Not as pretty as some of the recent submissions, but variety etc. This one could be a challenge just for cleaning up the white balance and reducing the clutter, but hopefully will be fun to play with anyway.

Reminds me when I was a young un riding a tractor with a grass cutter for the city. Got too close to a creek and slid in. Instead of just leaving it, I kept spinnin the wheels until the tractor was up to the seat in mud. Don't know if they ever did get that tractor out. I digress.

Stylize:Diffuse:Anisotropic
Stylize: Find Edges, convert to Greyscale, copy, undo Greyscale, paste into.
Filter: Other: Minimum, 1 radius
Impressionist: Pencil Soft Opaque:Image: 33/65/105
Selected Sky and ran Impressionist again changing to custom color blue 33/100/105
Apply Image: Multiply 100% with Mask on
Stylize:Diffuse: Anisotropic
Stylize:Diffuse: Anisotropic
Unsharp Mask: 230/1.5/0

Cheers
Dave

Keep it simple:

Impressionist Chalk: Detailed Opaque Strokes.

1. Adjusted levels, contrast, color, saturation etc to taste
2. Duplicated layer
3. New layer
4. Sampled two colors from tractor, one light, one darker, and set one to foreground color, one to background color
5. Render>clouds till got an agreeable pattern
6.Filter>radial blur clouds
7. Layer mask to blurred clouds layer
8. Paint black on mask to wipe away clouds from tractor, and anything else you want to reveal. I used a "sketch wiper" brush, though don't remember where I got that.
9. When you are satisfied, or tired of brushing, or simply want to get on with your life, flatten image.

10. Duplicated flattened image
11. With lasso tool, roughly outline tractor. Stay quite far away from tractor and anything else you want to save
12. Select>inverse
13. Gaussian blur, lots (I think I used 80)
14. Select>inverse
15. Delete inverted selection.
16. Play with options on that layer now until you get something you like. I think I ended up using Multiply, lowered opacity, played with brightnesss and contrast, and ???
17. When happy, tired, frustrated, or ready for bed, flatten image.

18. Added new layer, filled with color (I used white)
19. Duplicated flattened image, moved duplicate to top of stack
20. Added layer mask to duplicate
21. Again brush away (paint black) with low opacity brush as much of the colored halo as suits your fancy. I worked mainly on softening the outer edges
22. Enough? Make snapshot.
23. On snapshot, played with filters:
Film grain
Angled strokes
Texturizer
And then it was past time for bed. I slept on it, tweaked a bit more, and called her good enough for a first draft. Did wander about exploring various blends, opacities, adjustments along the way, but this as I recall is the general direction.

And yes, I did have fun!

Photo Brush pen and water colour script followed by colour boost.

Christine

Started with duplicate images. Took one and flat out ran PSP8 Large Drybrush on it. Second image I cut out the tractor and buzzed it and ran xero lineart, buzzed it again. Then merged the two images on average.

AmyHutton

Duv--thanks for reminding me about ansiotropic. I tend to forget what a cool affect it can have.

Danny--a good example that impressionist can stand on its own.

Preswing--I love your directions! Especially the part about quitting when tired and needing to go to bed. It's a common step in lots of my images too. :lol:

Christine--I wouldn't have thought to do anything that would give that look. I love it when people open my eyes to new possibilities.

Amy--great look--I love that combination of a loose paint job over a sketchy look.

Not too arty, but a chance to play with infrequently used filters. I started with a filter called Lucis Art. It can give some interesting effects. The one I like the most is called exposure--it can really bring out detail (in an artificial looking way). User review--a little pricey for what it does, but I don't have anything else like it. I frequently don't like what it does, but when I do like it, I really like it. I used both exposure and sculpture (the one I really like but hardly ever works the way I think it will). Threw in a little nik midnight and old photo. Topped with a touch of flaming pear's melancholytron.

Preswing:

Outstanding summary of steps. They are GREATLY appreciated.

Hope we'll see more of your creativity (and methods) in the future.

~Danny~

I tried to spruce him up a bit

Palms

This took about 1 minute to do. It's about the quickest, down and dirty way to get a very simple "painterly" effect

1. Dupe Background (just for safety sake, has nothing to do with the finished version)
2. Run Noise->Dust & Scratches (4,2 were my settings)
3. Run Artistic->Dry Brush until you like it. (I ran it a total of 3 times on this image.)

Done.

I may do a tutorial on this... :-)
______
Update... I did a video tutorial - Photo-Art 101 in the Tutorial Thread

Well I like tractors. I desaturated the picture then repainted it using my brushes in Photoshop. Did the vignette thingy and wala. I know the picture is not grounded and seems to float but that's the look I was going for.

bcarll

Cool, bcarll. That looks awesome.

Bcarll... Good job. This looks a lot like the 1950's Ford tractor that I learned to drive on.

Mines a liddle bitta Lucis, cutout, paint daubs and texture.

peter

"Out To Pasture"

Steve C.