Voyage of Art

I am self taught, and as with any craft, experimenting and learning go hand in hand. 

Have the courage to try and you can accomplish almost anything. 

I enjoy drawing and painting and to be honest, over the many years of my lifetime, I wish I had dedicated more time to art. As with many people, real life of work and paying bills and raising your family, will always be foremost in priorities. Sometimes being creative was simply put away on the back burner for far too long. 

The voyage of art can be so satisfying. This voyage can be one of self discovery, it can be a voyage where we are able to block out the negative vibes in the world and to calm our minds. Art can be a form of therapy or a form of relaxation and meditation or an expression of opinion and imagination. 

Many people would say, "I cannot draw or paint, I wish I could." 

Art is not only using pencils, pens, charcoal and paint. Art can be any form of creativity and made from many materials, using a variety of mediums.

Digital art is something I enjoy and am by no means an expert. It is a hobby to me. I am under no pressure to produce anything at any given time. I create for the enjoyment, on the spur of the moment, when I feel like it.  

For digital Art, I use PaintShop Pro, it is used by many for Photo Editing. I only use it to create graphics as I am not a photographer. I have been using this program since 2002 with the Anniversary Edition 7 which I received as a gift from my husband. 

At the time I was keen to learn use it because I had no art materials and no space for creating art in the traditional ways. This program gave me the freedom to create anytime I wanted to and there was no cleaning up afterwards. Since then PaintShop Pro was taken over by Coral and has gone through various updates all the way up to the current 2020 edition that I am using. 

Originally I started to learn how to use PaintShop Pro in a Yahoo Group PSPMadeEz, it was an enjoyable time in my life and the members were wonderful in encouraging one another. There were weekly challenges and lessons.

Now there are groups on Facebook that are dedicated to PaintShop Pro and Photoshop, again there are members with similar interests and lots of inspiration and encouragement within those groups. 

I have gone through a lot of creative stages, making signature tags, writing tutorials (some featured in this blog) in the earlier days. Creating digital scraps for Digital Scrap Books. I have used it to create birthday cards and posters for events at work. I have followed many written tutorials, still available online. 

I used the PaintShop Pro to create Wedding invitations for my daughters. I was so proud that they asked me to do this. 

Recently I have been dabbling in Scrap Journal Art and painting with water colours. Both of these mediums are very new to me. I have been visiting Youtube for examples of how to do this. Even more recently I discovered Canva which is an amazing free online tool that you can use anywhere you can connect to the internet. With the templates available, you can create a graphic item within minutes. 

Art is a creative activity that expresses imaginative or technical skill. It produces a product, an object. Art is a diverse range of human activities in creating visual, performing artifacts, and expressing the author's imaginative mind. The product of art is called a work of art, for others to experience

Recycled Junk Journal Page Tutorial on BUDGET

 

This is my result following a tutorial from here from Maremis on Youtube

I am using an old readers digest book for a junk journal. 

Pink is for October

The History of the Pink Ribbon 

The History of Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Halloween Witch

Halloween WitchDrawn freehand in PaintShopPro and Wacom tablet. 

Clothing shaded using Mura Meister's Clouds. 

Use the warp brush to make the curves at the bottom of the cape. 

All about the heart font

All about the Heart Font

Create a Valentine Tag or Card with Word Art


Use  KR All about the heart https://www.1001fonts.com/kr-all-about-the-heart-font.html - Free for Personal for your chosen heart design.

Share your results at  Digital Friends on Facebook

Scraplifting

SCRAPLIFT

Copy the layout above to create a Scraplift Layout of your choice, using your own elements and images or if you use items from someone else - please credit them as I have done below.

Pressed flowers from Dozibaer - Her link is on the side bar

I "trace-painted" the centre picture of Violets using ART RAGE.

As always if you need help let me know by email.

The rest of the scrapping elements etc, were created in Paintshop Pro.

What is Scraplifting?
Scraplifting: Copying one or more design elements (title, page layout, etc.) from someone's layout and using it for your own scrapbook pages. Fairly common among scrappers, especially when suffering from Scrapper's Block. As the saying goes... "Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery."

Scraplifting Etiquette:
Personally I would not CASE a layout "Copy and Steal Everything"
Better to use a layout as an inspiration and then use your own ideas and scraps to make it your own.

Layouts using Overlays

Layouts Using Blending Overlays in PSP




I strayed away from the tutorial slightly but had fun just the same
The photo was taken by one of my nephews.

TUTORIAL LINK

Knitted Hedgehog

Knitted Hedgehog



The hedgehog was created from a tutorial which appears to no longer be available.

Use the knit stitch fill pattern to fill the shape of the hedgehog, then colourise.

Use the WARP tool to expand on the tummy and face and animal fur generator brush for the fur

Draw a Pencil Paintshop Pro Tutorial

Pencil
by PCArt 01 March 2009



Open New Image
4 inches x 1 inch at 300 pixels per inch

Foreground #afb0ff and Fill #8080ff
Click on fill colour and choose gradient foreground background
Repeat 1 Linear invert Angle 0
the darker shade should be outside and lighter shade inside

Preset Shapes Rectangle
Draw out an oblong shape to represent your pencil shaft

New Layer
Preset shapes Elipse - draw out an elipse to fit the end of your pencil

New Layer - Pencil Point
Preset Shape Triangle draw out a small triangle with your fill colour
Rotate 90 degrees left all layers un checked.
Place in position at the point of your pencil leave a little space for the wood

New Layer - Pencil Wood
Selections Freehand Point to point
draw in your wood and fill with a wood colour and add noise if you wish

Merge Visible

Decorate as you please

Made in Paint Shop Pro XI

Roses

Drawing a gradient Rose in Paint Shop Pro XI
by PCArt 04 June 2009

Open a New Image 600 pixels x 600 pixels at 300 pixels per inch

To start off..........
Set your foreground colour to #fdb9bb
Set your background to #8a191b

Set your Gradient to Sunburst
Center point Horizontal 78
Center Point Vertical 41
Focal Point Horizontal 27
Focal Point Vertical 76

Using your pen tool Freehand
Tracking 82
Anti Alias checked
Line Width 0
Connect segments checked
Create on Vector checked

Draw irregular shaped (circles?)
decreasing in size each on a new layer
and going to your gradient and inverting
and un inverting on each alternate layer
Then add a shadow beneath each "petal" layer

Expirement with other colours and gradient positions - and see what you can create.
Try adjusting the brightness and contrast on a few layers too.
Add more definition and depth by using your lighten/darken tool on the petals.

You have a Rose!