Wacom Releases a new Driver for Macs

Posted by Skip Allen on

Hello Friends,

Wacom released a new driver for Macs on 9 Nov 2015.  I am unsure what is new, but I imagine more stuff for El Capitan.  I am hoping to see a release for PCs soon, too.  There was a windows update last night and this morning I had trouble booting my machine.  After contacting Microsoft, which wasn’t helpful…sigh, I contacted Alienware support and they were able to get me up and running.  However, I could only boot up if my Cintiq HD 24″ Touch was not connected.    All is fine if I have the Cintiq turned off during boot up and turn it on after all is up and running.  This isn’t a major problem, but it is a bit annoying.  So I do hope there is a new driver for PCs coming soon.

I should tell you the last driver released on 8 Oct 2015 fixed the issues with names for the On-screen controls (Radial Menu). I blogged about the problem a few posts back.  I was so excited about the fix because it makes using the function so easy; before it was difficult to find commands.

OK…Mac users, you can download the latest driver if you want.

Don’t forget Holiday Open Studio begins Saturday, 14 Nov 2015.  Hope to see everyone there.

holiday os

Enjoy,

Skip

 

Holiday Open Studio Starts 14 Nov 2015 at Digital Art Academy

Posted by Skip Allen on

Are you ready for Holiday Open Studio Registration; I am.  OMGosh, by the looks of it, I’m really, really ready.  It all starts Saturday, 14 Nov 2015.

Santa Skip by Corel Painter Master Elite, Karen Bonaker, Corel Painter 2016

Santa Skip by Corel Painter Master Elite, Karen Bonaker, Corel Painter 2016

 

Have you registered yet?  There is still time to register before Holiday Open Studio Registration starts this coming Saturday, 14 Nov 2015.

holiday osThe instructors for this year are Corel Painter Master Elite, Karen Bonaker plus professional painter and educators, Elaina Moore-Kelly and Winifred Whitfield.  Oh…me too…I will do a bit of a song and dance the last week of the four-week class.

Karen Bonaker starts the class with Winter Trees in Snow.  Karen demonstrates watercolor, liquid ink, and how to use selections and the image portfolio to create lovely landscapes.  I am looking forward to her week; I love her artistic innovations.  Karen is always an inspiration.

Where is my peace, Watercolor, Corel Painter 2016, Corel Master Painter Elite, Karen Bonaker

Where is my Peace, Watercolor, Corel Painter 2016, Corel Master Painter Elite, Karen Bonaker

DAA closes for Thanksgiving Week, 21 – 27 Nov 2015

In the second week of class beginning 28 Nov., Elaina Moore-Kelly continues with watercolor, which is something new for her.  Since watercolor is my favorite medium, I can’t wait to learn her approach.  Elaina explains using fonts in Painter and adds creative selections to the mix.

Happy Thanksgiving, Corel Painter 2016, Elaina Moore-Kelly

Happy Thanksgiving, Corel Painter 2016, Elaina Moore-Kelly

Winifred Whitfield takes the reins in week 3 creating images inspired by Roy Lichtenstein, the American Pop Artist from the 1960s.  His work defined pop art through parody and he used comic strips as his inspirations.  He used heavy black lines, dots, checks and all sorts of patterns.  Winifred capitalizes on all aspects of Lichtenstein’s work and provides patterns and papers for your explorations.

Corel Painter 2016, Winifred Whitfield

Corel Painter 2016, Winifred Whitfield

And that brings us to week 4, my week.  I planned to demonstrate painting a poinsettia in watercolor, but that may change.  I am waffling.  I spent the last couple of months making pastel variants for Painter.  The new features in Painter 2016 add so much to the look and feel of pastel variants…so…I may switch my week to pastels…or not.  Hey…who knows, I may just do both.  Here is an example of a photograph I took while walking around my neighborhood.  I live in rural Georgia.  And following is the pastel image I did using the photograph as a reference.  It was loads of fun, but I better get with it and decide what I am doing.

Poole Road, Nikon D810, Skip Allen

Poole Road, Nikon D810, Skip Allen

And the image in pastels.

