Nice painted effect, Jeff. I like your strokes.
I decided the balloons would look nice over the sea so I combined 2 photos.
Steps:
I first duplicated my original..I put this here as it's a step I tend to forget and end up having to go backwards.
Resized sea photo to match balloon photo.
Shift/Click on Ballon bkg in layer pallet and drag to the sea. It should center but if it doesn't use the move tool to fix it.
Flip canvas horizontal as I did or leave it as it is.
Add layer mask/reveal all
Add gradient (gray/black) dragging tool from bottom left to top right.
Brighten/Contrast to desired effect.
Flatten image
Unsharp mask settings: 187, 85, 83, again this is according to the look you want.
I hope these directions are understandable for other beginners like myself. If not please ask and I will be happy to help. I didn't create this easily but was learning as I progressed.
I realize this is not a realistic look but I like the mixture.
http://whynotme.free.fr/LidoBlu/ci-balloonscopy.jpg
Blu