John Derry's PaintBlog

Portrait Enhancement

2008-10-31T17:19:00Z

Some of you may know that I write a column in Rangefinder Publishing's AfterCapture Magazine. The AfterCapture website generously converts articles from the print version and makes them accessible for anyone as a PDF file.

I recently did a two-part article on enhancing portraits. The first installment, Portrait Enhancement, Part 1, details my workflow for cleaning up an image in Photoshop.

The second installment, Portrait Enhancement, Part 2, utilizes the cleaned up image and I go through the process of using Painter to create a watercolor-style result.

AfterCapture is available as a free subscription. You just need to fill out a qualification form to receive it in the mail. Alternatively, you can regularly visit the website to keep up with current issues.

100 Days

2008-10-28T15:04:00Z

I've been "off the air" for some time acting as my wife Pam's primary caregiver while she's been recovering from a bone marrow transplant at the Lied Transplant Center/University of Nebraska Medical Center on July 12th. The 100 days following the bone marrow transplant have been closely monitored by the doctors as Pam's donated marrow grows and replaces the previously destroyed (by chemotherapy) marrow.

These 100 days following a transplant can be a perilous period as the patient is temporarily functioning without an immune system. A variety of immunosuppressive drugs are used to protect the patient, as well as a temporary lifestyle that avoids large crowds, prepared fresh foods, exposure to live plants—in other words, a hermit's existence. Pam has undergone twice-weekly blood tests to monitor her progress.

A potential danger in the wake of a bone marrow transplant is GVHD (Graft VS. Host Disease). The donor's bone marrow (the "graft") can potentially see the patient (the "host") as an unrecognized foreign invader. When this happens, the patient can suffer a variety of disorders affecting the skin, digestive system, and liver. During the first 100 days post-transplant, these effects are referred to as Acute GVHD. Beyond the 100 day period, they are referred to as Chronic GVHD.

I'm happy to report that Pam's 100 day exam revealed no GVHD. In fact, her recovery has gone very well. An interesting side effect of the transplant is that Pam's blood type has changed from type O to type AB. This is because the donor is type AB and the new marrow continues to produce this blood type. Pam's donor was a male. Consequentially, Pam's blood DNA now tests as male! As I like to say in my best Austin Powers voice, "She's a man, baby!".

In many ways, the 100 day mark feels like the closing of a chapter. Our lives are slowly beginning to return to normal. Pam is looking forward to returning to work. I'm anxious to focus on teaching once again. We'll have to live with the shadow of leukemia going forward—there is always the chance that it may return. However, there are many leukemia survivors out there. The photo of Pam was taken at the Cancer Survivor's Park here in Omaha.

We truly appreciate all of the positive messages that we've received during this period. It really makes a difference knowing that folks are thinking of Pam and have her in their prayers. Thanks to all who have purchased the Equinox print (It's still available!). The proceeds are helping to soften the blow of the medical costs associated with the transplant.

I'd like to especially thank Jinny Brown and Karen Bonaker for their efforts to set up and manage a contribution page, Gift of Life - a Tribute to Pam and John Derry. I had no idea Jinny and Karen had initiated this effort until I noticed that I was repeatedly getting PayPal Equinox print payments from Karen. Why would she buy multiple prints? A little googling provided the answer.

Jinny and Karen: Thank you so much!

Hopefully, this will be the last time that I'll have to write about leukemia and bone marrow transplants. I intend to now return my focus to Painter, Photoshop, pixels, and all of the usual suspects.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled program...

-john

Equinox Offered for Purchase

2008-08-06T21:33:00Z

Many of you may know that my wife, Pam, had a reoccurrence of leukemia earlier this year. Needless to say, this event radically changed our lives. We relocated to Omaha, NE in order to be close to the Lied Transplant Center at the Nebraska Medical Center. The Lied is a world-class transplant facility. Last month, Pam received an Matched Unrelated Donor (MUD) bone marrow transplant. So far, she is out of the hospital (although still under close supervision of the transplant specialists) and doing very well. The next phase is watching for any signs of rejection by the donor bone marrow. We are optimistic that this will all be a memory at some point.

The financial toll of the transplant has been pretty devastating for us. As a result, I am offering signed prints of Equinox for purchase to help pay for the costs associated with Pam's transplant.