Poole Road Stream, Corel Painter 2016, Custom Pastel Variants, Skip Allen

Poole Road Stream, Corel Painter 2016, Custom Pastel Variants, Skip Allen

OK, if you have read this far, here is a bit of sad news.  Holiday Open Studio has been an annual event at the Digital Art Academy (DAA) for eight years.  But, Karen Bonaker has announced that this will be the last one.  Yes, that is right, this will be the last one.  If you have never participated in a Holiday Open Studio, then don’t miss this last one.  They are so special.  And, if you have been a regular, then do join us for a farewell to Holiday Open Studio.

OK, that’s it from Santa Skip. I hope to see all of you in the class starting Saturday, 14 Nov 2015.

Painter 2016 and Mac OS X 10.11 AKA El Capitan and Wacom’s new Mac Drivers

Posted by Skip Allen on
Hello Everyone,
Apple released a new OS X 10.11 also called El Capitan.   Chris Pierce, the Corel Digital Arts Product Manager posted the following at Painter Factory several days ago.
Painter Update – New Apple OS X 10.11 AKA El Capitan
As you know, Apple released its new OS X 10.11 – AKA El Capitan today. Our top priority is to ensure that you always have a great experience with Painter, and while the Painter team is diligently working on certification testing, we wanted to make our Mac users aware that there is potential for some disruptions with Painter on the new OS. 
 
We strongly encourage you to experiment with the new OS on a test system and not your production system. 
 
We’re working on identifying and fixing any potential issues and will have more news to report shortly. Rest assured, Painter 2016 will be supported on OS X 10.11. 
 
Stay tuned to the Painter Factory for further updates and thank for your patience!!
 
Happy painting!
 
Chris Pierce
Corel Digital Arts Product Manager
Wacom released a similar warning for their users, but yesterday posted an updated driver for Mac users.  So, if you have upgraded to El Capitan, you may want to update your Wacom device to the latest driver for Mac.
PC owners, you are not affected…relax.
Enjoy,
Skip

Portrait Painting with Winifred Whitfield Starts October 3rd

Posted by Skip Allen on

Hello Friends,

Winifred Whitfield has created another class at the Digital Art Academy; Portrait Painting with Winifred Whitfield.  Her classes are very popular and I know this one will be, too.  Winifred is no stranger to portrait painting and has received national and international awards for her portraits.  The class will include demonstrations of many painting techniques, but will focus primarily on blending.  Winifred also shows the important step of preparing the photograph to paint.  She gets the photograph ready in Painter, which negates the need for photography software…everything is done in Painter.

You can see a preview of work created by Winifred in this Portrait Class Preview.

Following in an example of work painted in one of the tutorials for the class:

Created in Painter by Winifred Whitfield

Created in Painter by Winifred Whitfield

Registration is now open and the class starts Saturday, October 3, 2015.

Enjoy,

Skip

 

New Wacom Tablet Drivers Released on Aug 28th

Posted by Skip Allen on

Hello Everyone,

Wacom released new drivers for its newest products on Friday, Aug 28th. Wacom Drivers

I downloaded the driver yesterday, uninstalled my current driver and installed the new one.  I was hoping that the issue with the On Screen Menu (radial menu) titles would be fixed, but they are not.  If you use the on-screen menu, you will see that even though you have named each Panel, it doesn’t show.

What I see with my On-screen Menu

What I see with my On-screen Menu

However, one of the followers of the blog posted a possible fix.  I haven’t tried it yet, but will give it a try today.  If it works, I’ll publish more about it.

Enjoy,

Skip

Quick Look at ParticleShop Plugin for Photoshop

Posted by Skip Allen on

Hello Friends,

My class is going strong, but I had to take a break and play with ParticleShop, Corel’s new plugin for Photoshop.  I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised.  I don’t use Photoshop to paint, just adjust my photos.  And, I better tell you straight up, I am not a photographer. So, painting in Photoshop is a big deal for me.  But, if you want to see some very special videos of Particle shop in action take a look at the ones on ParticleShop’s web page.

