How to Paint a Pet Portrait

Hey creative friends!

I like simple brush strokes

and rustic paint styling.

I thought I would share

how you can use a simplified tracing method

to achieve a textured pet portrait.

Here are some cute beach dogs -

 

First start with your pets photo

and you will need to put it into photoshop.

Brighten the photo and give it a lot of contrast

so you can clearly see your pet's  face.

Create a new layer on top of the photo

and trace your pets outline and features.

Print onto paper and transfer onto your board.

I did a chalk transfer onto brown washed boards.

Using the easy dip and drag paint method,

with cardstock, drag paint across boards

around the outline of your pet.

You could certainly try this on canvas too,

but won't have quite as much texture.

I used a brush for the sky.

Then I chalked in the finer details of the face.

Now you have  a good outline

and can use a brush or cardstock 

to fill in areas with color.

You will need finer brushes for the eyes.

Even if you don't have a photo of your dog on a beach,

it would be fun to put him on a beach!

Hope you give it a try!

Deb

Link Parties:

Between Naps on the Porch

DIY Showoff

Savvy Southern Style

Talk of the Town Link Party

Painted Art to Digital Art

It's back to school here this week!

I love learning.

I thought I would share with you

a tool in photoshop that 

is fun to use.

So, I've taken my painted feathers

and changed them to digital art.

They looked like this when I painted them on a board.

I scanned them into my computer.

I used the pen tool in photoshop to cut out around them.

Then I used Edit>Transform>Warp

to bend each feather.

Now I can put them into a repeating pattern

and use it on fabric or other surface design.

What I love about this

is that you can still have a painterly look

with digital art.

Hope you have some fun projects this week!

Thanks for your visit,

Deb

Art Journey Takes a Turn / Feather Trivet

Hey Friends!

Gosh, I know it's been awhile.

Change is in the works for my art and I'm excited about it!

You know I love to have my hands in paint,

but these days I'm holding and loving my new grandson.

Building signs and painting furniture is not so practical for my day's work.

Instead, I'm working in photoshop and Illustrator 

and creating designs there.

I'm loving my new journey and am excited about 

what new options might be available for my art.

I will always be working on creative projects

for my home

and will post about those

along with my new pattern designs.

Last week I led a group of ladies in a craft class!

We made planked wooden trivets.

We used the scraping method

(dip and drag with cardstock)

to create beautiful feathers.

You might remember we made holiday trivets

before in this post.

Use five 8" 1x2's.

1/4" drill bit for holes.

#10 or # 12 washers.  You'll need 12.

Cotton clothesline cord.

This is a fun group project.

Maybe you can plan a fall craft party too!

I always hope to share things 

that you would love for your home.

Blessings on your journeys ,

Deb