Creating this pastel painting in photoshop was a new experience for me and I learned a lot about how to use the photoshop brushes, the Wacom tablet, and generally how to paint in photoshop. At first I had a hard time with this assignment because I am not a naturally gifted painter, but it was really helpful to use a reference photo. I based this painting off of a photo I took in Hawaii this summer of a sunset. I named the piece Beach House because that is the name of the restaurant in Kauai that my family was eating at when I took the reference photo.
Creating a photoshop painting allowed me to experiment with different pressures and strategies for painting. For example, using the pastel brush leaves small black spaces in the painting. I wanted my artwork to look flowy and smooth, like the ocean, so I learned to use the blur tool and the smudge tool to mix together my strokes of paint for a more combined look. This project taught me that although I am not a great painter, I can make really cool paintings in photoshop because of the amazing tools it provides and the ability to experiment with new techniques.
Related website