Here is the story of behind the image:

Equinox represents a life-changing event in the Derry family’s lives. On March 20, 2006 —the first day of Spring, or vernal equinox— my wife, Pam, was diagosed with leukemia (AML). On that day, it was raining outside. The rainwater ran down our window, obscuring a grove of trees. This scene represented for me the emotions of that day. I felt compelled to record the moment and Equinox was born. Equinox has since been accepted into the prestigious Loan Collection of the 116th International Exhibition of Professional Photography and is being featured in Professional Photographer magazine.

Equinox is being offered both unframed and framed and is hand signed by the artist. If you are interested in purchasing a print, please visit the Equinox Print Page.

Thanks to everyone for the many messages, prayers, and good wishes during this time. We really appreciate it!

-john

The Gift of Life

2008-07-13T15:45:00Z

On July 12th at 2:30 CST, my wife, Pam, was blessed with one of life's miracles: a bone marrow transplant. It is a miracle on several levels. The bone marrow came from an anonymous donor. Someone we don't even know or have any idea of where he lives was willing to go through the painful process of a bone marrow donation in order to provide Pam with the distinct possibility of regaining a normal life. Thankfully, there are millions of such individuals around the world that have signed up as potential bone marrow donors. When someone is diagnosed with a blood cancer like leukemia, blood testing is done to find a potential match in the bone marrow registry. This ultimately leads to the patient receiving a donor's marrow. Without it, she would die.

Donor bone marrow is processed to remove everything but blood stem cells. Blood stem cells have the ability to develop into all of the various crucial components of healthy blood: red cells—the carrier of oxygen, white cells—the infection fighters, and platelets—blood's natural coagulation agent. These stem cells are delivered as a simple transfusion and find their way to the patient's bones, where they replace the diseased marrow that has been destroyed by chemotherapy and/or radiation. The photo shows the stem cells making their way to Pam's blood.

These stem cells then set up shop and effectively replace the patient's former immune system. In the process, they kill any residual blood cancer found in the patient. The patient will even take on the blood type of the donor. All of this occurs under a blanket of drug mediated immunosuppression designed to prevent any of the patient's residual immune system from attacking the donor's replacement immune system. Because the patient has no immune system until the new one takes hold, she is temporarily at risk for opportunistic infections. Great care is taken to minimize introduction of infection by isolating the patient during this period.

Once the new immune system matures, the patient recovers and resumes life. There can be residual effects associated with a bone marrow transplant. Pam will always be more susceptible to infection. She will have to avoid overexposure to the sun. But the specter of leukemia will largely be removed. While Pam's journey is still ongoing, a major hurdle has been overcome. In a year, Pam will have the opportunity to communicate with her donor. Until then, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your donation.

You can take part in the gift of life by becoming a bone marrow donor. By being in the registry, you join a pool of over 11 million individuals worldwide that stand ready to give someone a future. You can find out more at the website of the National Marrow Donor Program. If you are not located in the U.S., you can find other countries' marrow donor registries here.

Miracles never cease.

Painter X Essential Training with John Derry

2008-05-10T12:55:00Z

I'm pleased to announce the availability of my new lynda.com Painter X Training title. Here is the promotional blurb from lynda:

Painter X Essential Training with John Derry

"Expressive brushes." This is instructor John Derry's two-word answer as to why Painter is such an effective tool. When used with a Wacom tablet, Painter can elevate digital mark-making to a form of creative self-expression. Combining the aesthetics of traditional media with the freedom to experiment, Painter X Essential Training not only delves into each tool, palette, material, and brush, it also speaks to the artistic concepts of simplicity, stroke, proportion, and perspective. Exercise files accompany the course.

Topics include:

Understanding and customizing a Wacom table

Creating brushes

Painting with compositional aids

Working with layers

Cloning and using effects

Using Painter and Photoshop effectively

This is the first of multiple Painter titles I'll be doing in conjunction with lynda.com.

On the "Life Happens" front—Pam is now in remission after 2 rounds of chemo and is scheduled for her bone marrow transplant in June. We are currently in the process of moving to Omaha. Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers.

Why I've Been AWOL

2008-02-27T16:52:00Z

I haven't posted here recently and I feel I owe an explanation. Unfortunately, it is an explanation I wish I didn't have to use.