OK…I opened one of my photographs in Photoshop.  I took this image at St. George Island’s State Park, Florida.  A lovely storm was rolling in, but it wasn’t rainy.  I guess I am glad I couldn’t see any rain; I did not want to get my camera and myself wet.  But, I did want to see soft rain falling from the clouds.  I wanted to see if I could make it happen in ParticleShop.

Storm, St. George Island State Park, Skip Allen, Nikon D810

Storm, St. George Island State Park, Skip Allen, Nikon D810

After working in ParticleShop for just a few minutes, I had my soft rain.

Storm Altered with ParticleShop, Skip Allen

Storm Altered with ParticleShop, Skip Allen

I need a lot of practice to feel totally comfortable in ParticleShop, but it wasn’t hard to do what I did.  Of course this is a greatly simplified demonstration of what is possible in ParticleShop.  Do check out the images and videos on the web page.

I captured making the above image in a video.  Hope you enjoy it.

OK, that is a quick look at ParticleShop.  I am looking forward to playing some more in the program.  I really liked what I saw in the videos on ParticleShop’s site; I want to see if I can do work like that.

My class, Corel Painter 2016 – New Horizons is going strong.  There is still time to register if you like.  My second live session is tonight at 9:00 PM EDT.  I record all live sessions for download.  Have fun with us.  Registration is Here.

Enjoy,

Skip

Corel Painter 2016 Live Tutorial Recordings

Posted by Skip Allen on

Hello Everyone,

I had so much fun yesterday doing the webinars and talking about Corel Painter 2016.  Before I post the videos below, I want to remind you that my class starts tomorrow, Aug 15, 2015.  In class I cover all the stuff in the videos in much more detail and explore much more.

Register for Corel Painter 2016 – New Horizons

I had one session yesterday morning and it was so much fun.  My buddy Corel Painter Master Elite Tim Shelbourne was there and teased me without mercy.  It was a hoot and all in good fun.  I know you will enjoy it.  Winifred Whitfield and Hilary French were there helping, too.  Thank you so much my friends.

I held the second session yesterday evening.  Winifred was back helping manage questions.  Thank you so much Winifred.  Also attending was Corel Painter Master Elite Helen Yancy.  I quickly made her an organizer allowing her to interact with Winifred and me.  It is so much easier when I have someone to talk with while doing a demonstration.  Helen, thank you so much for letting me impose on you.

OK, now you have the two videos to watch.  They are also on You Tube.

Hey, have you discovered the link to get Corel Painter 2016 upgrade for $99.00 US.  Here it is.

Limited Special Upgrade Price for Corel Painter 2016

OK, don’t forget to register for my class.

Corel Painter 2016 – New Horizons

Enjoy,

Skip

 

 

 

Let’s Celebrate 1,000,000 Views with Live Sessions…Join Me Today. Live Corel Painter 2016 Demonstrations

Posted by Skip Allen on

Hello Everyone,

OMGosh, the blog hits 1,000,000 views today.  I cannot believe it.  I know that is small numbers compared to a lot of blogs, but it is a big number to me.  Thank you bunches and bunches for your support.  I have loved doing the blog and meeting all of you.

So, to celebrate, I scheduled two live sessions.  One this morning and one this evening.  Please feel free to join one or both of them.  What will the webinar be about?  I don’t know…you tell me.  I know I will play in Corel Painter 2016 and the rest is up to you.  I will answer questions and take requests; as long as the requests are about painting.  I can’t sing or dance, but I can juggle oranges.  Shoot, I just checked and I don’t have any oranges, so that is not an options.  Anyway, come on by and let’s talk Painter 2016

The first webinar starts today, Aug 13, 2015 at 11:00 AM EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time)

Register Here for Morning Webinar

The second webinar starts today, Aug 13, 2015 at 8:00 PM EDT (Eastern Daylight Savings Time)

Register Here for the Evening Webinar

You can join either webinar during the session…just click the link.

Here are a couple of images created in Painter 2016

I love doing this style.  It is pretty fast…just make a few quick strokes and let the water flow do the rest.

