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Artistry Tips and Tricks Reviews

Review

Appreciates Karen Sperling's Unique Painter Teaching Style

Karen
I really appreciate your unique style of teaching Painter in conjunction with Photoshop in your Artistry Tips and Tricks.
You teach me in detail how and why to apply certain brushes and strokes to individual situations that transform a photograph into a realistic or artistic painting.
Your lessons not only show me how to gain Painter Program knowledge, but also artistry tips that make sense of why I would I would choose to use similar media in my own pictures to get similar output.
Meaningless painting by the numbers; following this or that, with no explained reason for doing it, other than mechanical imitation, is meaningless to me.. I can do that and never get further than auto painting if that's all I wanted.
Not that auto painting may not be part of a process, or hasn't got its place, its just not the final output for me.
Forgive me, I'm greedy, and I wanted more, that's where you came in and helped me go further in your Tips and Tricks.
Your step by step snapshots along with the step by step instructions are easier for me to follow than a movie; rather like a movie in play by play slow motion that lets me work at a pace I'm comfortable with.
The knowledge I'm gaining is making me a better artist over all, even if I wanted to use some of those techniques with real painting media. In other words it challenges me to experiment, pushing my own creativity to new skill levels.
That is why after trying out a few of your Tips and Tricks I have decided to join your annual membership of Artistry Tips and Tricks and look forward to expanding my knowledge in an ongoing monthly basis in doing something I really love to do.
Also I've preordered your book and looking forward to its arrival as it will be my grand reference manual for my projects.
Thanks Karen for sharing your knowledge of many many years as an artist and Painter professional and allowing me to tap into your skills and get to where I want to be in a much shorter time.
My digital painting is relaxing and to me, that's as they say..."Priceless"
Thanks again, Nina Anderton, Birch Tree, MO

Artistry Tips and Tricks Very Comprehensive

Hi Karen,
Thank you for your quick response with the password and information for downloading this newsletter. There are other issues I will probably purchase in the near future but wanted to see the format first before choosing others.
I like that you include step by step instructions. I saved up to buy some video tutorials a while back and because finances aren't free flowing I spent some time trying to find one or two that I thought would help me the most. I have benefited from what I've purchased but I have been disappointed by how many steps are glossed over with a too brief explanation. Your newsletter tutorial seems to be very comprehensive and I appreciate that.
It's also nice to see that I have been on the right track and will probably speed up my learning curve time with your suggestions in these newsletters. I find that Painter has been a little more challenging because I don't want to be just another 'cloner' and I lack the art background to know how all of the brushes work without a lot of experimenting. I love reading and am addicted to tutorials even when they cover things I've already gotten pretty good at.
Best Regards,
Gin R.

Impressed with Portrait Method

Hi Karen,
At First: Sorry for my bad English, but I have to thank you so much for your Artistry Tips and Tricks newsletter.
I was so impressed of your method of painting portraits in Painter that I tried to do this for myself. It took some days, but now it's ready.
I like my painting so much that I want to show it to you-- it's a self-portrait.
At least I printed it on Archival Matte-paper on my Epson 2100. The original size is 30 x 40 cm. It looks fantastic.
Hope you like it too.
I'm looking forward for your next issue with new Painter tips and tricks.
Greetings from Germany,
Brigitte Fromm

Artistry Reader Wins Art Competition

I'm not Australian, but I love crocodiles. I love how in PETER PAN, the croc represents Hook's awareness of mortality, the predator with the ticking clock inside. When you look into the eye of a saltwater croc, you can understand those cultures that consider them gods.
The croc in "Captain Hook's Croc" was resting comfortably at a small tourist attraction near Orlando, FL, and very kindly allowed me to snap his picture. The file was brought into Photoshop and Painter for some serious croc-worship, and the image you see is the result. I call this kind of work "Photopaintings," since so much depends on the image, its hidden colors, etc., to influence what will happen in the digital realm. In Photopaintings, I try to simplify the image to what I feel is the essence. My green-on-green croc (they're actually a greenish grey, mostly grey) hides from view, betrayed only by those essentials of his skill: stealth, eyes, and mouthful of teeth. Tick... tick... tick...
"Captain Hook's Croc" took first place in the Other Media category, in the annual juried competition of the Art Society of Old Greenwich, CT. It's a lovely show, featuring many truly gifted artists in that area, whose expertise is across many media. I was honored to have my Croc acknowledged in such good company. Other photopaintings, along with figure studies, portraits and "Liquid Noise" images may be seen at bobbogoldberg.com.
Special thanks to Karen Sperling, herself a wonderful artist both in the realms of the visual and the written word, for years of inspiration and cutting-edge ideas, instruction, and a great example. She's one of the great, continuing lights whose work and skill illuminate the Painter world.
Bobbo Goldberg

