Featured Artist - April 2008
Posted on April 13th, 2008 by admin
Featured Artist - April 2008
Painter of the Month
April 2008
Annette Graves
Painter Talk
Your Digital Art Community Forum
Featured Artist - March 2008
Posted on March 1st, 2008 by Valerie
PAINTER OF THE MONTH
March 2008
Giovanna Gazzolo
A LADY
by Giovanna Gazzolo
Click below to meet Giovanna and read her story in our
Featured Artist - February 2008
Posted on January 31st, 2008 by Valerie
PAINTER OF THE MONTH
Ken Laplante
February 2008
Cone Flower by Ken Laplante
ART AND MY LIFE
Tell us about how you became interested in art, a bit about your life.
I have always been interested in creating art. I loved to draw as a kid and pursued art classes in high school. I tried all kinds of media: pottery, ceramics, paintings, drawing, woodworking. I was interested in all art forms. That and music – I could not get enough. I took organ lessons in my youth and still play today, though time is limited and the fingers seems somewhat slower than in the past.
I joined the Air Force right out of high school, and many of my pursuits were put on hold, though I made some paintings during that time for friends. Marriage and children became my priority after the Air Force. I got a job back home and have been with the same company for the last 26 years.
Four years ago I logged onto the classmates.com web site to find some old friends from my Air Force years and located one of my best friends from that time. Since my wife Johanna and I already had a trip planned to California that year, we got to visit my friend’s home there. He had two of my paintings from 22 years earlier hanging on his walls. What fun to see my friend and my paintings after so long a time! My wife had no idea I loved to paint, so for Christmas that year she surprised me with paints, easel, and all the supplies I needed. I took lessons from a local teacher, and my journey into painting began anew.
What traditional media, if any, have you used in the past to create your art? Do you still?
Over the last few years I have taken lessons from some national painting teachers who travel. I have enjoyed those classes tremendously. I learned how to paint using the “Grisaille” method of under painting using gray tones and am considering certifying in order to teach that technique – one I love using. I have painted using acrylic and oils. I have no real painting experience with watercolor.
How does Painter fit? How, when, and where did you discover Painter?
I discovered painter in 2005. I was browsing the internet for classes once I had bought the tool. I found Painter Talk and Karen Bonaker and have been here ever since. It’s my home in the painter world.
How does it fit into your art life?
Painter is fitting into my life even more so than traditional media currently. I feel I can experiment more and take chances with new ideas and techniques without the concern of wasting expensive art materials. I can also create something in Painter with the intention of replicating it with traditional media.
Tell us how you made the transition from traditional media to Painter. (If you did.)
I do feel I have made the transition to Painter very well. Painter has been a journey all its own, I really enjoy working with this tool. The exploration is endless and the variety of results does boggle the mind.
One thing I have been doing more of is printing out my projects and embellishing them with acrylics and mediums, textures and glazes. Wow that is fun and the results are fantastic. The sky is the limit.
WHO ARE YOUR ART HEROES?
Contemporary artists?
Robert Warren, Helen Van Wyk
Artists from history?
Rembrandt.
Most inspirational Painter artist(s)?
Karen Bonaker, Jeremy Sutton
FROM THE PAINTER CAN TO THE EASEL
What’s in your personal pack of brushes you don’t ever want to lose? The ones you reach for first, or can make a whole painting with?
Actually I don’t have many real favorites. I use whatever I think will do the job for the effect I want.
Are there other tools in Painter you consider favorites as you create your art
I just really enjoy the papers in painter and the textures it can create.
Do you paint from your own (or others’) photos?
I do like to use a photo and then to clone and trace. This is my starting point for a new painting. At times I like to composite a few photos together to make a new and original scene. I have made paintings from photos too.
…or do you prefer to start from a blank canvas? Or both?
I love to use Painter from a blank canvas. It feels to me like I have my canvas on my easel. At that moment of beginning, I’m the freest. This new painting just might be my greatest masterpiece. I don’t fear the blank canvas – it’s my open window to creativity.
WHAT NOW?