My wife, Pam, was diagnosed with leukemia (AML) two years ago. She went through chemotherapy and quickly went into remission. We recently found out that she has relapsed. We are now in the process of preparing for a bone marrow transplant. We will be temporarily relocating from Overland Park, KS to Omaha, NE. Pam will be receiving her transplant at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Over the past 2 years, I've necessarily had to learn more about hematology and AML than I ever wanted to know. A bone marrow transplant—actually, a peripheral blood stem cell transplant (PBSCT} these days—is a pretty amazing process. Bone marrow is the "factory" that generates our red and white cells, as well as platelets. Red cells are responsible for supplying oxygen. White cells fight infection, and platelets coagulate blood to prevent bleeding. This triumvirate is our immune system. A PBSCT effectively replaces the donor's malfunctioning immune system with a new replacement.

The most perfectly matched transplant is between siblings. In Pam's case, this is not an option (Her only sister was tested and was not a match—there is only a 25% chance that they would match). The alternative is an matched unrelated donor (MUD) transplant. Through genetic testing, several markers (HLA) can be identified that both the donor and patient share in common. Currently, a "10 out of 10" match is considered optimal. We were fortunate to learn that there are currently two of this level of potential donors for Pam (The donor base is administered by the National Bone Marrow Program).

A bone marrow transplant is not without potential complications. Following the transplant, the patient has no immune system and is at risk for a variety of infections. Post-transplant care has improved over the years and a variety of immuno-suppressive drugs are available to fight and counteract infection. A bone marrow transplant is the only form of transplant procedure in which the donor immune system can potentially view the patient as a foreign entity. As a result, Graft vs. Host Disease (GVHD) is a potential long-term complication. A small amount of GVHD is desirable—any residual leukemic cells are veiwed by the donor immune system as foreign and are eradicated. Severe GVHD can be life-threatening or even fatal. Again, a variety of immuno-suppressive drugs have been developed to counteract GVHD. Chronic GVHD can impact long-term patient quality of life by impacting various organs, skin, etc.

This is a photo I took of Pam and I for our 25th anniversary. I shot it just a few days before we found out Pam had relapsed. We drove up from Overland Park to Omaha today. Pam enters the Med Center tomorrow to begin the process of induction chemotherapy to destroy her leukemic marrow in preparation for the transplant. When we left, we realized that a chapter of our lives was ending and a new one beginning. We don't know what the future holds for us, but we are both positive thinkers and believe that we will come through this to eventually arrive at a "new normal".

Life Happens.

-john

Neuschwanstein Castle

2008-01-15T03:57:00Z

Here is the castle image. We are going to print them all in order to emphasize the nature of the workshop. All of the castles are local and are familiar to personnel and dependents at Bamberg Army Garrison. This is Neuschwanstein, It is the castled the Disneyland castel is modeled after..

Here is the finished image:

Here is a close-up of the castle:

And here is a 100% crop of the entry to the castle:

Viva la castles!

-john

It's Castlemania!!!

2008-01-14T02:32:00Z

Here is yet a thrid castle image. We are going to print them all in order to emphasize the nature of the workshop. All of the castles are local and are familiar to personnel and dependents at Bamberg Army Garrison. This latest painting is Mespelbrunn, located in a hidden valley on a small lake.

Here is the finished image:

Here is a close-up of the castle:

And here is a 100% crop of the entry to the castle:

Viva la castles!

-john

An Interpreted Photograph: Step-by-Step

2008-01-09T16:13:00Z

I'm in the process of prepping for a workshop to be held in Bamberg, Germany. This class will be primarily landscape oriented. I'm working on a demonstration image for the event and I thought I'd share the step-by-step interpretation of an image.

Here is the final image:

Original Photograph
The initial image was sent to me by the organizer of the workshop. It is the old city hall in Bamberg, which is one of the few cities spared from bombing during WWII. As a result, there is a wealth of well-preserved architecture in the town:

Image Evaluation and Corrections
Before beginning the painting process, I evaluated the image and made a few adjustments. I cropped it a bit to eliminate some unnecessary imagery at the left edge.

I desaturated and lightened some background scenery on the right edge that was distracting the profile of the town hall.

I re-composed the town hall to place it a bit more centrally in the frame.

