We start live from my personal desktop painting with Corel Painter X!

Starting at 5pm Eastern. Go REGISTER NOW!

See the Corel Painter interface and how to manage auto-painting and colors! So many options! Which are the best ones to choose? What BRUSHES to paint with! So much more. Don’t miss this special one time only presentation!

http://tinyurl.com/6rcdpw

Fall Trees, originally uploaded by marilynsholin.

Just sharing a small part of our street here in the Smokies with you all. Was playing with this and it turned out to be more than a photograph and less than a painting and it all worked for me. Hope you enjoy it.

Here is a sneak peek at the real live book! I can touch it, feel it and read it. Lark Publishing sent me an advance copy of the book. It is awesome. I can’t remember seeing any other books on Painter X that had so many full color paintings in it and an incredible art layout (by the amazing Tom Metcalf!). My editor Matt Paden had the patience to deal with me on a day to day basis as we edited this baby. Next step is to get all the images used uploaded so you can do the tutorials right on the exact same images used in the book! Then compare your results to what you see in the book.

Watch the video and go BUY NOW Books ships in January so be sure to put it on your holiday gift wish list and buy your favorite digital artist one too!

So I got a few emails since my last post asking for more information on the Advanced Corel Painter Fall Blast we are having here in Asheville, NC.

Want to know what we will be doing in the four packed days and into the evenings? The easiest way to let you know is to share the email I just sent as a reminder to the 14 painters coming to Asheville for the event. First, let me share with you that I am one of only 36 Corel Painter Masters in the world. That’s right. There are only 36 Corel Painter Masters that were hand picked by Corel a number of years ago and we are expected to continue to share our artistic knowledge and to continue to be BETA testers for new versions of Painter and also be their International liaison for other painters.

When I was first chosen to be a Corel Painter Master my painting was also chosen for the original packaging for Corel Painter 8. The little boy and girl painted on the box and all the marketing and advertising materials was used worldwide on websites and in marketing materials. I will have to dig up an old photo of that box to show you all but it had the girl boy hugging painting on it. Below is the painting and you can see more about it or comment here or on my flickr site about it. You can find more information about Corel Painter Masters HERE: http://apps.corel.com/painterx/us/gallery_profiles.html

See if there is anyone near you offering workshops or classes to learn more about Corel Painter X and the more advanced or beginner techniques.

I’m having some linking issues and crashes today with Windows Live Writer so am putting in the full links on occasion that won’t go into the program.

So Without any more wasting of time…below is the email that went out to update the workshop attendees with the info for the first of the Fall Painter Blast week. We have a second workshop starting on Oct 26 and that one is sold out also. More beginner and intermediate workshops coming but the big Advanced Painter Blasts will only be in October and May each year and we only have 14 spots for attendees! So if you are interested you need to let us know to get on the waiting list ASAP!

REMINDER:  What you need to bring:
CLASS REQUIREMENTS:
LAPTOP
WACOM TABLET
A Wireless Mouse is great to have with your Laptop (not the Wacom mouse)
A jump drive (or key or storage unit to store your paintings and pass around to the printer)
Camera of your choice (from a basic point and shoot to full camera gear, it’s up to you how much you want to carry)
Tripod if you want it
PAINTER X loaded (nothing less than the most current version!)

Download Alien Skin Snap Art before class and it has a 30 Day FREE TRIAL
http://www.alienskin.com/snapart/
You will see how we use this at the workshop. You will love it.
If available….Photoshop 7 or higher. We don’t use this unless everyone has it and wants to use it.
Mostly it’s easier to use for resizing images,etc.
Nik Color EFX 3.0 PRO
Has a 15 DAY FREE TRIAL and a 30 DAY money back guarantee if you buy it.
Highly Recommend this!
http://www.niksoftware.com/colorefexpro/usa/entry.php
We will provide images to work on, but if you bring your own here is what to bring:
SIZE IS IMPORTANT: All images should be sized to at least 8×10 and no larger than 9×12  DPI 250 dpi
They can be JPGS or TIFFS
Category of Images:
People
Landscapes
Things (flowers, fruit, leaves, etc)
Animals
We have plenty of images for you to work on for class. DO NOT bring anything that is for a client or commissioned work you are trying to get finished in class. We will not be able to work on specific pieces but are here for the learning experience. Although many leave class with a piece that eventually does sell.
PERSONAL NEEDS:
Please advise us of any food allergies or extreme needs before arrival in writing.
You will need a sweaters and/or light jacket. Even in July the morning and evenings here are cool. We are in the Mountains!
Good walking shoes that are comfortable and possibly shoes you don’t mind getting a bit muddy as we may make it over
to a waterfall to photograph and good solid sneakers or boots would be good for that.
BRING:  Your sense of HUMOR, your CREATIVITY and IMAGINATION and your Sense of ADVENTURE!!
We will be providing a continental breakfast  and lunch and snacks each day. We provide a variety that usually meets all peoples food needs.

