ELEVATE YOUR ART MAGAZINE: December 2022

ELEVATE YOUR ART

featuring Jenny Froh

Members of the review team are integral to the success of hundreds of Photoshop artists. Highly trained, they provide over 15,000 video reviews a year for members of Beyond the Brushes. Video feedback is the key to success for many who are new to Photoshop painting!

Marie Helyar mariehelyarartist.com.au

Marie chose to do a freehand study from a reference photo taken in the early 1970s of her and her first husband on a tree-felling operation. Her inspiration for the painting came when a friend was going through photo albums with her and said it looked like a Fredrick McCubbin piece.

WELCOME...

Human beings are creatures of habit. We have our favorite foods, favorite shoes, and even our favorite…brush?

Yes, we, as artists, often have a favorite brush. The favorite brush in the organic painting world is protected like a treasured best friend that you know will depart long before you’re ready to let them go. Wearing out a favorite brush is both a good and bad thing. Bad because, as a favorite, you know you can rely on consistent, predictable strokes. But the loss of a favorite brush can also be a really great thing.

How?

In this issue, we’ll explore why it’s both good and bad that Photoshop painting brushes never wear out.

Sheila Tennes instagram.com/sheilatennes

Sheila was inspired by Philip Alexius de Laszlo when his painting of Queen Elizabeth as a young girl was published on Beyond the Brushes. Wanting to emulate his portraiture style in her own painting, she set out on a quest. I think this is one for the books!

Magazine © Michelle Parsley, M. Photog., M. Artist, Cr., CPP Student images © remain with each individual as noted.

MichelleScreen capturing artwork from the magazine for your own use - whether personal or commercial use - is a violation of the artists’ copyright which is punishable by Federal fines of up to $150,000 per image.

Please be respectful of the copyright of the artists. Thank you.

COVER IMAGE BY

Artist: Jana Hoffmann janahoffmann.eu

MASTHEAD & CONTRIBUTORS

MICHELLE PARSLEY PUBLISHER

HANNAH PARSLEY COPYWRITER

CATH SMITH EDITOR

ARTICLES: JENNY FROH

IMAGES:

SHEILA TENNES

MARIE HELYAR JANA HOFFMAN KELLY O’KEEFE

BEKKIE HARPER ANN LAUWERS

RUSSELL KINERSON JENNY FROH

JENNIFER WYNNE VICKIE BOLDUC

SHELLY ELLIS

EVIE SHOEMAN

TRACY MUNSON

SHERRY PRATT

DEB RICE ANN GRAY

DIANNA RUCKER ROWENA CHERRY

Artist: Kelly O’Keefe www.kellyokeefephotography.com

Kelly has done a portrait session with Reagan and her bear every season. They are all equally adorable, but in terms of Reagan being a trooper, the winter portrait takes the cake! Kelly and Reagan’s parents are excited for the other seasons’ sessions, which hopefully won’t be quite so cold.

EMBRACE DISCOMFORT

As an organic painter, I dread the day a favorite brush wears out. Once I latch onto a brush, I give it extra care, washing and preserving the bristles carefully so as to prolong its life for as long as possible. Inevitably, the day always comes that I must concede — the brush has seen better days and should be retired.

Giving up a favorite brush is hard. It feels like my work shifts with the loss of my trusted tool. Sometimes, the shift is in a positive direction. Other times… not so much. It takes a while to find a new favorite, and in that awkward, in between time, my work feels like it’s in a constant state of upheaval. It’s uncomfortable.

One of the things that I fell in love with

Photoshop painting for is that the brushes never, ever wear out. If you have a favorite, you never have to give it up. It will never fail you. Your work won’t ever have to feel like it’s in a state of upheaval.

But is that a good thing?

If you’d asked me five years ago, I’d have given you a resounding, “YES!”

My style is solid. I have a predictable palette of colors. My clients know what they’re getting when they commission a painting because I have been producing consistent work for years, in part because my favorite brush never wears out.

What I’ve come to realize is, when tools never wear out, it’s very easy to get too

comfortable. I can paint on autopilot, without really having to think about what I’m doing because I’ve done the same things for so long. While consistency in style is a good thing, stagnation is not.

