USING PHOTOSHOP TO IMPROVE A DISLIKED PIECE

Some time ago, I produced several images of autumn thickets...tangled woodland scenes.  I sold quite a few, but this one stuck with me, and I had to admit to myself that it lacked punch.

I have been studying it for quite some time now, and suddenly I thought I might know what to do with it.   Here it is:

Now, it is not that difficult to change a painting...depending on the material you have used, you can overpaint, scrub out, and generally adjust without a huge amount of difficulty.

But when you have created a piece of GLASS, fused solidly in a kiln, your choices are far more limited.  And it is difficult, often, to know how glass will react in the kiln, so it is a good idea to test out your ideas before committing to them on an expensive piece of glass.

One way to do this, is using the wonders of modern technology...the computer.  

Firstly, I went "on line" and collected a series of images that I enjoyed looking at.  Tangly woodland scenes, some with autumn colouring.  I also looked for images of leaf and fern shapes.  I collected a few together, and popped them onto a single sheet to study.  Here is my collection:

When using photos from the internet, it is best not to copy directly in case of copyright issues.  So, I use photos like these for INSPIRATION rather then for any other reason.  I get ideas about colour shape, form, placement of objects, etc.

Then, I put my original thicket image into Photoshop.  I guess, if you do not have such a programme or have no idea how to use it even if you do, you could resort to using, say, gouache or acrylic paint on a paper print-out - but although I am not a graphic designer, I do know a little about using Photoshop, and am able to use SOME of its simpler features.

I decided that the image bottom left appealed to me the most and could be the most inspirational in terms of my glass piece.  So I began to use the "brush" tool in photoshop, to add some silver birch trunks and branches into the image, together with some of those wonderful bright larger leaves, just a hint of them.  I suffer with a hand-shake syndrome, so using the mouse for linear work is not easy for me, but never mind, I feel it adds interest to have a few wobbly marks!    The greatest tool is the "edit" button...if I did not like a mark, I simply went back a step, and hey presto, it was gone.

Here is my finished Photoshopped piece.   WOW...my original piece certainly has some punch now!!!  My intention is to do this with the glass.  How? is a question I am sure my fellow glassy artists are asking.  Well...I plan to experiment.    I could use glass paints/glass enamels.  I could use carefully-cut strips of white opaque glass, perhaps pre-firing them having added some paint and/or powder for shadows..I could use wafers perhaps, and since I have never worked with wafers I thought I would try this -  to make some ferns, leaves, and perhaps even tree trunks to add to the piece instead of paint.   I like to experiment and try out new ideas, so this is an opportunity.

Please visit my website for a list of tutorials:  www.jackiesimmonds.com    Go to the tutorials pages and scroll down.  There is a free Colour tutorial at the beginning, then there are full descriptions of lots of different tutorials, some art instruction, some specific pieces.