UPDATED CLASS SCHEDULE AND WHAT YOU WILL BE DOING WITH US!
PLEASE READ ALL THIS INFO AS IT IS SPECIFIC AND ALSO SHARES WHAT ELSE TO EXPECT!

SATURDAY NIGHT EARLY ARRIVALS:
Wine and Cheese to start the Workshop! Come early and feel free to set up for the morning.

Time for Wine and Cheese has CHANGED:  Please NOTE:  5:30pm till 7pm

After that it’s dinner on your own or follow us to one of our favorite restaurants and join us (dutch treat for everyone)

If you have no car and are staying at one of our preferred airport AVL area hotels the pick up morning time is 7:45AM for Michael to pick you all up and get you here for breakfast at 8am.

SUNDAY: Day ONE: Introductions:  BRING PRINTS or PORTFOLIO to share your paintings! You can also put it in a file for me to show on the screen from the laptop. Just put them in a folder and we will transfer later. We want you all to see each others work.
Be ready to SHARE today how you paint with Painter! This is a sharing workshop and everyone will have time to show their basic methods of painting. Don’t be nervous about this! We all are crazed when we paint!
Exploring Different Methods of Painting and incorporating other software with Painter. What do you use with Painter and how do you use it? Think WORKFLOW also!
Dinner at one of our local restaurants. Join us if you want and spouses or others friends are also welcome. Dinners are always dutch treat at the workshops.
MONDAY: Day TWO: Out of the workshop and into the Fall Photography. Whether you use a point and shoot or bring all your camera equipment and tripod, this will be a treat for you all to visit a few key areas in the morning to photograph fall foliage.
After lunch we will go to the RIVER ARTS DISTRICT and visit a gallery of artists and one of them will be sharing with us how she works as an artist in the art world. Also, there are fabulous well priced ceramics there for sale and other goodies so bring your credit card.
Then we will go to a secluded location with two of the oldest log cabins in the area in a private field. Photography should again be a lot of fun there to have more to work with from NC.

TUESDAY: Day THREE: Morning: Discuss Workflow for preparing images for painting from the photo shoots.
Painting from the day of Fall photography or your own images or ours.
New Techniques from Marilyn shared and use some of the new things you learned on Sunday from each other also!
Afternoon: PAINT and PRINT our paintings and prep the paintings for the Embellishing. Gel coat as many as possible to prepare for the morning.
Dinner as before.
WEDNESDAY: Day FOUR: Morning: Gel coat your prints and prepare for painting on them if not done yet. They will dry quickly!
Embellish Prints, paint on them, explore Materials for ART on the prints
Afternoon: Share Advanced Painter Techniques and Discuss Marketing, Promoting and Selling Your Artwork! How do you get your clients? BRING YOUR MARKETING MATERIALS TO SHARE!
Workshop ends at 5pm and a parting hour of farewells and then dinner with whoever would like to share with us!

NEWS:  We have a new WACOM Cintiq 21 for you all to try out!
http://www.wacom.com/cintiq/21UX.cfm
Feel free to email or call if you need anything!!
Remember:  Asheville is the Happiest Place on Earth….you will love it here and there is fun shopping and tons of restaurants and things to do here. Plan arriving early or staying a few days later.
See you all soon….

Marilyn and Michael

PS:  Allowing for weather changes, etc. the schedule may change for the photography day if there is a problem. BUT be going to the galleries and possibly making other stops also. PLEASE ADVISE if you have a car with you and are willing to share DRIVING taking a few people in your car. We will have approx. 15 people here so we will need three cars.

Our first COREL PAINTER BLAST starts with a wine and cheese party this coming Saturday night and then the real fun and creativity and painting start early Sunday morning. We took that Blue Ridge Parkway drive last weekend to get some shots that I could use for photo reference for a painting to represent the workshop and I think we got it!

I hope this speaks Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains in fall for you. This was mainly painted with the Marilyn Soft Sarg brush that is part of my personal brushes and a variation on the Sargent brush that ships with Corel Painter X and also the Water Rake from the Blenders category of brushes. The Marilyn Soft Sarg brush can be downloaded for FREE with my Sampler set of brushes from the DIGITAL PAINT SHOP

The ASHEVILLE STATE OF THE ARTS website will be done soon and all that is new and interesting in the arts will be coming to you on the website. Subscribe to this blog to get the latest news on digital painting workshops in Asheville by the only Corel Painter Master in the area.

