For “On the Beach at Carmel,” I used the helpful Underpainting palette in Corel Painter Essentials 3 to block in a simplified version of the image. Then, I used various Acrylics brushes to paint expressive brushwork. To add texture, I used the Chalk brushes, and to smooth transitions between colors, I used the Blenders.

1. Choosing a good subject for painting. Begin by choosing an image that has a strong foreground with good detail and contrast, and a background that has less contrast. The softer contrast in the background will help with the Smart Blur technique in step 3. For my subject, I chose a photo that I shot of Steve at Carmel, California.
   
   
   
   
2. Adjusting the photo's brightness and contrast. The photo had dramatic lighting. I wanted to create an image that looked like a watercolor painting with some chalk texture details, and I wanted to print my image on a paper similar to conventional smooth watercolor paper. To prepare the image for the look of watercolor, I lightened it. To lighten your image, choose Effects > Tonal Control > Brightness/Contrast, and move the Brightness slider to the right. As you move the slider, the preview in your image is updated.
   
   
   
   
3. Creating an underpainting. Corel Painter Essentials 3 features the new Underpainting palette, which gives you creative controls for simplifying and adjusting a photo. Using the Style pop-up menu, you can choose presets that allow you to change the lightness, contrast, hues, and saturation of your image. Presets include Lighten, Darken, Increase Contrast, Color Shift, and Intense Color. The Underpainting palette also allows you to add a creative edge effect—for instance, a rectangular, circular, or jagged vignette. You can simplify the photo by using the Smart Blur feature in the Underpainting palette to adjust the detail within image areas. More detail is retained in the high-contrast areas. The blur decreases detail in the low-contrast areas.
   
   On the Underpainting palette, use the Style pop-up menu to choose an option. (If the Underpainting palette is not open, choose Window > Show Underpainting.) I chose the Saturate option. After you choose an option, a preview of the change appears on your image. To accept the change, click the Apply button.
   
   If you'd like to add a creative edge treatment to your image, choose an edge style from the Edge Effect pop-up menu—for instance, the Rectangular Vignette. To control the width of the edge effect, adjust the Amount slider. A preview of the change appears on your image. To accept the change, click the Apply button.
   
   I used the Smart Blur feature to simplify areas of my photo. I settled on a moderate Amount setting of 49% so that the soft background would be reduced to simple shapes that I could easily paint with the brushes later. Use the Amount slider to adjust the amount of blur. The preview is updated in your image as you change the setting. When you are satisfied with the effect, click the Apply button.
   
   
   
   
   
   Now that you have prepared your image by adjusting the color, value, edge treatment, and blur, save the image, using a descriptive name. I saved mine as “Carmel 2 adjust.rif.” You can see the difference before and after underpainting in the images below.
   
   
4. Making a clone. To make a duplicate of the underpainting image, choose File > Clone. After cloning your image, you can paint over it with expressive brushes. Save your cloned image with a meaningful name to help you keep the stages of your image organized on your hard drive. I named mine “Carmel_paint.rif.” Save your working image in RIF format, the native format of Corel Painter Essentials. This format allows the program to operate most efficiently, and it keeps media such as Watercolor “wet,” both during your current work session and after you save and close your file. Leave your adjusted image open, because you will use it later to restore imagery in your painting.
   
   
5. Choosing colors. To work over the image, I used a variety of colors and brushes. To add your own brushwork to the painting, choose a color from the Colors palette. (If the Colors palette is not open, choose Window > Show Colors to open it.) The Colors palette features a Hue Ring. To choose a new color, you can either click a location on the Hue Ring or drag the small color ring within the Hue Ring. In the Saturation/Value Triangle area, you can change the color to be more saturated either by clicking within the triangle or by dragging the small color ring to the right within the triangle. You can make the color less saturated by dragging the color ring to the left. To lighten, drag the color ring toward the top; to darken, drag the color ring lower in the triangle. The rubber stamp button on the Colors palette is the Clone Color option, which allows you to paint with color from your clone source. I will explain and use this feature later.
   
   
   
   
6. Adding expressive brushwork. To add expressive brush marks to the waves, rocks, and clothes, I used the Captured Bristle variant of Acrylics and the Smeary Round variant of the Oils, adjusting the size of these brushes as I worked. To smooth areas and to push and pull color, I used the Smear variant of Blenders. When I wanted a crisper edge (for instance, on the edges of the waves), I used the Palette Knife variant of Palette Knives, sized down to about 5 pixels.
   
