If you follow me on facebook, chances are you’ve seen the “paintings” I’ve been posting and have possibly been one of the many who are curious with what that’s all about? Curious in a good way. So many of you have really been enjoying them. Which is good. Because I’m happy to announce they’re officially here to say and have joined my 2016 product lineup. They’re definitely the cherry on top! So before I go there, let’s first start here. The very beginning of this lovely finished piece of art…
So once upon a time I took the below image of my girls at temple square. And I loved it until I got home and realized the girls weren’t in focus. They almost were, but not quite. I’m a stickler about my focus so this totally bummed me out. But the moment I’d captured made me tuck this shot away in my brain wondering what I would do to “fix” it because there was so much good. So much that I loved! Then I discovered the world of digital painting and I knew I’d found my answer. I purchased a wacom tablet and downloaded a trial version of Corel Painter. I’d heard learning to use the tablet would not be fun but that if I’d stick it out I’d end up loving it. So I decided I would just jump into Painter with my tablet. I watched one youtube by Heather the Painter and then I was off. I spent all week “painting”. By the end of the week I decided I totally loved what this program could do. I “painted” the girls and was tickled with the results.
But then I started to wonder if I go push the image further. What could I add? I’m an okay compositor in photoshop, but realized okay would be good enough if I was to paint the image. So I set out to create something new. I took the below image of the temple last year when I photographed Ella on temple square. It’s one I’ve always loved but never had a use for. I first put the temple with the dancing girls and then decided if I was going to go all the way with this painting it needed ALL my girls. So I tossed Sisi in using a solo shot I’d taken the same day of the girls dance. (As I’m typing this I realize now I used a fourth image in the composite, one of the bird also taken in the spring at temple square but another year it’s just not pictured below).
Once my composite was complete I opened the image in Corel and painted away.
I was happy with the results, but ultimately decided it had too much sky, so I cropped it and then sent it away to the lab where the magic happens. My lab printed my painting on giclee canvas and sent me two test proofs. I asked them to tweak the exposure slightly since they’d blown out the girls shoulders but otherwise gave the go ahead for the finished piece.
I then started brain storming frame options and finalized my corner selection. My painting arrived and it was gorgeous, but I knew it needed the finished professional touch a frame adds so I immediately dropped it off at my framers and waited…
And then one day the phone rang… Boom. Love!
Check out the close up. My lab not only prints it on canvas but they then have an in-house artist add clear brush strokes and actual oil pigments to mirror my digital painting so the end result looks so close to an actual oil painting.
The framed turned out even better than I imagined and I’m smitten with the whole process. I just purchased an actual copy of Corel Painter and it came in the mail today. So I’m excited to see what the program can really do once I’ve watched a few more youtubes 
Tune in Monday to see how wedding images can look painted (amazing!). I’ll share with you the painting my fellow Facebookers voted for (Britney & Sam) which I just got in the mail today. I haven’t decided on a frame yet, but that’s okay. I’m sharing it anyway along with the others I facebooked and my future plans for them.