Painterly Photographs

 Bee Pollinating Lupins

Sometimes I like to try to create a totally different look from a photograph. I might just be a frustrated painter, coming from a family of painters like I do...my grandmother, father, brother and sister are all painters. But it's something I've never really pursued much until recently.

I do some painting now, mostly for backgrounds for photographs, which I then layer on in Photoshop. I guess you'd call this digital art but here's a question for you: What is digital art exactly? Is it when you create something totally on the computer? Can it encompass digital collages? (By the way, that's something else I like to do.)

I love playing around in Photoshop. I start with a photograph or a collage and layer one or more "textures" on. A texture can be anything from another photograph such as rusted metal or clouds, to something that's been painted either on the computer or traditionally, with paints and brushes.

I played around with the image of a bee flying towards lupins that's pictured above...I ended up doing so many things to it, I don't even remember everything! That's what happens when you're creating something like this...you can lose yourself in the moment, totally absorbed with the effects.

 Flight of the Bumblebee

I realize the end result isn't for everybody, but I really like the way this image ended up. To my eye it's colorful and fun and looks more like a painting than a photograph. And that's a look that I personally enjoy.

lupins art