Elevate Your Art Magazine - June 2021

JUNE 2021

E L E VA T E Y O U R A R T Bi-Monthly Magazine Featuring Photoshop Artists

featuring

K ELLY O ’ K E E FE T INA C ARO N

Reviewer

Mem bers of the review team are integral to the success of hundre ds of P hotoshop art i st s. H i g hly trained, they provide over 15,000 video reviews a year for me mbe rs of Beyond t he Brushe s.

Vid eo feed back is the key to success for many who are new to P hotoshop pai nt i ng!

Feat ured

A r t i s t : K i m b e r ly G ua rd i p e e w w w. g ua rd i p e e p h oto g ra p hy.com Kimber ly let lo o s e w ith th is o n e an d followed w h ere t h e b r u s h took h er. Her g oa l mi g ht h a ve b ee n to ju st pa int an im ag e , b ut wow, w h at a n ou tcome! Wh i le wor k i n g on t h i s pi ece, t h e Non - M i x i n g O rg a ni c B re ake r Br u s h b eca me h er fa vor i te to u s e.

W EL COME... ... to June’s issue of the Elevate Your Art Magazine.

Have you ever watched the development of an infant?

They slowly progress from completely immobile, to rolling, scooting, crawling, walking, and finally — running!

Learning to paint is a lot like the development of an infant. You start off completely immobile and slowly work your way toward running. And just like an infant, no matter how badly a six-month-old wants to run, their development just hasn’t progressed enough to do that. It’s the same with painting. The development of skills takes time — and it’s time well spent.

This month’s featured artist has definitely put in the time and effort, and while she still hasn’t arrived at the “running” stage of painting, she most definitely is walking tall!

Her baby portraits, which I must say are quite good as photographs, are absolutely exquisite as paintings!

Michelle

C OV E R I M AG E BY Paulette Cassidy

P a u let te remi n i s ced on t h e t i mes w h en h er g ra n d s on wa s a tod d ler a n d a lwa y s wa nted to h elp. Wi t h t h e s k i lls lea r n ed i n Beyon d t h e Br u s h es , s h e compos i ted a g a rd en i ma g e w i t h h er ph oto. Her g oa l wa s to t u r n t h i s ca pt u red memor y i nto a r t wor k , a n d I ’d s a y s h e’s more t h a n a ccompli s h ed i t .

Ma g a z ine © M iche l l e Pa r s l ey, M. Ph oto g . , M. A r t i s t , C r. , C PP St u d e nt im a g e s © re m a i n w i t h e a c h i n d i v i d ua l a s n ote d .

Screen captur ing a rt wo rk fro m t he m a g a z ine fo r yo ur ow n us e - w h et h e r p e r s o n a l o r co m m e rc i a l us e - i s a vi olat i on of th e a rt ist s’ co py rig ht which is p un i s h a b l e by Fe d e ra l f i n e s of up to $ 1 5 0 , 0 0 0 p e r i m a g e .

P l e a se b e re sp e ct fu l of t h e co py r i g ht of t h e a r t i s t s . T h a n k yo u.

CONTENTS 01 02 p7 p 17 p25 p29

Featured Reviewer: Kimberly Guardipee Welcome from Michelle Artist Feature: Kelly O’Keefe Unintended Consequences Rufus is a LIAR! #DOTHEWORK by Tina Caron

P a t t i wa s ent ra n ced wi t h t hi s swa n’s fa ci a l ex p color. S h e s u pplemente d s pr i ng hu e s a nd m a

M ASTH E A D & CO NTR IBU TO RS MICHELLE PARSLEY PUBLISHER HANNAH PARSLEY COPYWRITER CATH SMITH EDITOR A RTICLES: KELLY O”KEEFE THE VALUE OF PORTRAITS TINA CARON, #DOTHEWORK IMAGES:

Art ist : Pat t i St r uc hy n s k i

press i o n . It se emed to beck on fo r yo u to fo l low it, b ut th e p ic t u re la c k ed ade t h e bl ue wa ter more promin e nt. Fo r a s p e c ial to uc h , s h e a d d ed a b i t of fo g to g ive an am b ig u ou s g u i s e.

