ELEVATE YOUR ART MAGAZINE: Summer '23

SUMMER 2023

E L E VA T E Y O U R A R T Quarterly Magazine Featuring Photoshop Artists

featuring

SUE GER AR D

Reviewer

Mem bers of the review team are integral to the success of hundre ds of P hotoshop art i st s. H i g hly trained, they provide over 15,000 video reviews a year for me mbe rs of Beyond t he Brushe s.

Vid eo feed back is the key to success for many who are new to P hotoshop pai nt i ng!

Feat ured

A r t i s t : K i m b e r ly G ua rd i p e e w w w. g ua rd i p e e p h oto g ra p hy. co m

Kim b e r ly s n ap p e d a s h ot of h er old es t a n d h i s g ra n d pa mov i n g cows on h er cellph on e. T he re wa s n o q ue s tio n ab o ut tur n in g i t i nto a pa i nt i n g , b u t a f ter f u r t h er t h ou g ht , s h e d ec i d ed to c re a te t hi s o n e s pec i f i ca lly for a d d i n g oi l pa i nt s i n t h e f u t u re.

W EL COME...

Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare?

They had a race, and the hare runs like his rear end is on fire.

Then, the hare decides to take a nap because he thinks there’s no possible way the tortoise can beat him. We all know how that one ends.

Slow and steady wins the race! And that’s the topic for this edition of Elevate Your Art Magazine.

Michelle

C OV E R I M AG E BY A r t i s t : A nn La u we r s w w w. a na r t i s t v i ew. net A n n i s a n a v i d g a rd en er a n d d og lover. S h e wa nted to pres ent a moment of mi xed feeli n g s a b ou t ow n i n g a d og . T h e g i f t wa s d ef i n i tely on e t h e d og k n ew t h e ow n e r wou ld b e h a ppy to recei ve, b u t ma y b e n ot s o h a ppy a s to h ow t h e g i f t wa s a cq u i red . It ’s t h e t h ou g ht t h a t cou nt s , r i g ht ?

Ma g a z ine © M iche l l e Pa r s l ey, M. Ph oto g . , M. A r t i s t , C r. , C PP St u d e nt im a g e s © re m a i n w i t h e a c h i n d i v i d ua l a s n ote d .

Screen captur ing a rt wo rk fro m t he m a g a z ine fo r yo ur ow n us e - w h et h e r p e r s o n a l o r co m m e rc i a l us e - i s a vi olat i on of th e a rt ist s’ co py rig ht which is p un i s h a b l e by Fe d e ra l f i n e s of up to $ 1 5 0 , 0 0 0 p e r i m a g e .

P l e a se b e re sp e ct fu l of t h e co py r i g ht of t h e a r t i s t s . T h a n k yo u.

CONTENTS p1 p2 p9 p13 p22

Featured Reviewer: Kimberly Guardipee Welcome from Michelle Win Your Race Artist Feature: Sue Gerard Rufus is a LIAR!

C ath e rine crea ted this co m m is s io n p ie ce as a s ur p r i s e for a c li ent . S h e recei ved t wo d i f ferent s n a ps h ot s a s refere nce s , bu t knowi ng the ca ts a re us ual ly fo un d in th e w in dow c h os e t h e b a c k g rou n d . T h e b i g g es t c h a llen g e wa s pa i nt i n g t he fu r a s s oft a nd real i stic a s possible, b ut th e c l ie nt was th r il le d w ith t h e f i n a l pi ece.