It would be so easy for me to just coast along at this stage of my career. I have commissioned work coming in regularly. I love teaching. Life is good. But what I know is this:

A comfortable artist is a stagnant artist. I make a concerted effort to try new things, to find new techniques, and dare I say, to find a favorite new tool that can never wear out. I keep pushing myself because if I don’t, one day I’ll wake up and realize

I’ve been too comfortable for too long.

My message to you, Photoshop Artisan, is never get so comfortable you stop pushing forward. Deny yourself a favorite tool if you must. Being uncomfortable brings growth and growth is the opposite of stagnation.

Embrace discomfort!

Artist: Tracy

Munson https://tracymunsonphotography.com

Tracy caught the mood to paint with muted blues and grays. Her favorite satin hen, Lindsay, became the perfect subject. Snapping a wide-angle picture with her phone helped Tracy get the shot she needed even with Lindsay sitting right next to her on the arm of her chair.

Artist:

Sherry Pratt https://sherryprattphotography.com/

Sherry figured with four kittens and a little girl, what could go wrong? And oh boy, was that intuition right! After a Fine Art photo session, this photograph caught her eye. She followed her brain’s artistic demands, and this is the delightfulresult!

Russell Kinerson, PhD rskinerson@gmail.com

Russell learned some new techniques and rummaged up this beautiful capture of the Ozarks as his candidate. He sketched the scene with Brushy Goodness and used the Translucent Shadows brush for the clouds and fog. The Bristle Multi-Painter brush served as his secret weapon for painting the

Artist:

Artist: Jenny Froh

JENNY FROH

I’M ALL IN

JENNY FOLLOWED MICHELLE’S WORK THROUGH HER PRINT COMPETITION YEARS. ONCE SHE LEARNED ABOUT BEYOND THE BRUSHES, SHE JOINED IN OCTOBER 2021 AND WAS ALL IN!

That sense of esprit de corps isn’t something new to Jenny. Becoming a pet photographer made perfect sense because she has been “all in” on that aspect of her life too. Rather than music, you will probably hear a snoring Pug if you go into her studio. Her dogs are her muses, and they follow her from room to room. But the connection doesn’t stop with her own dogs.

Jenny loves to view and encourage others’ pet photography. Her favorite book is Dogs by Tim Flach, and some of her favorite pet portraits were created by Timothy Martin. Being a dog person, loyalty is something central to Jenny’s life. In fact, if she could pick any brush, it would be Greasy Blender because it is her most used and very reliable. Active and dependable describe Jenny to a T.

Speaking of that, Greasy Blender again came into play for this series and maintained its title as the favorite. Jenny’s paintings were inspired by her desire to be more whimsical and create something the camera couldn’t capture. Yet even though that was the goal, the camera still had to be involved. The two dogs walking were a client-provided image, and the others were all of her own original captures.

The kittens were fosters and had their

picture taken in a studio set up using studio lights on seamless paper. The Great Pyrenees mix and Chihuahua were captured outside with natural light. Finally, the mouse on the cat on the dog was a composite of both indoor and studio photographs. For this one and the client-provided image, Jenny worked freehand to paint the backgrounds. It added more to the story and helped create the whimsical touch she was hoping to accomplish. An extra dash of whimsy was added by Jenny following the advice to loosen the edges of unimportant areas and bring more attention to where she wanted the focus to be.

For the color palettes, Jenny naturally gravitates toward unsaturated colors that bring peace and serenity, so soft and calming colors were her focus. While creating the paintings, Jenny had a blast and couldn’t remember any negative parts during the process. Instead, she got to relish in making her clients happy and learning to use brushes in different ways. For example, using the Hair Brush to create grass blades! This experience is similar to what she has encountered in Beyond the Brushes. She has loved all of the lessons and found each and every one to be challenging and important to growing

A PET PHOTOGRAPHER FOR OVER 12 YEARS, JENNY WAS READY TO ELEVATE HER ART. EVEN WITH NO PRIOR EXPERIENCE PAINTING, SHE FOUND OUT BEYOND THE BRUSHES FIT LIKE A GLOVE.