PAULETTE CASSIDY KIMBERLY GUARDIPEE PATTI STRUCHYNSKI PIETER FRANKE CATHERINE HALLECK KELLY O’KEEFE STEPHANIE DALMAN SHEILA TENNES SHELLY ELLIS IRENE BOWERS LINDA KNOX EVIE SHOEMAN MARIE HELYAR KATHRIN NEWMAN CYNTHIA GOSSELIN CHELLY HALL BEKKIE HARPER TINA CARON VICKIE BOLDUC LESLEY DAVIDSON

P i eter ba sed this p aintin g o n a p h oto co py of a ma gnolia blossom . Fro m th e re , h e util ize d the k nowled ge a nd s kil l s h e’s g ain e d to c re ate the d a rk , foggy a t m o s p h e re an d to ap p ly th e appropria te ed ge s of tn e s s . He re al ly g ave it di mension a nd a l ife of its ow n .

A rt ist: Pieter Fran cke

A r t i s t : C at h e r i n e Halle ck Ca t herine was in s p ire d by th e un co n dition a l love b et ween t h e c h i ld ren a n d t h ei r pet . S h e wa nted to ta ke one of those tend er m o m e nts , de m o n s tratin g th e h a ppi n es s a n d f r i en d s h i p t h ey s h a red , a n d pa i nt i t . T h i s i ma ge ha d t he ad d ed b en ef i t of a llow i n g h er to u s e wa r m a n d cool color s a nd tex t u re s .

Ar t i s t: Ke lly O ’Ke efe

ARTIST FE ATU R E

K E L LY O ’ K E E F E T H E VALU E O F P O RTRA ITS

A P O RT RA I T P H OTO G RA P H E R FO R OV E R 2 5 Y E A R S , K E L LY N OT I C E D H E R F I E L D WAS H E A D E D D I G I TA L . S H E B E L I E V ES I N T H E VA LU E O F F RA M E D -A N D - H U N G P O RT RA I T S A N D I S FAC I N G T H E C H A L L E N G E W I T H A RT I S T I C F L A I R .

Ar tis t: Ke l ly O’ Ke efe

Before joining Beyond the Brushes, Kelly took several workshops in Corel Painter, but none really stuck. The difference? Beyond the Brushes doesn’t pump you with knowledge and dump you. Instead, it follows you throughout your journey of learning to apply the techniques. Each baby step has feedback to h elp you along the way, and that is where Kelly believes she found her success.

color. She struggled with those lessons the most, especially choosing background color based on the subject. Though she wouldn’t call it an instinct, it is starting to clic k. Her breakthrough happened when she started paying attention to nature, marketing, and the entertainment industry. By analyzing everyday color combinations, selecting the right ones got easier and easier.

For this series, Kelly wanted to step outside of her comfort zone and do something special.

She incorporated the teddy bears and vintage props to take her photographs to the next level. Capturing the original photographs was crucial in her creative process. Her studio lighting consisted of the main light, close to the subject, as well as the fill light and backlight. For the outdoor shot, she stumbled across a trail last winter that she thought would do the trick, and with all the spr ing foliage, it definitely did not let her down.

Now, just because things got easier in some regards doesn’t mean that Kelly didn’t have struggles creating these paintings. In fact, she found that the little details posed the biggest mental and physical challenge. It was a painstaking process to meticulously go over each image and add in the details, especially the flower petals. And it’s never a fun experience when arthritis kicks in. But she persevered, and the reward was worth it!

In the outdoor portrait’s background, she worked freehand, adding branches and giving it more depth. Brushy Goodness played a key role in this series, and if Kelly woke up as a brush tomorrow, her fondness ranks it number one on her list. As for color selections, Kelly found them to be a natural extension of what app eals to her. She doesn’t generally use or surround herself with bright colors. These earth tones were just what she needed to create a complementary color palette, but it wasn’t always this easy.

She was overjoyed to watch her vision come to fruition. All of the feedback from the reviewers and community really helped her push through to the final pieces. Kelly has found the best piece of advice to be, “Back up. Zoom out. Squint. Turn the image upside down.” Viewing images from different angles and perspectives truly makes you see things differently. Her goal now is to take a photo from every portrait session and turn it into a painting.

