative endeavors!

A coffee mug
Clouds in the sky
Books on a shelf
Peaches
Doritos
A glass of water
Cherries on a plate
A piece of watermelon
Plants on a porch
French Fries
A statue in the garden
Egg pasta dough
An ear of corn
Tulips in a vase
A peony flower in a vase
A cat looking out a window
Art supplies
Strawberries
A vase in a window
A lemon
An onion
A whole pear
Honey in a jar
A loaf of bread
An avocado with a spoon
Coffee mug with creamer
A glass of whiskey
A package of rice noodles with chopsticks
A jar of paint pigment
A chair and table in the sunlight
A jelly donut
Onions and garlic in a bowl
A glass of scotch and a cigar
A piece of cherry pie
Whole oranges on a table
A Christmas ornament on a table
Leaves
Blackberries
Grapes
A cracked open egg
Cloves of garlic
Birds on a wire outside
Olives
Asparagus
Tea and honey
Sunflowers in a vase
A glass of water with lime
Tomato on the vine
Jam and bread
Prunes and plums
Water with lemon slices
A fallen bird nest
Powdered donuts
A glass of scotch with an ice bucket
A jar of honey
A piece of chocolate candy
Blueberries
A Christmas tree by a window
A jar of olives
A single red apple
Red grapes
Grapefruit in a bowl
A cat in a doorway
An acorn on a book
A piece of cantelope
A blue bowl with red hot peppers
A peeled orange
A peeling sweet onion
Oysters
A black jug
A cup of lemon tea
A chocolate covered donut
A box of various donuts
Mushrooms
A bowl of nuts
A glass of wine
Coffee mugs in a cupboard
A red maple tree outside
A piece of banana cream pie
A fishing lure
A butterfly
A knife with cheese
An opened hershey kiss
A package of candy
A cat on a porch
A cat sleeping under a chair
An old 45 record
A honey bee
A bowl of popcorn
An ice bucket
Coffee and a book
A dragonfly
A frog
Clothes in a closet
A pair of reading glasses
A paint can with paintbrush
Knitting needles
A magnolia seed pod
A tube of paint
Glasses with a pencil
A chocolate donut
A table and chairs in the morning sun
A mirror
A sea shell
A spoon
Soap
Red peppers
A box of matches
A jar of kitchen utensils
A bicycle
His paint brushes
Paint on a palette
Deli meat in a store window
A spider on a door
Fish on ice in a store window
Scissors and thread
A bird perched on a door frame
A sugar shaker
A piece of cheesecake
Peanuts and shells
Almonds on a napkin
Nightstand with books and lamp
A bag of mixed nuts
Christmas cookies
Coffee cup with open book on a table in the sunlight 
Vegetables at a farmer's market
A sidewalk across the lawn
A road
A house window {outside view}
Glasses with a crossword puzzle
A fishing hat
A dandelion
Road workers working on the road
A pod of peas
A jigsaw puzzle in progress
A coat hanger on a door knob
A bagel with cream cheese
A box of crayons
A tea bag
A loaf of bread
Coffee and cake
A piece of lasagna
A slice of cake
A fallen leaf
An empty eggshell
A rose on a table
Wood blocks
A street light at dusk
A slice of pizza
A jar with sewing materials
Lemon drops in a jar
A pine cone
An acorn
A rock
A feather
A red tea pot on a stove
A potted plant
A piece from a cotton plant
A cupcake
A bench in the backyard
An old key
A hockey puck
A salt shaker
An old coin
A silver baby rattle
A marble
A lady bug
A single M&M candy
A cinnamon bun
A red lollipop
Truffles
A piece of sourball candy
A baseball
A bowl of ice cream
A cork
A piece of peppermint candy
A box of chocolates
A jar of jam with a knife

And probably his most famous {in addition to the cracked eggs!} are his peanut butter and jelly sandwich paintings! :) 

We have updated our website terms to make things more clear in regards to what is offered here, what our responsibilities are and what is expected of those who use this website and our products  - you can read the terms here.  In the video below, I discuss this prior to the demo.  If you would rather just read the terms and not listen to me discuss this part on the video, please skip ahead to approximately the 22:50 minute mark on the video for the actual demo. :) 

This is the final image created in the above video using the new Endless Collection.

This is for those of you who wish to add a bit of realistic painterly effects to your finished photo art.  This set of 6 contains two brush stroke texture backgrounds I've painted, and each one is presented "as is", straight from my studio. I've also included both a dark and light version of each, because depending on your image, darker might work better, or lighter might be the better choice.  You can also use a combination of them together.  Watch this video to see how I use them:

Above is the image I worked on in the video, and below, you can see a close up crop the image.

^^^Before^^^

^^^After^^^