Thought I'd post another of my granddaughter's photos.
She is doing some photoart herself now and is very interested in what the artists at retouch pro do with her pictures.
My try is a hodgepodge of layer work and filters with a little smudging.
Shari

Looking again at yours Shari mine is a long the same vein ! !

Palms

This is a mix of things, pst and impressionist. Not really any style just an experiment.

A blending of many Xero filters (Serious Fog, Abstractor) and a Texturizer Script-fu for the paper texture. :)

love the way the reds pop on yours Lyle

mine is a smudge experiment
I like the way the background turned out. But the flower doesn't blend very well with it.

love the way the reds pop on yours Lyle

mine is a smudge experiment
I like the way the background turned out. But the flower doesn't blend very well with it.

Great back ground Jordan If you have downloaded Trimoons smudge tools there is a soften edges one that is great for just that softening edges, on the darker bits you might need to change to lighten mode watch your size or you will smudge some of the background as well,
It is a great tool and i use it quite often when i have selected part of a image and put onto a new background

Palms

thanks for the tip Palms. I know I have Trimoon's brushes somewhere.
I think its also the colors that may be bugging me. I just smudged the background that was there (used Sylvia's camel background brush-love it!!). But I think if I were going to do it again, I'd pick colors from the flower itself.
If I get time I may do this one over.

Excellent Gouche smudge work Jordan. I like the texture too. :)

These are all great interpretations, thanks so much for your response.
Jordan, that's why I went to a black background. The photo was taken in a conservatory with a huge glass ceiling, but I did not feel that the white set off the flower to its natural glory. I like your smudge version. I am unable to achieve that result, no matter how I try.
Lyle, I love the texture of your work. What is texturizer script-fu?
Kimlou, I think you kept the natural color of the flower better than I did.
Palms, I like how you kept the original detail of the leaves and bud.
Shari

Excellent Gouche smudge work Jordan. I like the texture too. :)

thanks Lyle! (I am so art illiterate, is that what gouche looks like? :) )

Whenever I see a heavy watercolor (not oil), I think Gouche Jordan.

You can get the Texturizer Script-fu (if you have GIMP) here (http://users.telenet.be/ev1/gimpphotoeffects_en.html) Sharyn. :)

my try with this pic.

Vitali,
Nice soft interpretation. I really like it. It looks like a real painting.
Shari