This week for Paint Party Friday I thought I would share this digital painting, Reminiscent of Tuscany, and the process that I used to get there. I love how this one turned out! It’s been fun to experiment and see how things evolve.
Reminiscent of Tuscany
Let’s start at the beginning, shall we? With the photograph. Driving in to my worksite from a different direction, I noticed these long skinny trees. Their shape and the way the light was hitting them reminded me of the Tuscan countryside, where the long, tall trees like this line the drives. So I asked my husband to drop me off in a different place, and I walked along the path at the edge of the property to photograph these trees. I had a plan for how I wanted these trees to look as a painting, so I walked around to view different angles and framed the photograph with that end goal in mind.
Later that night, on the bus ride home actually, I brought the photograph into the Glaze app and played around with painting effects until I got what I wanted. I was going for an effect that would smooth out the edges and details. I wanted mostly the shape and form of the trees, which is reminiscent of a painting style you will often see in modern paintings of the Tuscan countryside. Below was the final result. It’s not quite as smoothed out as I was envisioning, but as close as I could get.
I liked it at this point, but it didn’t “wow” me. A couple of days later I was participating in a Holiday Bazaar and was playing with images on my iPad during the slow times. I opened an app I hadn’t played with yet, InstaEffect FX, to see what it could do. I saw this wavy rainbow filter and had an “aha” – my tree painting needed some color! Here it is with the filter applied.
The sharp edges of the wavy lines needed to be painted a bit, so it was back into Glaze to “paint” those in. I have to admit, I haven’t quite figured out how to make Glaze do what I want yet, but after experimentation I usually get to where I want it to be. Here’s the final version out of Glaze:
The last bit was cropping. Even after the painting made them less obvious, I didn’t like the distraction of the other trees on the left side of the frame. I cropped them out with the Snapseed app, and here is the final result:
Reminiscent of Tuscany
It makes me smile. I love the bright colors, the shapes, and the memory it evokes for me of a different time and place. Whether it reminds anyone else of Tuscany is not really important.
It also marks an interesting shift… it’s the first time I’ve taken a photo specifically with an end painting in mind. Even though the end painting didn’t end up anywhere near the place I had envisioned it, the image was taken for that intent, and I’m happy with the result. Pretty cool, huh?
Well, you certainly had fun painting your photo, Kat! The end result is so colourful and vibrant and fun! I’m glad you showed it here… it’s great to let our creativity have a free reign and see where it leads us! Hurray for colourful rainbows and trees in Tuscany!
Yes, Hurray! Thanks Sandra. 🙂
Beautiful, and happy colors….it turned out so great!
Kat – this is gorgeous! While I have never been to Tuscany, it certainly resembles the photos and paintings that I have seen of that area – you have captured that essence.
And you must stop with this new obsession – for those of us without a smart phone, the inability to following along is excrutiating 🙂
Sorry Brenda, I can’t stop! It’s got me hooked! You can look into an iPod Touch. You can do all of the same stuff without the monthly smartphone bill!
So VERY cool!
Love, love, love this , Kat! Thanks for sharing the whole process….it really is so exciting for me to just see how it developed. This needs to be on a wall. And the theme — of course, I love Tuscany too.
I really like the end result, and enjoyed seeing the steps along the way. What fun, Kat!
I can see you’re hooked! Have fun.
Yes, and you can take some of the blame, er, credit. 🙂 I look forward to sitting down and chatting with you about creating digital art when you are back in town!
Very cool considering it looks like a painting but was done with camera and iPad! I’m impressed…will look for those apps so I can play too! HPPF!
it is very cool… I like the lines moving across it… it reflects the movement in the leaves… this is so rich… loved seeing the steps…xx
Who knew that a little blur and a rainbow could be so pretty Happy PPF!
Brilliant!! I LOVE IT!! The colors, shapes, everything is stunning! Thanks for sharing your process!! It was so fun to read!! I love digital art! You vision is amazing!
Hugs Giggles
Wonderful piece, love those wavy shapes, textures and colors!
That wavy rainbow-effect really does it! Great result!
Once you start taking photos with the intent of using them like this, you are done for. Your husband needs to get ready to be told “Stop the car!” a lot more often!
Love the painting, it does take me back to Tuscany.
More than pretty cool- try amazing! This made me smile too! I love the way you used the colors with the trees!! Happy PPF!
Terrific digital painting, awesome results. Happy PPF, Annette x
How interesting this is, love the final outcome.
So does look like Italy. Terrific painting, Kat. The colorful rainbow effect was a bold move and it really paid off. Made a huge difference to add the color. So often we are afraid to step it up and be bold in what we choose to do. Great work. Happy PPF
Love this, great work and to see your processes
Very interesting to see your process here. Your painting turned out beautifully.
Thank you so much for the tutorial about how you achieved this stunning image. Just gorgeous. Happy PPF!
what great effects! i am intrigued by what can be done with iPad apps but am still working out which app does what! i really like the wavy effects you created. i have not seen that before. and the painting is very reminiscent of tuscany!
so cool! I love the less colorful one but you are right…the rainbow versions have a ‘wow’ They make me smile, too
I love seeing the progression!
I haven’t done as much digital work this past year, but I’m hoping to after Christmas–
I’m having a giveaway over at Art in the Garage to celebrate my 1000th post–hope you can stop by and leave a comment!
Oh my I SO love your digital art!!! Truly reminiscent of Tuscan colors!Hapy PPF!
Oh yes! Looks awesome! Each step is good, thanks for showing the progress!
Wow! I love this painting! You are right the shapes blurred out so you just have shape and color really make it contemporary in feeling. I wonder if I could do something like that in Elements 9. I love it!
Thanks Gloria! You probably could do it in Elements. Figuring out how is the trick! 🙂
Interesting how the computer works like that. Pretty picture. Blessings, Janet PPF
Excellent! Almost makes me want to try iPhone photography. But, the $ investment in new phone would be too much. 🙂