Here's a photo waiting to be painted. Needs a little color adjusting, but oh the possibilities!

I used Nagel's Ragged Water Color for a PST brush (pretty big size) with impressionist turned ON to lay the background color. I'm just loving the multi color blotches of paint it lays down in such a random way. Same brush (new layer on top of the background) lower opacity, to add back a little detail.

Used a desaturated copy of the original (with some distortion) set to soft light, over these two paint layers.

That's a really nice setting!

I've looked at some of your pictues now, and there are a few things that keeps nagging me... :-)

- Often, the texturing (paper) seem somewhat overlayed (as in not integrated with the image).

- Image detail should be, at least partly, reduced. It's too close to the richness of a photo, and the overall equal detailing makes it look fake. Try playing with smart blur (or manual reducing). In this particular image for example, the house and all the bricks where to lifelike, I think.

- Some displacement, distorting of lines and areas would be fine, again - to remove the most disturbing photoreal-qualities.

- Colors... let some colors be more vivid to take it another little step away from its photgraphic base.

- Regarding details, you could experiment a lot - choosing certain parts to be more important than others, as painters do. They are subjective, while a camera shot is more informative (I'm swedish, and can't find a better way to put it right now, sorry...)

- I also used a blurred version of the whole image, and set that layer to overlay 30% to enhance the contrast a little.

But maybe the image is totally according to your intentions?

Sort of a TK like setting (maybe not the right time of day). Used Xero's Soft Mood to start things out, but did a lot of other things too. :)

Thank you for your comments, Jan. I'm always looking to learn and improve. I'm posting a new version with less detail in the house and no texture. :-) For my workflow, I usualy do a stamp merge layer and add texture last. When I send a piece out for giclee, I have the original with no texture, because the giclee canvas will add enough for the piece.

Nice, LK, except that black thing in the left foreground. I think your filter removed the color and detail. You captured some nice fall colors though.

What a great place to live ........if only :tired:

Peter

What a great place to live ........if only :tired:

Peter

Hey now!...That's really good! REALLY good!

Steve C.

Nice manipulation, Peter. The drop shadow just tops it off.

I should never look at all the postings before I submit. Peter's version is going to shoot down anything I post. But I've got guts so here is mine.

As someone else pointed out, the original has Kinkade written all over it. :nod:

Here are a couple of attempts.

Steve C.

Hey now!...That's really good! REALLY good!

Steve C.
Thanks Steve
Now I'm really hoping you mean the picture and not the comment (my insecure side is coming out here)

Nice manipulation, Peter. The drop shadow just tops it off.

Well I think I'm stealing someones ideas there but I had to do it.

I should never look at all the postings before I submit. Peter's version is going to shoot down anything I post. But I've got guts so here is mine.

Thanks again Steve, I like what you've done with the water with these, very nice.

Peter

Suppose I should have brought out the contrast in the dark areas before process Dee Dee. Oh well. :)

Thanks Steve
Now I'm really hoping you mean the picture and not the comment (my insecure side is coming out here)



Well I think I'm stealing someones ideas there but I had to do it.



Thanks again Steve, I like what you've done with the water with these, very nice.

Peter

Definitely your work on the image, Peter.

Thanks.

Steve C.

I find it so hard to try to write down what I do with an image. I make dozens of little adjustments that I simply can't innumerate. I used the art history brush, the history brush, paint daubs, and some PaintshopPro "Actions" that I created some time ago that contain dozens of steps. I used layers, of course. Without layers, I don't think I could do much. This one was fun.
52881

I used Nagel's Ragged Water Color for a PST brush (pretty big size) with impressionist turned ON to lay the background color.

Swampy, can you tell me more about that? I read somewhere on this site where someone mentioned a tool named "impressionist," and I'm wondering if that is the same thing. I can't find the place it was mentioned, but it had a link where we could download it. Thanks

Alice, there is a plug in called "Impressionist" (PC only, no Mac) that a lot of people use. You can find out more about it by contacting Danny Raphael. Just find any one of his posts on in the RTP and he has a link for more information.

The impressionist that I referr to is found in the options bar of Photoshop when you are using the Pattern Stamp Tool and is not a plugin or add on.

Thanks a bunch, Swampy. That helped a lot.

Wow Peter excellent, :knockedou
Not sure i can come close to those standards ! ! ! ! !

Mainly just messing around

Palms

I like the first one, Palms, especially the water reflection.

So many beautiful interpretations ! I have been looking closely at each one and trying to figure out how you did it -- a pretty steep learning curve but loads of fun. Two that really caught my eye are those by Steve Conway (#1) and allieok. WOW.

I couldn't get any of my sketch or coloured renderings to look right, so I settled for ye olde sepia look (again ! Maybe it's my signature tech :)

Sepia is nice, Nimbus. It makes it almost timeless.

Swampy, really nice picture!
Great job everyone, as usual.
Dan

Dan, the border is very effective on yours.

Thought I'd revive this old thread with my version of this image.

I went for a watercolor look...
Sylvia

thank you, dee dee :)

this is more of an enhancement than an art attempt. it is not hdri nor is it tone mapping per se. it's a lighting and contrasting technique designed to bring out the colors. the original was slightly overexposed. by selecting out various shades and rgb values and lighting and contrasting those individual selections and then adding blend modes, you can enhance individual parts or the whole of the image. i did four of these selections on this image and then re-combined.

Interesting, Craig. Thanks for the work flow.

I was impressed by Jan's thoughtful comments earlier in this thread. He made some good points that apply to my work. Here's a watercolor attempt that uses some "displacement" and color emphasis spotted here and there as he suggested.
Alan

thanks, dee dee :) i probably shldnt have added that last touch of usm. nancyj warned me about that ;)

that's a great watercolor, alcar :)