[Garth Herrick]

Sharon,

I get it that the sample above is painted by skilled artisans on an assembly line. It would be interesting to see the reference photo to check the drawing fidelity, etc. Overall it looks very skilled, technically. the transitions, hues, values and edge control are quite something. I am wondering about the likeness in the eyes and mouth. As a forever image on the wall, that smile and look would bother me.

But, is the BrushStrokes portrait sample really paint or a digital creation?

A good friend in Colorado, I roomed two years ago with at the PSOA Conference, Russ Steuber, is a master at "painting" digitally from a photograph resource. The brushwork looks strangely similar to that in the BrushStrokes sample when viewed as close as they will let you see it. I did a few screen shots of the sample, and cropped a few of Russ' biker painting (to be followed in the next response).

Look close and tell me what you think. Are the sample blow ups actually paint or sophisticated digital paint software. You may notice that the paint is quite smooth with zero canvas or support texture, nor any 3-D texture, as advertized! I suspect it's just digital and no paint in this case, which may be deceptive advertising.

Garth