Tips-n-Fx

Using the Masters for Retouching Practice

With the recent release of digital rights to art works by many major museums it is now possible to download copyright free images for any use, at no cost. I downloaded an image of one of my favorite paintings from the Art Institute of Chicago. “The Song of the Lark” by Jules Adolphe Breton, French 1884.
Surprised by how dark and flat the painting appeared after 137 years of aging, I wondered if I could restore it digitally with current software and some hand painted in restorative detailing. My results are below. I think the digital restored images are now probably much closer to what the artist saw on his canvas back then.

Making a Car Mash-up from Two Photos

Often trip photos have some nice images but artistically they are not in the right background settings. With some imagination and creative software it is fun to mix and match. Here is just one example out of the 16 images featured in my Classic Cuba Car Art Series. Almost all were combined images or “Mash-ups” for Fun-Da-Mental digital art creations.

Finding Impressionism In Your Backyard

My original photo was taken just two miles from my former home. This is the Keay Nature Center, Wilmette, Illinois. I photographed this original in May of 2010. Photo was taken at sunset during peak season for lavender tree blossoms falling into the water. Color was enhanced later in Photoshop for how I remembered it, rather than how my camera’s computerized and/or selected settings had originally captured things.

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The impressionist style work above, evolved over several years after enlarging different water details. My break through moment came while working with the Photoshop eraser tool. I isolated selective colors then erased holes in the surface layer, revealing opposite colors which I had added to a new layer below. For impressionist techniques I could then create more dramatic color shifts of blues/purples now viewed through the surface layers of yellows/blacks.

Bringing Out the Angels in the Architecture

This is just a fine example of enhancing a subject with HDR and the use of the Photoshop/ Adjustments/ Selective Color sliders. The light rays were actually in the original picture.

Crafting an Art Abstraction Out of Nature

In this abstract painting I wanted to capture the feeling of power, movement and the sometimes wild forces of nature at work. At the time, California was experiencing massive forest fires.

In this image, the forest of normal trees juxtaposed in the background help compliment the theme and scale. This image was also created as a .gif motion graphic piece. I entered and made it to 2nd round judging in a motion graphic competition at Saatchi Gallery, London.