About the Course

History shows that Photo Art, referred to today as "Photo Painting," was and always will be a sought after art form. It has been accomplished using different methods during different periods, according to what was available at that time. Never in history has so much been available to us like now!

In this class I will show you how to transform a photograph into a painting. Using Photoshop CS2 and Corel Painter X as your Canvas and a Wacom Intuos 3 Tablet as your Brush, you'll learn how to take your photos and turn them into beautiful watercolor and oil paintings. From retouching your image in Photoshop, to learning how to apply your paints and blending them in Painter, to the final printing process, you will learn how to transform your photos into beautiful works of art.

Imagine taking a paint brush and dipping it into the photograph, and then blending the pixels together, the result is magical. Every pixel in the photograph gets transformed into a brush stroke, making the final outcome a beautiful painting.

The Magic begins when you can transform yourself "Back to the Future." You will imagine yourself in front of a real canvas with traditional oil paints all around you. You will almost smell the turpentine! Now, with that image strongly in your mind, you will slowly open your eyes and forget that you are sitting in front of a computer. You will reach for your brush (21st Century brush: the "stylus pen") and begin to paint. Only when I can envision myself in a traditional environment can I paint freely, as I did in B.C., Before Computers!

So get on board and come explore with me, the wonderful world of Photo Painting!

Who Should Attend?

This class is based on photos, any kind of photos. If you love art and want to learn how to transform a photo into a painting, then this class is for you! This class is geared towards portrait photographers, landscape photographers, pet and wildlife photographers, artists, graphic designers and, of course, hobbyists!

We will cover portrait painting, pet portraits, landscapes and still life. We will even have a special session on the Impressionistic era, after which you will be totally inspired to transform some of your paintings into the impressionistic style like Monet.

What to Bring

You will be supplied with images to paint from for different class assignments. But if there is any subject that I did not cover in class you have the time to try it in open lab. Plan on working on personal projects during open lab. I encourage you to bring your own images from home that you want to see transformed into paintings.

A very important part of my class is that each student gets experience painting what they will be pursuing after this course is done. Therefore I encourage you to bring your own photographs on CD so that you can paint them in class, as well as lab time, with my assistance. Bring 10 high resolution, good quality images. Bring 5 high resolution (if possible), not so good quality images. **

** You will learn how to work with "bad" images. You won't always get the perfect image to transform (but be aware that not all images are Painter worthy)!

Schedule-At-A-Glance

Here is an outline of the topics to be covered so you'll have an idea of what to expect:

Course schedule subject to change at any time.