M ASTH E A D & CO N TR IBU TO RS MICHELLE PARSLEY PUBLISHER HANNAH PARSLEY COPYWRITER CATH SMITH EDITOR ARTICLES: SUE GERARD IMAGES: KIMBERLY GUARDIPEE ANN LAUWERS CATHERINE HALLECK MARGARET GOODWIN RUSSELL KINERSON SHEILA TENNES CHARI MAIER DEB RICE KELLY O”KEEFE SHELLY BENJAMIN TANYA GRIFFIOEN JEANNE HANSON KATHLEEN BARBER

Art ist : Cat he rine Ha l l e ck cathe rine ha l l e ck p hoto g ra p hy. co m

M A RGA R ET GOODW IN Th e g arde n is o n e of th e mos t ma g i ca l pla ces for Ma rg a ret . S h e h a ppen ed u pon a p hoto a nd wa s im m e diate ly attrac te d to the s en s e of en c h a nt ment a n d li g ht . T h e ma g i ca l q u a li t y res ona te d w i t h he r, b u t s h e h a d to res i s t h er ph otog ra ph er ’s u rg e to pa i nt ever y s i ng le flowe r !

Marg aret ke pt th is sweet pu p for a week , a n d wh a t b et ter wa y to ca pt u re t h e c u te ne s s t ha n a p aintin g? He r o r ig in al ve r s i on u s ed t h e f loor a s t h e b a c k g rou n d , b u t i t n ever s eemed to fi t . S i nce t he do g e n j oye d exp lo r in g t h e g a rd en , Ma rg a ret d ec i d ed to rev i s i t a n d reva mp t h e pa int i ng to bet te r ma tc h t h e d og ’s g ent le pe r s ona l i t y.

Th e due l in g b ro n co im a g es ca me f rom ph otog ra ph s Ma rg a ret took i n 2 012 a t t h e Ro cky Mou nta i n S c h o o l of P h oto g rap hy’s S u mmer I nten s i ve P rog ra m i n Monta n a . O n e h i g h li g ht wa s t h e photogra phi c tr ip to th e Aug us ta Ro deo; h owever, t h e ph otos h a ve s a t collec t i n g d u s t on a d i s c eve r s i nce . Afte r p ro g re s s in g f ur th e r in B eyon d t h e Br u s h es , Ma rg a ret f i n a lly h a d a pla n of a c t i on . T h e leve l of d eta i l was a c h a llen g e, b u t n ow, t h ey a re t h e f i r s t t wo pa i nt i n g s of a mu c h la rge r s e r i e s .

A r t i s t : Rus s e l l K i n e r s o n Ru s s ell a i med to ca pt u re t h e g ra n de u r of t he G a rd en of t h e G od s Sta te b a c k i n sou t he r n I lli n oi s . Wi t h a n overca s t d a y, t h e color s we re les s t h a n v i b ra nt , s o i n s tea d h e focu s e d on f i n d i n g t h e s h ot t h a t wou ld epi tomi ze t he la n d s ca pe. T h en , h i s pa i nt b r u s h es d i d t he re s t .

W IN YOUR R ACE

When new painters join Beyond the Brushes, it never fails — they paint at mach 10 without ever considering the repercussions.

The hardest lesson to learn is SLOW DOWN. Too often, students assume they are getting better simply because they are painting more and more images, faster and faster. More often than not, students are merely reinforcing their current habits — often bad ones — not improving them.

Rather than addressing issues in a current painting, many times students start a new painting, or they “binge paint” several exercises at once. This is a predictor of eventual “failure” almost without exception. It would be much better to repaint the same image ten times and finally get it just right than to paint 10 images and make the same mistake in each and every one.

As growing artists, we aren’t just applying paint to canvas hoping we improve. We should be fine-tuning our technique by making corre ctions with every practice.

Without focused effort on improvement, painting becomes sort of like tying your shoes — you just do it without thinking. When this happens we begin to carelessly overlook small errors and miss daily opportunities for improvement.

Here are three tips for improving your painting technique:

1. SLOW DOWN. Slowing down is really the key to get any skill under your belt. The goal should be to progress through the painting smoothly — not quickly. Speed comes with experience.

2. PRACTICE AT THE EDGE OF YOUR ABILITIES. Don’t aim too high or too low. Find t hat perfect sweet spot where you’re slightly uncomfortable but not so uncomfortable that you want to quit.