What do you want the viewer to feel when they look at your art?
I want them to feel a sense of peace. I hope to remove some of the stress in life. I hope my images express a yearning for peace in the world. I know it seems like a crazy concept. In this world where people hate each other just because they live in a certain country or believe in a higher being or God other than their own, I feel I need to express peace.
Do you feel that you are paving the way for digital art to have a real impact on the art scene?
Yes I do. I had brought some traditional paintings and some digital paintings to a location to sell. My traditional paintings sold fine. The digitals didn’t. Even though folks had many wonderful things to say about them, they didn’t want to buy them. I think I will embellish them to make them unique and try again. I think people are warming up to this form of media, but we still have work to do.
Where do you want to go from here with your art?
As stated before the sky is the limit. I think as people recognize that digital art is just another form of artistic expression, then it will be better received. I do believe that day is coming.
Featured Artist January 2008
Posted on January 1st, 2008 by Valerie
PAINTER OF THE MONTH
Nita Mata
January 2008
Tiger Kitty by Nita Mata
ART AND MY LIFE
Tell us about how you became interested in art, a bit about your life.
I can’t remember when some form of art wasn’t part of our family’s lives. Two of my dad’s brothers were commercial artists who used the airbrush medium. One of my mother’s brothers was an architect and another was a cabinet maker. From earliest childhood I loved making something pretty, from finger painting in kindergarten, (ooooh, how I loved the feeling of wild expression using that gooey stuff!) to painting posters about civic issues in Mrs Dils’ art classes in elementary school. Just things every other school kid did.
My parents had other ideas about my artistic future, however, and from age seven I became a classical piano student. Reading and playing music came very easily to me, and my cries and pleas to do other things kids that age wanted to do fell on deaf ears! So I painted pictures with my music. And I’m grateful for the discipline my parents instilled in me through my piano training.
Today, although my playing is limited, listening to music still stirs feelings in me that cannot be described in words. For me music and art are synonymous. I see light, color, dimension, composition and balance in things, but haven’t in the past been able to put them on canvas as easily as I can translate the music in my head onto the piano keys…
…Until about a year ago, when my sister, Barb Hartsook, showed me what she was doing and helped me work through my first painting, a portrait of my granddaughter from a photo. Barb wanted us to have this to do together, something we both loved, something that would keep us connected, even at a long distance, as the best friends we are. Barb’s patience and help have been immeasurable to my learning my way around Painter and the many classes and study opportunities available.
Even though my ‘painting from scratch’ skills are…well, shall we say in a stage of development, this incredible digital art program is making it possible, through trial and error, with study and joyful exploration, to translate the beauty I see into paintings.
Do you still use traditional media in your art?
Sketching with pencils and ink is a little easier to do traditionally than in Painter, I think, but I’ve become good friends with the Control-Z key on my keypad!
MY ART HEROES
Who are your favorite artists, from history, contemporary, and Painter communities?
Since formal art education was not part of my life, I looked at art museums only from a spectator’s point of view and didn’t try to learn about the artists themselves. How much I have missed! Now when I go to museums, I can actually enjoy and study the pieces because I’m learning WHAT to look for, thanks to Painter Talk artists, Open Studio and LVS. A whole new world has opened up for me.
There are so many incredibly gifted digital artists at Painter Talk, it would be impossible to list all my ‘art heroes’ here…but Kathy Pilgrim, Barb Hartsook, Cat Bounds and Carrie Woeck would probably be at the very top. Their styles are so diversified and they each have something a bit different to teach from the others. And Jinny Brown. When you talk about ‘inspiring’, how can she NOT be mentioned? What a wealth of knowledge and a huge willingness to share it she has! And Karen Bonaker. Well, there’s nobody any finer as a human being, friend, and artist than this dear lady. What is so inspiring about ALL of the talented artists here is their willingness to help whenever asked. Each person is a teacher as well as a student. It’s impossible to put a value on that. Like the TV ad says, ‘Priceless’!Outside Painter Talk, I’d have to say that Jan David and Fay Sirkis are definitely heroes of mine. Their work is amazing. I read and look at everything I can on what they do.