Kelly has put a lot of effort into understanding

A S E L F - C L A I M E D “ WO R K S H O P J U N K I E ,” K E L LY J O I N E D I N A P R I L 2 0 2 0 . L I K E H E R LOV E FO R L E A R N I N G , H E R A R T I S T I C M OT I V E S A R E P U R E . S H E D E S I R E S TO C R E AT E TA N G I B L E WO R K T H AT CA N B E D I S P L AY E D A N D C H E R I S H E D. K E L LY ’ S WO R K CA N B E FO U N D O N L I N E AT W W W. K E L LYO K E E F E P H OTO G R A P H Y.C O M

Ar ti s t: Ke l ly O’Keefe

A r t i s t : Ke l ly O’Ke efe

COMING UP IN

JUNE

H ISTORY OF ART

Edvard Munch ELEMEN TS OF ART

Value

Steph a n i e a d ores h er swe et pu ppy, Vor ka . Vor ka h fa mi ly ’s li ves , a n d s h e wa nted to s ha re a por t i on of i Vor k a ’s sweet n a t u re a n d lovi ng s ou l by e m pha s i z i n

S h eli a fell for t h e qu i et , m e d i ta t i ve moment ca pt u red i n t h i s i m a ge . At fi r s t g la n ce, s h e k n ew s h e wa nte d to pa i nt i t .

Her d eli g ht i n t h e proces s wa s e nha nce d b eca u s e s h e h a d t h e ple a s u re of u s i ng h er Beyon d t h e Br u s h es o ne -ye a r s t u d e nt a n n i ver s a r y g i f t , t he B ra ye r B r u s h.

A r t i s t: Sh e i la Te n n e s

Ar tist: Stepha nie Da l m a n w ww.boxer sand b e e r. co m

has b ro u ght buck et s of joy into h e r an d h e r it w i t h everyon e else. Stepha nie h ig h l ig hte d ng t h e g o lde n fu r tones, a ngelic exp re s s io n , a nd inn o ce nt eye s .

A rti st: Shelly Ellis s ellisphotography.co m

U N I N T E N D E D CONSEQUENCES AS A GENERAL RULE, EVERY PAINTING INCLUDED IN ELEVATE YOUR ART MAGAZINE HAS BEEN THE FULL CONCEPT AND CREATION OF THE ARTIST. I HAVE NEVER BEFORE ALLOWED ANY PAINTING THAT WAS ASSIGNED AS PART OF A BEYOND THE BRUSHES LESSON TO BE INCLUDED IN THE MAGAZINE…..

UNTIL NOW.

I spend a lot of time creating lessons for members of Beyond the Brushes.

Naturally, I try to make the lessons interesting. I’m sure some are better than others, but there is currently one that has most every student in stitches… Giving Gertrude a life.

Who is Gertrude you ask?

I keep a mannequin head in my studio for teaching lighting concepts. I have dubbed her, “Gertrude”. During the Apprentice Stage lessons on focal length and directional light she stood in for a living, breathing human so that members of Beyond the Brushes could have a greater understanding of lenses and lighting to best complement their subjects.

This segment of lessons also focuses on “Frankensteining” which is a term I coined some years back. It essentially means taking body parts from different frames (or even different people altogether) and putting them together in Photoshop to create the most pleasing pose for a painting — just as Dr. Frankenstein did when he created his monster — only not quite as messy. 😂 Frankensteining involves a lot of decision making…

Can the skin tones be matched?

Is the clothing and body position adding to the story? … and on and on.

Anyone doing this sort of work need s a good bit of practice to perfect the skills necessary for success. It seemed only logical to practice Frankensteining by using various photographs of Gertrude’s head combined with assorted bodies (mostly stock photographs).

Never could I have predicted the hilarity that would ensue!

The creativity and excitement surrounding this lesson really caught me off guard. I haven’t laughed this hard reviewing lesson paintings… probably ever! I’ve included just a handful of the students’ paintings using nothing more than a mannequin head, a stock photograph, and some imagination.

So what were the unintended consequences?