Artistry Tips and Tricks a Revelation

Hi Karen,
I had to give up painting due to work pressures whilst quite young and didn't pick up a brush for 30 years. It was always "perhaps next year." I took up photography instead and for several years the camera and PhotoShop were my friends.
I retired and bought Corel 'Painter.' My first impressions were not good. Painting has always been a broad church and that seemed to be both the strength and problem with this application, too complicated and too much choice. I struggled for quite a few months with the bewildering choice of overlapping styles, just adding to my confusion.
Then I subscribed to your monthly 'Artistry Tips and Tricks' newsletter.
What a revelation!
Concise and clearly written, the issues cut through the confusion and make the dabbler like me feel more comfortable with experimenting with different techniques.
I recommend Artistry Tips and Tricks to anyone out there who finds themselves as confused as I was.
I live in the UK, too far away to attend any of the teach-ins and I find Artistry Tips and Tricks invaluable.
Ken Partington (England)

Spends Time Poring Over Artistry Tips and Tricks

Well, Karen, thanks to you, I guess I've become a hermit!!
Just kidding--but oh my gosh, do I spend time poring over your tips and tricks!
Before finding you, I spent a LOT of money on Painter books; they are just fine for the technical aspects, but I wanted to jump in right away, not read about all the details, changes, etc.
You allowed me to paint a photo of my daughter (image at right) the first time I purchased a tip! Wow!
Talk about instant gratification!
Thank you so much for sharing your gifts!
Warm regards,
Victoria Sutherland

Each Issue of Artistry Tips and Tricks is a Painter Class

Hi Karen,
I print out all of your Tips and Tricks Newsletters and find them immensely helpful to me in my learning stages of Painter.
Mostly I paint portraits using digital oils, which I'm comfortable with. But I also love the watercolor effects on faces.
Now I have some great guidance.
Karen, you may certainly use any or all my words to help others understand what your "newsletter" is all about.
I suppose there is always some risk when you subscribe without knowing exactly what you'll be getting.
But your tutorials are so much more than a newsletter; each one is a whole class of instruction within its 30-40 some pages.
And after the first couple issues I realized I'd be sticking around.
So THANK YOU! with all my voice!
Barb Hartsook

Artistry Tutorials are Easy to Use

I love your work and the Degas Dancers is my favorite.
I learned how to do the auto painting from your lesson on them and did this horse painting with it. Very neat tool!
I am going to check out some more of your tutorials.
The way you have the tutorials set up makes them easy to use and your site is easy to buy from.
Carrie Woeck

Artistry Tutorials are the Best

Karen,
Thanks to your art techniques, I was able to capture my cousin's personality in my painting.
Your step-by-step Artistry tutorials are the best I've seen. It is amazing to see how you build each photo into a work of art.
Karen, thank you for sharing your gifted talents. I am looking forward to taking my photography to the next level.
Dee Siffer
Graphic Designer/Photographer

Artistry Tips and Tricks Newsletter Huge Value

Dear Artistry Tips and Tricks,
In my opinion, the Artistry Tips and Tricks newsletter is of huge value to those who seriously want to cut to the chase and learn Painter from your experience.
I'm at a point where it's finally possible for me to get back to chasing my traditional painting and digital art dream, but I don't have unlimited time to spend learning computer programs, especially since I'm ready to create now.
As the years pass, I've learned that they are not endless. I've realized that time should be spent doing things a person loves to do.... and to do them now.
So many times not having anyone to ask questions of while trying to learn something new causes not only the expense of vast amounts of time, but also money since you're buying all sorts of learning tools and reference material in an attempt to find the answers. Talk about doing it the hard way LOL Been there done that with many things.
Some people just don't understand that experience takes time and learning, which has a value. Karen has paid the dues and now offers her experience to the rest of us so we can skip to the head of the class and get on with creating our art. Many might not see the value in that until they've been down the road of doing it the hard way. Of those going down that road, many will fail and give up on the entire idea which is sad, especially if that idea was a dream for them.
For anyone out there trying to justify the cost of the newsletter, think of it this way.....you probably own the Painter program which isn't cheap, so you probably also have the desire to use the program. If you've tried it and don't get it, ask questions to the newsletter, it can help. If you Love the program and want to refine your skills, questions are encouraged and answered by the newsletter. Karen has been teaching and writing about the Painter program longer than anyone. It's like having your own master Artist ready to teach what you want or need to know. I don't think there's a better deal anywhere!
Thanks for offering Artistry Tips and Tricks!!!!
Ciao for now and happy painting,
Terry Neilsen

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