Cowgirl Portraiture

Tonight {this morning?} I was feeling creative and apparently was having enough fun to forego sleeping and here are the results . . . my little cowgirl, taken from a photograph of my dd. I created this oil painting via corel painter and my wacom tablet . . . and I think I have just rediscovered a love for oil painting!


Some of you may know that my degree is in art education. I taught junior high art and photography for a few years, and have been a mural artist for the past 10 years. I only took one oil painting class in college and honestly didn't fall in love with the mess, the long time oils take to dry, the fumes, the clean-up. Needless to say, my murals are all painted with water-based acrylic. My DH enjoys painting once in a while and prefers oil to acrylic, but not me.

Until now. {Here's a close up of the texture and blending}

So I can't wait to create my next portrait! I had never installed this program until tonight. As an artist, I am surprised at how intuitive this program is. I really created this image in the same sequence that I would a 3-d painting. It takes quite a bit of time, and many layers are involved. There isn't a magic button or setting to create a realistic oil painting . . . that is why the process was so rewarding for me. I think I may have this one printed on canvas masonite! I'll let you know how it works out!

{I kept her face on the smooth side and the background/ bandana pop with a bold texture. Does she pass the test?}