My sides are sore from laughing so hard!

Michelle

Does the camera angle match?

Is the direction of lighting cohesive?

CLICK HERE TO TRY A SAMPLE LESSON

A r t i s t : I re n e Bowe r s Ma s te r A r t i s t , PPA ; C a l i fo r n i a Ma s te r Ph oto g rap h e r, P P C w w w. i re n e b owe r s .com

A rti s t: Linda Knox

A r t i s t : Evi e Sh oe man

A rti st: Mar ie Helyar ma ri ehelyar photograp hy. co m Mari e sta rted with her g ran ddaug hte r lyin g o n a b ed of roses. Ta k ing it to the n ext leve l , s h e c re ate d a dre a my m oo n lit scene tha t a lm o s t m ake s it lo o k un de r wate r.

Braye r B ru sh provid ed th e fe e l in g s h e wante d, an d Brushy G ood ness help e d h e r c re ate th e b e autif ul m ovement a nd extens io n of th e h air.

Ka t hrin wa s re ady to tac kle s o m e p rac tice a f ter a n 8-week hia t u s . S h e wante d to wo r k o n do g por t ra i t s a nd d a rk f ur, s o w h at b ette r way th an to pa i nt a d og you lik e? Addin g th e j ewe l s h ap p e n e d la ter on to a ccentu a te th e p ug ’s s as sy exp re s s io n a n d h a ve s o m e f un w i t h i t .

Art ist : Kat hrin New m a n www. kat hrinnewma n . co m

A r t i s t : C ynt h i a Gos s e li n C ynth ia co nfe s s e s th at b al let poi nte s h oes a re h er mu s e. S h e ta k es a pa i r wi t h h er to eve r y photos hoot s h e p o s s ib ly can . Th is im ag e wa s ta k en a t h ome a g a i n s t a w h i te b a c k g rou n d w i t h t h e i ntent of pa i nt i ng i t .

He r fa vor i te b r u s h es , Br u s hy G ood n es s a n d Bra yer Br u s h , were u se d to cre a te i t .

NEW LE SSON:

r a i L

RUFUS IS A

I love this quote from the artist, Robert Hughes… ”The greater the artist, the greater the doubt.

Perfect confidence is granted to the less talented as a consolation prize.”

the constant stream of lies on repeat in their heads, the end result is the same, if not worse. Lack of growth and, sadly, artists in this category seem oblivious to this fact.

I hope you never find yourself in this category.

Isn’t that just the way it always goes?

It seems that every time I see an artist and their work leaves me speechless (and NOT in a good way) they seem to just ooze confidence. Almost obnoxiously so.

But the artists that take my breath away, the artists that make my heart skip a beat when I see their work, those artists more often than not appear to struggle with confidence.

Have you ever followed an artist that was, shall we say, less than the most talented and yet oozed confidence long-term? I have.

More often than not, they get stuck in a rut and never come out of it. Eventually, this leaves their work stagnant, repetitive, and uninteresting.

I’m fairly convinced that this is a more stealthy attack from Rufus. Even though these artists don’t seem to be plagued with

Every really great artist has doubted his or her work at some point (the fantastically great ones seem to doubt at every point). The more you grow and spend time with your artwork, the more you may find yourself questioning if you made the right decisions in the creation process. We can be our own worst critics, but I think this actually serves a purpose in the long run.

Artistic growth and art that is vibrant and ever-evolving.

Artistic growth does not come without some aches and pains. The more you doubt yourself, the more you should remind yourself that your art is growing and improving.

Growing pains should be welcomed!

Surround yourself with positive and honest people. I promise you will make it through every storm of doubt.

A r t i s t : Ke l ly O’Ke efe w w w. ke l lyo ke efe p h oto g rap hy.com Kelly ha s a love fo r n ature , e s p e c ial ly b ird s . T h i s pa s t w i nter h er of f i ce wa s moved f rom t h e b a s ement to a room wit h feed ers rig ht o uts ide h e r w in dow. S h e p h otog ra ph ed s evera l b i rd s , b u t t h ere wa s ju s t s omet h i n g s peci a l a b ou t t h i s on e t h a t ca lled for h er to pa i nt i t .