3. GET FEEDBACK. Fresh eyes from someone you trust i s always a great idea to help you improve.

If you find yourself saying, “I moving so S.L.O.W.!” Lemme tell ya’, fast growth is completely overrated!

When it comes to art — and especially to mastering art — f you rush to more advanced stages before you’re ready, if you focus too much on the finish line, you miss the strategy going on during the race. It’s not “if” you fail, but WHEN. Take your time and master each technique.

Create the fundamental habits that will make painting achievable and repeatable. Win your race!

Ar tist: Sheila Te nne s i nstagram.com/she il ate nne s Sheila ’s sister ha s always love d ar tis tic p ic tures of a n g els . Af ter f i n d i n g i n s pi ra t i on i n a ph oto of a g i r l f li ppi ng he r ha ir, Shelia d ecide d to g et to wo r k p aintin g h e r s i s ter a n a n g el of h er ver y ow n . Not on ly wa s h er s i s ter s u rpr i s e d by the gift, bu t s h e al s o fo un d it to b e a b le s s i n g .

A r t i s t : C h a r i Ma i e r C h a r i n eed ed more pra c t i ce on wa r m/ cool te chni q u e s a n d d eta i l. A ph oto of C a r n i va l i n Ven i ce ca ug ht he r eye, b u t t h e d ra b wa ll b a c k g rou n d wa s n’ t g o i ng to cu t i t . Af ter a rev i ew f rom M i c h elle, C h a r i went o u t s i d e he r comfor t zon e a n d a d d ed more b a c k g rou n d s ha d ows to ma k e t h e pa i nt i n g pop. Now, t h ey a re rea d y for Ca r ni va l !

ARTIST FE ATU R E

SUE GER AR D S LOW A N D STEA DY B E FO R E B E YO N D T H E B R U S H ES , S U E ’ S O N LY A RT BAC KG R O U N D WAS I N P H OTO G RA P H Y A N D C O M P O S I T I N G . FA L L I N G I N LOV E W I T H R E V I E W E R A N D S T U D E N T PA I N T I N G S , S U E D EC I D E D T H AT S H E C O U L D PA I N T TO O !

A r t i s t : S u e G e ra rd

A r ti s t : S u e G e ra rd

Joining in September 2020, Sue told herself to go slow and steady to learn to paint. That mantra has been one that has followed her throughout her painting journey and has proven time and time again to help her win the proverbial race.

If Sue could give anyone advice, she’d tell them to just try and play with it. In this series, she struggled with finding the balance between being too photographic versus being too loose and painterly. Trying different things and not being worried about getting each painting perfect on the first try kept her calm and collected.

Sue said, “It doesn’t have to be right the first time, and you learn more in the journey of the painting than the end results.” Defini tely something we can all strive to remember, especially in the thick of a challenge!

However, just because it is a challenge doesn’t mean it is bad. Sue enjoyed working on the feathers and trying to get just the right balance of all the beautiful colors and textures. And her enjoyment of balancing out colors actually comes from a challenge. Sue struggled with the charcoal lessons, but once she got them down pat, learning about values helped her in the colorful paintings too !

For the birds, her color scheme was to use complementary colors and really make the birds stand out. Brushy Goodness did the trick in getting them all put together.

Now, you might be asking at this point, why birds?

Well, Sue loves birds and wanted to share her love through painting. She ended up enjoying painting the first one so much that she started a series.

So how does the dog fit in?

Love is still the answer. When her neighbors lost their dog in a storm, Sue painte d them this memorial portrait. Each brushstroke has been imbued with a sense of awe, love, and support that only Sue could provide.

That distinctiveness in style is probably what drew Sue to admire the paintings of Norman Rockwell. Just as he reflected the culture of the time, Sue strives to reflect herself in her art. Her brush of choice to accomplish this is none other than Brushy Goodness. While it is a crowd favorite, Sue has found that so many different things can be created with it.