Touch of Fall 08 Painting, originally uploaded by marilynsholin.

Early Fall in Asheville painting here is a Touch of Fall as it starts spreading across the area. Tomorrow we will take a Blue Ridge Parkway drive to get better early fall foliage photos!

The Beginner Corel Painter X Fall Workshop presented in Asheville had students attend from all over the globe. We had attendees from New Jersey, South Carolina, Tennessee, North Carolina, Canada, Florida and Washington,DC and two of the attendees were originally from Sweden and Great Britain. What a great group of artists! At the end of the two full days it was agreed that their heads were throbbing and the information was leaking out their ears. But look at the amazing paintings they all went home with!

Workshop Environment

Mike (on the left) has a great post about the workshop on his Improv Blog with a close-up of his painting.

If you would like to take a Painter X Workshop send an email or comment and we will add you to our workshop mailings or just subscribe to the blog to get all the news.

It’s ALMOST ready to ship! Be sure to get yours in the first Amazon shipments and pre-order it now. This new book is not like anything else you have seen! It is primarily Corel Painter X but other software is also included like Alien Skin Snap Art and more. Learn how to paint your photos into masterpieces! This book takes it step by step with screenshots and full explanations including the sample images will be available for download so all the settings in the Painter X tutorials can be followed completely to compare your results. If you use Corel Painter X this book is a must have!

We have some updates and new events posted here now. We also are going to have more Guest Speakers and Workshops here in Asheville at our studio. Hoping to have a Photoshop CS4 Workshop here with a wonderful speaker and educator plus more artist workshops. If you would like to make a suggestion as to who you would like to see please let me know!

Just finished updating my entire schedule for Painter X Workshops and events and my speaking commitments. I hope to see some of you at some of these! Please feel free to write me with questions or for more information.

We are very excited about all the events, but the Asheville:State of the Arts events are special to us and we hope to add more guest speakers coming in from all over the country! We will be adding other Corel Painter instructors and classes about digital art and Photoshop instructors! So be sure to subscribe to this blog for all updates!

To see some video of the last Asheville Painter Workshop watch this:

MSholin Digital Painting Workshop in Asheville

Title: Marilyn Sholin presents Alyson B. Stanfield The “Art Biz Coach”
Date: October 2
Instructor: Alyson B. Stanfield “The Art Biz Coach”
Short Description:  An Evening of Learning how to Sell and Market your Digital Paintings created with Painter X
Link:  http://www.artbizcoach.com/workshops/asheville.html

Title: Learn to Blog with Wordpress

Date: October 3-4

This Fall, Chris Price of Studio|Chris will team up with Marilyn Sholin to give a very special workshop on blogging in beautiful Asheville, NC! Come experience the fall colors, fresh autumn air and learn from two passionate speakers on the subject of blogging and promoting yourself through online channels.

The workshop will be open to 14 students and will cover all aspects of blogging, from start to finish, using the WordPress blogging platform. We’ll also cover how to integrate your blog with your current website (or link to your new blog from your website), if you have one, and how to get a website if you don’t have one already. By the end of the workshop, all attending will have an awesome blog to use for marketing, online journaling, and keeping the world up to date on your art! Take advantage of this fabulous marketing platform.

LINK: REGISTER HERE

Title: Beginner Painter X in Asheville, NC
Date: October 5-6
Instructor: Marilyn Sholin
Short Description:  Two days of Beginner Painter X. Learn Painter fast and easy.
Link:  http://www.digitalpaintingforum.com/shop

Title: Advanced Fall Painter Blast in Asheville, NC
Date: October 19-22
Instructor: Marilyn Sholin
Short Description: Four Days of advanced painting in the Smokey Mountains.  Advanced Painter techniques, a photography session in the fall colors, visits with gallery owners to learn how to present and sell your art and a day of hand painting and embellishing your final finished canvas. Breakfast and lunch included.
Link:  http://marilynsholinfineart.com/workshops/

Title: Advanced Fall Painter Blast in Asheville, NC Second Session
Date: October 26-29
Instructor: Marilyn Sholin
Short Description: Four Days of advanced painting in the Smokey Mountains.  Advanced Painter techniques, a photography session in the fall colors, visits with gallery owners to learn how to present and sell your art and a day of hand painting and embellishing your final finished canvas. Breakfast and lunch included.
Link:  http://marilynsholinfineart.com/workshops/