A r t i s t : C h e lly Hall w w w. a zd i r t ro a d p h oto g rap hy.com Chelly wa s enjoyin g th e c h arco al le s s o n s an d wa nted to ex plore a d i f ferent ta k e on t h em. Fli ppi n g over to t he bla ck ca nva s, sh e we nt to wo r k w ith th e w h ite c h a rcoa l b r u s h . S h e h a s a k n a c k for h a v i n g a c rea t i ve ou t look on the lessons a nd p us h in g th e l im its .

A r t i s t : Be kki e Har p e r

B ek k ie ch al le n g e d h e r s e l f to tr y h e r h and a t d ra wi n g i n P h otos h op. S h e s elec ted a pi c t u re of h er s t u nni ng Ara b i a n horse, Jam al , to b e h e r te s t p ie ce . B efore n ow, s h e n ever t h ou g ht s h e cou ld d ra w, b u t a f ter a li t t le i ns t r u ct i on, i t ’s f i t t i n g to s a y t h a t t h e res u lt s s pea k for t he m s e lve s .

A r t i s t : T i n a C aron t i n a c a ro n p h oto g ra p hy.com

#DOTHEWOR K

BY TINA CARON

I ’ M S U R E YO U ’ V E S E E N # D OT H E WO R K F LOAT I N G A R O U N D S O C I A L M E D I A . R EG A R D L E S S O F W H E R E YO U ’ V E S E E N I T, S O M E T H I N G I N S P I R AT I O N A L G E N E R A L LY AC C O M PA N I E S I T. T H E C O M M O N T H E M E ? W H AT E V E R T H E WO R K I S , I T ’ S P R O BA B LY H A R D. Th roughout Beyond the Brushes, you will en counter lessons that are difficult. Be it a new skill, a new tool, or you are being ch allenged with a subpar image as your reference, the re’s a really good reason you are being handed that level of hard. In the Budding Stage, every new skill or tool builds up your foundation for future lessons and stages.

I want to challenge you to fight the urge to get through the hard things as fast as you can. Slow down and deliberately practice the capabilities you are building. Enjoy your satisfaction when you master a challenging lesson or image. The more you practice, the easier it will get.

As you build your reputation for producing painted images, it is inevitable that someone will present you with a terrible cell phone image or the unfortunately damaged print that represents the only visual memory they

have of a loved one. Appreciate the problem lessons, salvaging soft images, puppet warp, and everything else that made you want to throw your art pen in the toilet because this is when it truly matters.

It could be you or someone you are close to that suddenly needs a skilled painter. When you can say yes in this kind of circumstance, you are saying yes to something that means more to your client than you could ever truly understand. All the hard work you put in throughout your time in Beyond the Brushes is designed to position you to say yes when everyone else has to say no.

This portrait was painted for a dear friend for the one-year anniversary of his father’s passing. My friend’s family says his personality shines through, and it’s almost like he is living through this portrait. So, #DOTHEWORK because giving a family a gift like this is priceless.

A r t i s t : V i c k i e Bold uc w w w. j v p hotos .com Vick ie a d o re s th is f un ny, l ittle g ir l , b ut t h e g i r l ten d s to b e s o a n i ma ted i n a c t i on a n d s peec h t h a t s he m a ke s a wkwa rd face s . He r p ic ture h ap p e n e d to b e ca pt u red a t ju s t t h e r i g ht moment , a n d V i c k i e wa nted to s a ve he r sweet ex pres s i on a n d b ea u t i f u l fea t u res i n a t i meles s pa i nt i ng .

A r t i s t : Le s l ey D avi d s on w w w. t h e p a i nte r ly p o r t rai t .com.au Lesley d ecid ed to s te p o uts ide of h e r co mfo r t zon e by pa i nt i n g a s cen e ra t h er t h a n a por t ra i t a n d s t ra y i ng a wa y from her u su a l s tyle . S h e was draw n to th e intera c t i on b et ween t h e g i r l a n d t h e h or s e a n d wa nted to prese r ve t he e m ot i on wi t h i n h er pa i nt i n g .

E L E VAT E YO U R A R T. C O M