Slow and steady, she has learned and pushed through every challenge. When her mantra can’t wave away the frustration, country or instrumental music come in to lull it away. It’s because of her commitment that with each passing day, Sue is winning her race one step at a time.

Her paintings demonstrate that love prevails and slow and stead gains the victory!

S U E I S A P H OTO G R A P H E R W H O L I V E S I N A S M A L L TOW N I N E AS T E R N I OWA . S H E LOV E S A N I M A L S A N D L E A R N I N G TO PA I N T, B U T H E R AT T I T U D E O F G R AT I T U D E I S W H AT S H I N E S T H R O U G H T H E M O S T. H T T P S : // W W W. S U EG E R A R D P H OTO G R A P H Y.C O M

A r ti s t : S u e G e ra rd

Art i st : Su e Ge ra rd

A r t i s t : S u e G e ra rd

r a i L

RUFUS IS A

Do you know one of the worst things about Rufus?

Like one of the worst kinds of first dates, he is incessant and persistent. He forces his way into your life and tries to learn all of th e intimate details about what makes you tick. Then he starts whispering sabot age in your ear…

“Paint.

Paint FASTER. Paint more and more and MORE!” Si nce Rufus knows you (trust me, he KNOWS you), he will constantly be in your ear telling you that if you just paint faster, paint more images, paint with this brush or th at brush that... “ you will be as good as so and so.”

STOP! 🤚 First of all, comparison is the thief of joy.

Secondly, painting volumes of work doesn’t improve your technique, and it’s technique that makes you as good as YOU can possibly be.

Trying to rush, rush, rush through lessons so you can achieve some kind of far off greatness is one of the biggest jerk moves Rufus has ever made. He will make you think that you’re doing the right thing with all the extra effort when in fact, you are destroying your potential artistic future by focusing on volume.

Recognizing the devious tactics of Rufus lets us steal his power and eliminate his stumbling blocks. So, when Rufus begins his attack, just tell him not to let the door hit him on the way out!

DEB R I CE D eb chose the profess io n al ro ute in B eyo n d th e B r us h es for c r i t i q u es and h as ma d e it to the P rof ic ie nt Ar tis an s tag e . D ur i n g t h i s s ta g e, sh e ha s been encou ra g e d to exp lo re dif fe re nt s tyle s a n d d elve i nto wh at reflects her in the ar two r k. Th is s e r ie s of p ainti n g s repres ent h er freedom to d iscover an d let h e r c re ativ ity s o ar.

“Vei le d in B lu e” sta rted as an exp e r im e nt w ith th e s t y le of Sta n k a Kordi c a nd B ra d Ku nc kle b ut tur n e d into a le s s o n of n ewfou n d resp e ct for the a rt ist s.

“Trouble Ahea d ” is her j o ur n ey into cow b oy ar t. Th e e nv i ron menta l backgrou nd proved to b e a c h al le n g e , b ut th e b r us h- b u i ld i n g a n d m o di f i ca tion lessons h e l p e d h e r le ap ove r th e h urdle.

I n “T h e Newbies,” Deb exp lo re d lo o s e b r us hwo r k an d a color f u l p alette to crea te the l ive ly b uc kin g b ro n co s ce n e .

Fi nal ly, “Mu seu m Memo r y” was h e r s te p i nto storytelling a nd fo l k ar t, an d s h e h op e s to u se it in the f uture il l us tratin g ch i ldren’s book s.

As D eb cont inu es her j o ur n ey th ro ug h Beyo n d the B ru shes, s h e s tr ive s to us e wh at she lea rns to exp lo re an d exp re s s h e rsel f to the fu llest.

A r t i s t : Ke l ly O ’ Ke efe www. ke l lyo ke efe p h oto g ra p hy. co m Kelly ma d e h e r f r ie n d c r y p re s e ntin g h e r w i t h t h i s pa i nt i n g of h er t wo d a u g hter s . T h e g i r ls a re a b ou t to become teena g e r s , an d Ke l ly an d h e r f r ie n d wa nted to d o s omet h i n g s pec i a l. A ll t h os e yea r s c h eer i n g Ke l ly on le d to a p aintin g m o re th an wor t hy of d i s pla y a t h er f r i en d ’s or t h od ont i c s of f i ce.