Title:  Digital Art Academy: The Digital Paintbrush
Date: Ongoing Register Now ENDS JANUARY 1 2009
Instructor: Marilyn Sholin
Short Description: Four Week Online Self Study course on Digital Painting by Marilyn Sholin covering Portraits, Landscapes, Color, Presentation and Textures
Link:  http://www.digitalartacademy.com

Title:  The Digital Paintbrush in Nashville,TN
Date: November 4 at the INFERNO 2pm - 5pm
Instructor: Marilyn Sholin
Short Description: Marilyn will be presenting Beginner Portrait Painting with Painter X at the NOBS Inferno
Link:  http://www.photographymarketingbootcamp.com/

Title:  Marathon Webinair The Digital Art Studio
Date: November 10
Instructor: Marilyn Sholin
Short Description:  Learn how to create a painting quickly using Corel Painter X. Make the painting your own with unique special touches.The secrets to spectacular color and brushstrokes in your paintings.Exciting brushes that are easy to use which brushes to use.
Link:   http://www.marathonpress.com/education/webinars

Title:  Marathon Webinair The Digital Art Studio PART TWO: Hand Embellishing the Canvas
Date: December 1
Instructor: Marilyn Sholin
Short Description: Discussed will be sealing the canvas, gels, gold leafing, paints and other art methods of embellishing the canvas to truly have your work be an original “work of art”. This is the art that clients love and want and it’s fun to do also. All your creativity can be brought together when digital media is brought into the three dimensional world.
Link:   http://www.marathonpress.com/education/webinars

Title:  The Digital Paintbrush
Date: January 11-13 2009 PPA Professional Photographers of America, Phoenix, AZ
Instructor: Marilyn Sholin
Short Description: Multiple Presentations on the Tradeshow floor presenting Painter X
Link:   http://www.imagingusa.org/

Title:  Art of Digital Photo Painting Book Launch!
Date: January 25 2009 Asheville,NC
Instructor: Marilyn Sholin
Short Description: Presentation of Marilyns new book for Lark Publishing on the Art of Digital Photo Painting. Join us for
a short presentation and refreshments and meet the artist and book signing. FREE but you must register to attend.
Link:  http://www.digitalpaintingforum.com/shop

Title:  The Digital Art Studio in MICHIGAN
Date: February 9 2009 All Day Program Michigan Professional Photographers Convention Lansing,MI
Instructor: Marilyn Sholin
Short Description:  Be the artist you always wanted to be learning how to create, market and sell your fine art using Painter X
Link:    http://www.ppm.org/annualconvention.html

Title:  The Digital Paintbrush
Date:  February 16-18 2009 WPPI Las Vegas, NV
Instructor: Marilyn Sholin
Short Description: Multiple Presentations on the Tradeshow floor presenting Painter X
Link:   http://www.wppionline.com/index.tml

Title:  The Digital Art Studio in NEW YORK
Date: March 29 2009 PPSNY Convention Albany, NY
Instructor: Marilyn Sholin
Short Description:  Be the artist you always wanted to be learning how to create, market and sell your fine art using Painter X
Link:    http://www.ppsnys.com/conference.html

Title:  The Digital Art Studio in Kansas City, MO
Date: March 31 2009 Heart of American Convention
Instructor: Marilyn Sholin
Short Description:  Be the artist you always wanted to be learning how to create, market and sell your fine art using Painter X
Link:    http://www.hoappa.com/

Title:  The Digital Art Studio in KENTUCKY
Date: April 27-29 2009 Kentucky Academy of Photographic Arts, Bowling Green, Kentucky
Instructor: Marilyn Sholin
Short Description:  Three Days of Painter X and embellishing the canvas
Link:    http://kapaclasses.com/kapasholin.htm

Title:  Asheville Spring Painter Blast!
Date: May 17-20 2009 SPRING ADVANCED PAINTER BLAST Asheville, NC
Instructor: Marilyn Sholin
Short Description:  Four Days of Advanced Painter in Spring Flowers of Smoky Mountains
Link:    http://www.digitalpaintingforum.com/shop

Title:  Asheville BEGINNER PAINTER X
Date: July 12-13 2009 Two Days Beginner Painter X
Instructor: Marilyn Sholin
Short Description:  Two Days of BEGINNER Painter X
Link:    http://www.digitalpaintingforum.com/shop

Purple Flower Painting, originally uploaded by marilynsholin.

It is just the kind of day I am getting a lot done and trying to get caught up and in the midst of it, one of the images I was editing inspired me to paint. The loose feeling here and the colors really seem to project the rainy day here in Asheville. We are all full of color and painting, but the droop to the petals under the much needed rain is really uplifting.