Waterfall, inky landscape done in Corel Painter 2016

Waterfall, inky landscape done in Corel Painter 2016

And y’all know I love anything in a Sumi-e style.

Orchid, Watercolor, Done in Corel Painter 2016

Orchid, Watercolor, Done in Corel Painter 2016

This last one is a work in progress.  I need to get back to it.  Images that take a while to do, tend to bore me and I stop working on them, but I like the way this one was going.

Great Blue Heron, Work in Progress, Watercolor, Corel Painter 2016

Great Blue Heron, Work in Progress, Watercolor, Corel Painter 2016

 

Since I usually work in watercolor, I might try playing with oils and dry media in the Webinars.

OK…hope some of you can make the webinar.

Enjoy,

Skip

Corel Announces ParticleShop Plug in for Photoshop

Posted by Skip Allen on

Hey Gang,

I can’t tell you much about this one, yet.  I don’t have my copy of the plug in so I can’t test it out.  But it looks fantastic.

The new ParticleShop

The new ParticleShop

 

Check it out:

Particle Shop

This looks very exciting.

Enjoy,

Skip

Corel Painter 2016 Launches Today…New Class, Corel Painter 2016-New Horizons

Posted by Skip Allen on

Hello Everybody,

I am so excited.  Download your free trial copy of Painter 2016.

 

Branch, Painter 2016, Liquid ink and watercolor particle brushes

Branch, Painter 2016, Liquid ink and watercolor particle brushes

Yes it is that time again; Corel released a new version of Painter.    I think you will want Painter 2016; it is the best version I have seen to date.  I have outlined some of the new features for you:

  1. A completely new Welcome Window.  Corel added tutorials plus a few other surprises.
  2. New color schemes for your workspace.
  3. A new shift start that protects custom content, like brushes, custom palettes, etc.
  4. Enhanced layer blending, which allows blending to transparency without the white or black issues in earlier versions.
  5. ABR import…you can import Photoshop ABR dabs into Painter.  Wow!
  6. New custom palette toolbox, which allows you to send a custom palette as a toolbox to your friends.  The box includes brushes, papers, and flow maps, which will be automatically installed on your friend’s computer.
  7. New full-screen mode allows an immersive painting experience.
  8. Rotate papers.
  9. Rotate flow maps
  10. Particle technology added to liquid inks.  Love it!
  11. Particle technology added to watercolor.  Love it!
  12. Impasto can be added to particle brushes.  Amazing!
  13. New Dynamic Speckle particles…think tamed particle technology that can be used with any other brush method.
  14. New Dynamic Speckle bristles…think particles can work like bristles.  One of my favorite new features.
  15. Audio Expression…what?  Watch your brushes explode to the beat of your favorite music…what?
  16. Painter is more stable than ever.
  17. Painter is faster than ever.

I am sure I have forgotten something, but those are the major features.  BTW, I can’t test it myself, but others have and Painter 2016 works well with Windows 10.

Weathered, Corel Painter 2016, watercolor particles, dynamic speckle bristles, and impasto particles. So much fun.

Weathered, Corel Painter 2016, watercolor particles, dynamic speckle bristles, and impasto particles. So much fun.

As with earlier versions, I am offering a class exploring all new features in Corel Painter 2016.  Registration for Registration Corel Painter 2016, starts today, Aug 10, 2015, at the Digital Art Academy.  Class begins, Aug 15, 2015.  I cover each new feature in-depth, but I did something different with this class.  Because there is the new shift start and it is easier than ever to import workspaces from earlier versions, I started with a complete clean Painter 2016 and show you how to build or customize your Painter to use your work flow.  Join the class and develop your Painter workspace and learn all about the new features in the process.  It will be fun, I promise.

Here is a teaser video showing a little bit about Dynamic Speckle Bristle brush technology.

Download the free 30 day trial of Painter 2016.

Registration for Corel Painter 2016 – New Horizons class.  Class begins Aug 15, 2015.

Hope to see you in class!

Enjoy,

Skip