A r t i s t : S h e l l ey B e n j a m i n s h e l l ey b e n j a m i n . co m Shelley photo g rap h e d h e r f r ie n d’s daug hte r ’s wed d i n g . Wh i le s n a ppi n g a s ma ny s h ot s a s pos s i b le, s h e ca u ght a d a zz ling p h oto of th is yo un g wo m an . All of t h e la d i es look ed b ea u t i f u l a n d et h erea l w i t h f lower s i n t he i r ha ir, b ut th is o n e s to o d o ut to p ai nt . Need les s to s a y, t h e you n g la d y i s d eli g hted s h e d i d .

TAN YA G R I F F I O EN Tanya u ses her gra n dc h ildre n as w il l in g s ub j e c ts .

Fi rst in line is sweet g ran db aby Grady. Th e swe et n es s a n d i n n ocen ce of s leepi n g b a b i es ma k e Ta ny a s mi le, s o wi th the photo of Grady in h an d, s h e de c ide d to ma k e a compos i te. I n s pi red by T h oma s S u lly ’s “C h i ld As leep (Rosebu d ),” Ta nya fo un d j us t th e r ig ht b e d an d w i n d ow to compli ment h er prec i ou s g ra n d s on .

Mo st child ren d on’ t th in k th ey’ re l uc ky to h ave a ph otog ra ph er i n t h e fa mi ly, b u t i t ’s w h en t h e ca mera comes out tha t Jozie espe c ial ly e n j oys tim e w ith Gran dma . W h i le pra c t i c i n g u s i n g a g r i d to d ra w, Ta ny a d ec i d ed to use the Tu rp bru she s to m ake a b us t p o r trait. S in ce Joz i e loves zeb ra pr i nt , Ta ny a k n ew i t h a d to b e i n c lu d ed.

Ro u nd ing ou t the p aintin g s is h e r g ran ds o n , Gav i n . Af ter f i n d i n g a b a by b i rd a n d a d es t royed n es t , h e took i t up on himself to ca re fo r it. He ke pt h e r war m an d fed , s h a r i n g t h e d eli g ht wi t h h i s s i s ter s . T h ere were ma ny lau ghs sha red whe n it m ature d to f lyin g aro un d t h e h ou s e. T h e c h a rcoa l b r u s h es b u r n ed t h i s memor y i nto th e ir mind s, bu t the b ird’s retur n to th e c h ildre n’s h a n d s ea c h s pr i n g k eeps i t i n t h ei r h ea r t s .

Art ist : Je a n n e Ha n s o n , M. Ph oto g , C PP F B / Ph oto a r t By j e a n n e Jea nne ca pt ure d th is to uc h in g m o m e nt b etween h er d a u g hter a n d g ra n d s on a few yea r s a g o. C omi n g ba ck to it , she thou g ht it wo uld m ake a g re at p aint i n g , a n d oh b oy, wa s s h e r i g ht ! Af ter s ome color a d ju s t ment s a nd al te ratio n s in th e c loth i n g , t h e f i n a l pi ece i s a per fec t memor y of love.

A r t i s t K at h l e e n B a r b e r k b a r b e r f i n e a r t . co m Kath le e n l ive s in th e P ac if i c Nor t hwes t a n d f i n d s i n s pi ra t i on w h i le wa lk i n g am o n g s t th e tal l eve rg re e n s . S h e’s n ot on e to k eep h er h ea d i n t h e c lou d s th o ug h . In s te ad, Kath le e n s ea rc h es t h e g rou n d f loor for exc i t i n g a n d u n i q u e p aintin g s ub j e c ts . It ha s b ecome on e of h er fa vor i te t h i n g s to d o.

E L E VAT E YO U R A R T. C O M