Artist: Jenny Froh

Artist: Jenny Froh

Artist: Jenny Froh

Rowena finds peacocks fascinating. They were introduced into the wild where she lives, so she gets to see the mating dances, baby peafowl, and everything else. Her dog snagged some tail feathers from a male when they first moved in, and Rowena keeps the plume in a vase.

Artist Rowena Cherry facebook.com/ImageInationbyRowena

Artist: Jennifer Wynne www.jenniferwynnephotography.com

Jennifer photographed this mama feeding her baby when she was in Kenya in 2018. The protective posture and loving eyes spoke to her heart. It took a while before Jennifer’s painting skills were up to the task, but now, this painting honors loving mamas of all species.

Artist: Vickie Bolduc: https://www.bolducfineart.com

Vickie worked hand-in-hand with this young lady’s mother. For her senior portrait, the mother wanted something more traditional rather than today’s trends. After discussing, the mother picked the outfit and a pose. Then she gave Vickie creative license for the rest. They made a great team!

RUFUS IS A Liar

Rufus is a tricky fella. He knows you need to constantly push for new skills and techniques. He knows it’s a great idea for you to set favorite tools aside. He knows exactly how to manipulate the circumstances to undermine your success.

You, as an artist, know logically that being uncomfortable with a new tool is a good thing. The uncomfortable feeling is your skills expanding. Rufus knows this too, but being the rascal that he is, he will swoop in and fill your mind with doubt.

“Your clients won’t like this. It’s too different”

“You can’t learn this new tool and deliver on time. You’re much faster with the old one.”

“This tool doesn’t suit your style.”

“Just take your favorite tool and carry on. Nobody will know.”

He’s actually right about that one… for a while anyway. I really think the idea that “nobody will know” is the one Rufus uses most often.

Who is looking over your shoulder when you paint?

Nobody.

Who can look at your work and tell exactly what tool(s) you’ve used?

Nobody.

Rufus is right. That’s what makes him such a tricky rascal. He takes half truths and espouses them as pure fact. Half a truth is still a lie! Eventually, if you listen to Rufus, if you fall into his trap of comfort, your work will suffer. You’ll become stagnant.

Does this mean it’s not ok to have a favorite brush?

ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Having a favorite brush is part of being an artist. I don’t know anyone who paints regularly that doesn’t have a favorite brush. Painting with a favorite brush is a joy! Favorite brushes make favorite paintings!

Just don’t listen to the lies of Rufus when he tells you a favorite brush is all you need. Silence his lies and you’ll never have to worry about artistic stagnation again.

Artist: Shelly ellis sellisphotography.com

Shelly received the 3-year gift of the gold foil and actions brush and decided to return to some unfinished projects. It turned out to be the gift that kept on giving as she completed a handful of projects. For this one, she just followed the paint, and voila!

Artist: Evie Shoeman

Evie always wanted to paint a young woman in an elegant gown with her horse. Evie’s cousin happened to be staying at a ranch in Nebraska and photographed pictures for her. She chose to paint this one, and the client loved it!

Artist: Bekkie Harper

Bekkie was just trying to create a memorable portrait of these pups when it took the community by storm. She primarily used Brushy Goodness because of all of its unique characteristics. It was wonderful for her to receive such positive reactions.

Artist: Ann Lauwers https://www.anartistview.net/

If Ann had to pick a favorite subject, animals by far surpass the others. While she was painting this adorable duckling, she imagined that it was a classy lady with a high feathery collar. She even added in a little side wave with its webbed feet.

Deb, inspired by one of Michelle’s silent paints, created this imaginary horse with his mane and tail flowing in the wind. Creating a horse that any small child would love to ride was the goal, and she hopes to one day incorporate this horse into a children’s book.

Artist: Deb Rice

Artist Ann Gray

Ann hunted up extra practice for the charcoal lessons. Black and white photographs and paintings are not usually within her repertoire, so it was a new and exciting experience. However, it wasn’t just charcoals she learned. It also taught her more about tones as well as light and shadows.

Artist Dianna Rucker, BA, BS, MA and NBCT www.ruckerphotography.com

Dianna spied with her artist’s eye the painting hiding within the photograph. Her vision of what it could be carried her onward as she brought the rodeo to life on her canvas. What a great reason to start a painting! With just a few brushstrokes, she released the bull.