   
   
   The sky in the photograph did not have enough color for the composition that I envisioned, so I added more soft blue and orange colors with the Smeary Round variant of Oils. This brush allows you to apply color and then blend it with existing color. In some cases, I used the Dropper tool to sample color from the image and then used the Saturation/Value triangle in the Colors palette to adjust the color to be darker and more saturated. I then painted with short, dabbing strokes. I also repainted the horizon line to be more horizontal. These changes can be seen in the two images below.
   
   
   
   
   
   I further simplified the sandy beach by using the Captured Bristle brush to rough in color over the top of the underpainting. To emulate a fine, sandy texture, I chose the Smooth Watercolor texture in the Paper Selector (toolbox), and then I used the Square Chalk variant of Chalk to lay a subtle texture over the painted sand.
   
   
   
   I wanted to make the rocks appear simpler and more subdued so that more attention was focused on the figure. I used the Dropper tool to sample color from the image, and I lightened the value subtly in the Colors palette. Then, I chose the Smeary Round variant of Oils and painted short strokes to define the shapes of the rocks.
   
   
   
   For the details on the clothing, I used a small Captured Bristle variant of Acrylics. I played up the highlights on the jacket sleeve by adding expressive, painterly strokes of a subtly lighter value. I also painted over the slacks, simplifying the forms and subtly enhancing the highlights.
   
   
   
   To paint the face, I used the Magnifier to zoom to 200%. I then analyzed the planes of the head. The Underpainting feature had helped simplify the forms, but I wanted to enhance the planes of the forehead and cheek, and also to sharpen the strong side-lighting on the face. The face was the focal point of the painting, so it would be painted with smaller brushes to reveal more crisp contrast and detail. I did not want the face in my painting to remain purely as a photograph, so I used crisp edges for the areas of higher contrast while using simple shapes to keep the suggested forms, where possible. Keep in mind that you are working on a painting and that you need to keep your brush strokes fresh and expressive.
   
   
7. Restoring detail from the clone source. I wanted to subtly restore detail back into the eye and brow area of the face. I chose the Soft Clone variant of Cloners from the Brush Selector bar. You can also choose this brush by clicking the Soft Edge Cloner brush from the Restoration palette. (To open the Restoration palette, click Window > Show Restoration.)
   
   Make sure that the underpainted image (in my case, Carmel_adjust.tif) is still open. In the File > Clone Source menu, check to make sure that the name of your underpainted image has a check mark next to it to define it as the clone source. Working in your “paint” image, use the Soft Cloner to gently brush over the area that you want to restore. I restored areas on the shaded side of the face. To retain the painterly look, I used a tiny version of the Sharp Chalk variant to add a few brush strokes.
   
   
   
   
8. Adding final painted details. For the final detail, I used the Smeary Round Oils variant to paint subtly lighter grays on the rocks behind the subject's head, so that they would recede in the composition. Also, I used the Captured Bristle brush to paint brighter highlights on the peaks of the waves. The water in the foreground was still too busy and distracting. I used the Smeary Round Oils variant and Captured Bristle to paint over the foreground water to simplify it and focus more attention on the figure.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

An award-winning artist and author, Cher Threinen-Pendarvis has always worked with traditional art tools. A pioneer in digital art, Cher has used the Macintosh® computer for nearly two decades to create illustrations. She has been widely recognized for her mastery of Corel Painter, Adobe® Photoshop®, and the Wacom® pressure-sensitive tablet and has used these electronic tools since they were first released. Exercising her passion for the art tools in Corel Painter, Cher has worked as a consultant and demo-artist for the program's developers. Her artwork has been exhibited worldwide, and her articles and art have been published in many books and periodicals. Cher holds a BFA with Highest Honors and Distinction in Art specializing in painting and printmaking, and she is a member of the San Diego Museum of Art Artist Guild and the Digital Art Guild. She has taught Painter and Photoshop workshops around the world and is the principal of the consulting firm Cher Threinen Design.

Cher is the author of The Photoshop and Painter Artist Tablet Book, Creative Techniques in Digital Painting, and all seven editions of The Painter Wow! Book. The Painter IX Wow! Book is the latest edition of this highly praised volume of techniques and inspiration.

To learn more about Cher, please visit her Web site at www.pendarvis-studios.com.