Nomi Wagner

Biography
Name: Nomi Wagner
Occupation/Profession: Portrait artist
Employer: Self
Location: Mandalay Beach at Channel Islands (Oxnard), CA
Hobbies: Yoga, reading, crossword puzzles

How long have you been in this profession?
Six years full time.

Why did you choose this profession?
After 20 years as a professional portrait photographer, I wanted to create portraiture in a different way. My goal was to draw and paint portraits traditionally, using the computer as my medium.

How did you get started?
My husband, Gerry Beane, read about Painter when it was first released and knew immediately that I would love it. I returned to college and art school to learn computer graphics and traditional art. But first I had to learn how to turn on a computer!

What are your most important accomplishments?
I have created many portraits that have brought joy to me, my family, friends and clients.

Describe a special moment in your career.
Honestly, I have special moments each day as I use Painter. I learn something new every day and am constantly challenged. It's thrilling!


History with Painter
How long have you used Painter?
I started experimenting with Painter 2 in the early '90s.

Why did you choose Painter?
Painter is the only program that can achieve the look of traditional painting.

Do you have any interesting/funny/noteworthy stories? (Related to Painter)
I submitted my Painter paintings to a digital fine art magazine and the editor said that my work could not possibly have been done on a computer and he would not accept it. I thought that was pretty funny!

What are your top five favorite Painter features?
My favorite features are Digital Watercolor, Drying the Canvas, Tracing Paper, Paper Grain, Burn.

What are the Painter features that allow you to distinguish your art?
I paint from scratch in Painter and am able to paint using a traditional watercolor technique.

Is it possible to get the same results with other digital painting software?
Not that I am aware of.

How do you feel about Painter?
Painter is my life! I use it all day, every day. Though I knew how to draw, I learned to paint with Painter. I am so grateful for Painter bringing me creative self-fulfillment and a fabulous career.


Technique
Step 1:
I clone my source photo, select All, Delete. This gives me a blank canvas with my source photo underneath Painter Tracing Paper.

Step 2:
Using Painter Tracing Paper, I make a contour drawing over the cloned photo source and locate the facial features on my canvas with Painter charcoal or pencil.

Step 3:
I turn off the tracing paper and save my painting as a Riff file. Using my source photo as a reference, I paint wet-into-wet with Digital Watercolor (Simple Water Brush) on my canvas.

Step 4:
Erasing my drawing, but leaving the painting, I save as a Tiff file, and alternate painting and drying (Layers menu) my digital watercolor until I feel it is done.

Step 5:
The Photo Burn tool enables me to enhance my values. With the Blender tools, I can lose some hard edges. The Eraser tools let me pull out whites and the Chalk tools help me lighten colors and bring out highlights.