FROM THE PAINTER CAN TO THE EASEL
How does Painter fit into your art life?
Oh, it IS my art life!
What’s in your personal pack of brushes that you don’t ever want to lose? The ones you reach for first or can make a whole painting with?
The Acrylics/Captured Bristle brush and Grainy Water Blender are my favorite brushes. I have made many paintings from both of them exclusively, simply because they work for me. The Palette Knife brushes are great, especially for touching up hair. I really like the FX/Shattered brush, too. At small sizes it is a lifesaver when my work needs some ‘painterly’ help!
Are there other tools in Painter you consider favorites as you create your art?
This may sound silly, but the biggest “Aha!” I think I’ve gotten is when Marilyn Sholin mentioned that changing Resat to 0% on the tool bar would change most brushes to a blender!
Do you paint from your own photos? (If so what is your photo source?) …Or from a blank canvas?
I usually paint from photos, very often my own. My daughter Wendy is a talented photographer (by hobby only at this point, but we’re looking at changing that!) whose photos I use as often as I can because they need so little enhancement before painting. It has been such a blessing to partner with her at this stage of our lives.
WHAT NOW?
What do you want the viewer to feel when they look at your art?
Being a very intuitive person, I try to ‘reach’ my subject’s spirit or emotion before I start to paint, even though it’s from a photograph. The eyes and set of the mouth are usually the telltale clues of what the person is feeling at the time the photo was taken. I hope that those who view my work will feel that they’ve seen a little more of this person than the rest of the world sees. I love painting kids and animals. They are so easy to read because it’s impossible for them to hide their feelings.
Where do you want to go from here with your art?
It has taken me nearly 68 years to find a passion that wakes me up at night and stays with me all day long. I want to keep developing the skills I’ve learned as well as to keep learning and practising every single day, getting better and better until the day these old fingers won’t be able to hold a stylus. Oh, how sad that will be! But don’t count me out yet. I’m a tenacious little rascal and it will be a long time!
What’s New at Painter Talk
Posted on December 30th, 2007 by admin
Painter Talk continues to grow! We are a group of almost 400 members in which many of them are active participants on the forum. We are truly a wonderful community where the digital artist is free to grow in their art.
Open Studio:
Open Studio classes begin on January 5th with a brand new subject, “Figurative Drawing”. It is bound to be a great session! Registration for Open Studio March session will open February 1st. Classes are $32.00 for a four week session. The subject of our next session will be refining your portrait paintings.
Digital Art Academy
If you have not had a chance to see the beautiful web design that Chris Price completed for Digital Art Academy, be sure to stop by and have a look! Class registration opens on January 18th. Each session DAA will add additional classes for your education and enjoyment, including certificate courses as well. Chris Price is one of our instructors as DAA and a favorite member of Painter Talk and Paint Outside the Frame forums. We are fortunate to have him teaching for us!
Painter Talk Featured Artist January, Nita Mata
Please take some time to enjoy the beautiful work of Nita Mata our January featured Painter Talk artist! She has a wonderful story to tell!
Welcome to Painter Talk!
Posted on December 24th, 2007 by admin
Your Digital Art Community!
Painter Talk is a community dedicated to digital art and its creation. If you enjoy Corel Painter, digital painting and learning more about the software Painter, this is the place for you.
Painter Talk offers its members ongoing education, community and private classes known as Open Studio. We are an exclusive Painter education forum. Karen Bonaker the Administrator is a Corel Training Partner through LVS Online where she offers many Painter classes.
Our members enjoy learning about Painter and sharing their knowledge with others. We are a supportive forum dedicated to the advancement of the digital artist where learning is of primary concern. Painter Talk is closely connected to Marilyn Sholin’s forum Digital Painting Forum with which we share information and special offers.
Painter Talk is a forum for those who enjoy digital painting and kinship with others who enjoy painting. Here you will continue your education by learning all about Corel Painter. I hope you will join us!
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TROPICAL SEASCAPE by Betty Piper