Udemy.com was having a sale on online courses, so I signed up for a Digital Painting course. Buying this course finally gave me the motivation necessary to figure out why I was so dissatisfied with my previous efforts at drawing on my Surface Pro 4.

It turns out that my dissatisfaction had nothing to due with my skill or my software. It turns out my problems were due to a bad driver for the pen that prevented the pressure sensitivity from working properly. Apparently, if you want to use the pen to draw you need to install the latest WinTab drivers. They are not installed by default and therefore not updated when you check for updates.

With the technical challenges behind me. I began the course. The first exercise was a painting of an eye. I followed along as the video instructor told me what to do. It was a little weird trying to draw something without a reference, but I dutifully repeated the steps described and learned some basics of tools and layers and drawing tricks along the way. I was pretty satisfied with the results. I looked at the supporting Facebook page and saw that pretty much everyone was able to produce a confidence building eye.

I was pumped to move forward and learn more. The next lessons delved into the basics of drawing, starting with the fundamentals and then moving into perspective. I am already familiar with these things, having taken basic and advanced drawing classes decades ago in high school and college.

I intend to go through all of the basic lessons as a refresher, but I really wanted to paint something else now. And so I began a self portrait. The complete image is posted at the top of this post, but I always like the behind the scenes view too, so I posted the layers of the portrait below. Overall, I was pleased with the experience. The expression is a little somber, but that is to be expected given the social distancing and the fact that I had a tooth extracted that morning.

The post Digital Painting – Self Portrait appeared first on Kevin Rimlinger.

For the next several weeks, I will be asking anyone who listens to do the following:
1. Get the book.
2. Read the book.
3. Review/rate the book on Amazon.
4. Tell all of your closest friends and strangers about the book.

In a few weeks, the print version will be available and I will do the same thing all over again.

Many of you will do these things out of sheer devotion to me. I thank you for that, but let me assure you that’s not why you’ll want to do them. You will want to do them because it is a superbly entertaining book. I promise that all who read it will laugh, most will cry, and those that are super tough will succumb to a mysterious affliction that causes a tightened throat and watery eyes, or maybe it’s dust… yeah dust, that’s the ticket.

In any case, you’ll love the book because the plot is compelling, the writing fantastic, the storytelling inventive, and the characters are so rich and interesting you will miss them when the story ends.

Go, do it now.

The post The Truth About Suzie appeared first on Kevin Rimlinger.

This is a picture of a Great Blue Heron on the north shore of Anna Maria Island, Florida at sunrise. A waterspout forms behind it over the Gulf of Mexico. I took this picture last Wednesday.

I am entering this in this weeks Photo Friday Challenge: From Nature.

This photo was taken with a Canon EOS Rebel T3i and a Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens.

The post Heron and Waterspout at Sunrise appeared first on Kevin Rimlinger.

As I was taking pictures of the sunrise on Anna Maria Island, I happened to turn around to see this waterspout forming over the Gulf of Mexico. A fishing boat crossed in front of it. The early morning light reflecting off the large thunderhead onto the water created surreal colors.

This photo was taken with a Canon EOS Rebel T3i and a Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens.

Purchase this image for your home or office. Many sizes, framing, and material options.

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