Photoshop - Sauvie Island Clouds I - Part II

Sauvie Island Clouds 1
by Linda Rothchild Ollis
Sometimes our eyes play tricks on us.
Are you convinced that there is a whole in this wall and
you are looking through it to see the clouds?
Or does it look more like there is a framed painting
hanging on the wall?

(Continued from the last post)
To emphasize the clouds and farmland, I added more
color to what will be the hole in the wall. It might
still look like a frame at this stage.

Following the idea I tried using the Brush Tool

in Photoshop Elements (described in the last post),

I protected the area of the frame and clouds by covering

it.
Next... the fun of spattering!

I deliberately tried to create a variation of warm to cool

as I mixed the paint used to spatter.

Once the spattered area dried, I began painting the

dark area on the lower right side. Saving some of
splattered areas was done by painting around them.

Just as I used the Gradient Tool (in my last post) to

make the corners more convincing, I graded the color
as I painted the corners of the "hole", to create the
perspective we see when there is a window in a wall.
Scroll up to the top of this post to see the difference
in the finished painting and this stage.



Photoshop - Sauvie Island Clouds I - Part I

Sauvie Island Clouds I

Acrylic on Cradle Board

12" x 12"

Artist: Linda Rothchild Ollis

Using Photoshop Elements to try the following ideas

helped me find my way to the finished painting above.

The early stage of the painting looked like this:

Seeing the image in grayscale at this stage, convinced

me that the clouds and farmland scene needed a frame
or border to give it more emphasis.

Originally I played with the concept of showing part

of the painting in an unfinished stage, which is what the

clouds to the left represent.

I added the frame using by selecting the frame shape

with the Polygonal Lasso Tool and filling it with
a the Gradient Tool.
Next I used the Paint Brush Tool in the Dissolve Mode
to add a spattered look around the frame.

I liked the changes enough to change the direction

of the painting.

In the next post,  "Photoshop - Sauvie Island Clouds - Part II,

I will show the final steps of the painting.





Photoshop - Let the Creativity Flow

Pleasant Surprise 1

by Linda Rothchild Ollis

Digital Image

"Pleasant Surprise" is the title for the above abstract.
It is the result of my intuitive explorations in
Photoshop Elements. I did not have an outcome in
mind when I started playing with

"NW Coast 2011" (the painting from my last post) below:

How did "Pleasant Surprise
come from this? 

I started by using Filter > Adjustments > Invert, which changed
the color of "NW Coast 2011" to this:

This filter inverted the cool colors to warm colors, warm
colors to cool colors and the blacks to whites.

I used the Clone Stamp Tool to make the mass of light
colors larger and to cover some of the darkest blacks:

Filter > Distort >  Liquify were the steps for this:

Several parts of the above image appealed to me.
I decided to play with the one you see framed by the
black rectangle:

Image > Transform > Distort > Skew led me

to the image below:

Filter > Adjustments > Inverse
gave me the "pleasant surprise": 

I like the two final steps and

will consider using them as inspiration for
an abstract painting or as a background
design. Using Photoshop to explore
my creativity is often like working a
good crossword puzzle. Fun and a
workout for my brain!

NW Coast 2011

Northwest Coast 2011
Artist: Linda Rothchild Ollis
Acrylic on Canvas
20 x 16 inches

After some realistic painting sessions, I enjoyed creating
this abstract image.Lots of surface texture and broad brush
strokes were used to create a feeling of rough rocks or
landforms.

Acrylics for Brilliant Transparent Paintings Class - Class Flyer and Supply List

I am grateful to all of you who asked when

I would offer my next painting class.

Thank you for your interest and I look

forward to the fun of meeing new art friends
and exploring our creative energies together.

Here is the Flyer and Supply List for:

Acrylics for Brilliant Transparent Paintings Class

that will start in January 2012

(Just click to enlarge)



Quadra Island

Quadra Island
Watercolor on watercolor paper
20" x 20"
Artist: Linda Rothchild Ollis

Combining realistic and abstract elements continues to
fascinate me. I focused on the play of light as it bounces
off the water onto a white boat, as well as reflections
in moving water.
I surrounded or framed this with muted or grayed
tones,and attempted a more abstract representation
near the edges.
In "Rainer 99", my last post, I explored rock shapes
in a similar way.
The possibilities seem endless!

Rainier 99

Rainier 99
20" x 20"
Acrylic on Watercolor Paper
Artist : Linda Rothchild Ollis
Price: Framed $1200

A hike on Mount Rainier, in Washington, provided the
inspiration for this painting. When I saw how the melting
snow and natural minerals from the earth combine...to stain
glacier carved bolders, it stopped me in my tracks.
The patterns, designs and rust colors were
created with many glazes of Golden Fluid Acrylics.
I pushed the colors and design past a realistic rendering
in an attempt to transition to abstract shapes.

Acrylics for Brilliant Transparent Paintings at Dots'N Doodles Art Supply in Astoria, Oregon

During the past two months it has been a
pleasure to work with the artists you see
in our workshop photo album.
Thank you Kathy, Belin, Mo, Linda,
Judy, Sheila, Elizabeth, Normandie, Ellen,
and Lou for a great workshop!






                                                                        Elizabeth                               



The process of applying thin layers
of Golden Fluid Acrylics requires drying
time. Some of the artists completed their
finished painting at home.

Photoshop Elements - Layers Workshop at Sunriver Oregon

Oregon Coast Sunset 
This is the image we created in Photoshop Elements
at the Watercolor Society of Oregon Fall Convention
in Sunriver, Oregon.
Members asked to learn about using layers.
After a brief orientation of the Layers Palette we
combined the two images below using the Layers Palette.

Part of the workshop included how to elimanate the
the dark landscape shape.