I added a more dynamic sky to give the overall image a bit more sunny disposition. I shoot interesting clouds whenever I see a good example and maintain a library for just this purpose.

Finally, I pumped up the saturation in the image. These colors will be applied as brush strokes later on over a somewhat desaturated version of the same image. (See next step)

Detail:

Underpainting
Now I create a second iteration of the image. The first iteration is the saturated image in the previous step. This second iteration will be a simplified and somewhat desaturated version. I used Painter's Smart Blur filter to "drain" the photo of high detail and emphasize edges. I then desaturated the resulting simplified image.

This second iteration acts as an underpainting, a common preliminary step in the traditional painting process. I will then paint on this desaturated underpainting using color that is derived from the initial saturated iteration. This probably sounds a bit like a shell game—and it does require keeping track of where your brush is sourcing its color—but it is actually pretty straightforward (although hard to fully illustrate here).

Here is the second iteration:

Detail:

Removing Photographic Detail
Next, I "scrubbed" the image to add roughing-out brush strokes. This is largely done to eliminate the photographic detail from the image, as well as move it to a more traditionally appearing underpainting. Keep in mind that I also have access to the initial highly saturated photographic rendition, as well.

Here is the completed underpainting:

Detail:

Texture Addition
Now I add a variety of textural elements. My brushes are set up to sample their color from the initial over-saturated version. This enables me to paint on the desaturated underpainting and add detail and color emphasis:

Detail:

Detail Brush Strokes
At this point, I add brush strokes that provide additional structural detail to the painting:

Detail:

Color & Brush Stroke Blending
Now I go back in and smear and finesse the painting surface with a dry brush that blends the colors on the canvas. This serves to integrate various elements together:

Detail:

Varnish Coat
Finally, I added a clear varnish layer to provide a textural patina to the surface:

To add the appearance of clear varnish, I use a specially prepared Photoshop PSD file that I created, called "John's Impasto Varnish". The "varnish" is actually a layer that is overlaid atop the painted image. If you'd like to use this special layer on your own images, you can download it here:

John's Impasto Varnish.zip

John's Impasto Varnish is 8X10@300dpi. The two included PSD files (horizontal and vertical orientations) are in Grayscale Mode to reduce file size. Because Painter does not support Grayscale Mode, you'll have to use Photoshop (or any application that understands Grayscale mode) to open and convert the files to RGB Mode for use in Painter. Instructions are contained in the John's Impasto Varnish PSD file.

Be advised before you start downloading, the ZIP file is 33MB!

I hope this is useful information for you.

Viva la Painter!

-john

Exchanging Artistic Media Vocabularies

2007-10-19T13:34:00Z

As photography and digital tools have converged, there has been a growing emphasis on modifying a photograph from its original appearance. This is not new to photography; in fact, subjective decisions are applied to an image at the moment of exposure. Artistic embellishments, such as hand tinting, have additionally altered the original image as viewed. The appearance of software such as Painter and Photoshop, coupled with the phenomenal growth of digital photography, offers photographers and artists even more expressive choices with regard to the photograph. A current trend is the interpretation of a photographic source into a traditional painted appearance. One of the basic failings I often see that lessens an interpreted photograph's visual power is the failure to destroy the image's photographic quality.

I like to think of various art forms as having a unique "vocabulary". Painting, for example, has a unique visual vocabulary. Brush strokes, canvas weave, and oil paint's color range are attributes unique to a painting. Likewise, photographs have a unique vocabulary. A key element of the photograph is sharp focus. It is very difficult from the perspective of a photographer to eliminate this key vocabulary element from an image, but it is necessary in order to imbue the image with the vocabulary of painting. You must be willing to destroy a photograph to successfully interpret it into a convincing painted result. I know this from personal experience. It is valuable to study traditional art and illustration to discover the vocabulary elements of these mediums.

Here is a photograph I took this summer at one of the Week with Monet workshops I co-taught with Darrell Chitty:

This image exhibits key elements of the photographic vocabulary: high detail, sharp focus, and narrow depth-of-field. It are these very elements that—from the photographer's mindset—are difficult to destroy in the process of interpreting such an image into a painted result.

Here is the interpreted image:

And a detail:

I have done several things to destroy the photographic vocabulary. Notice the simplification of detail (shirt pattern, hair, skin). I've added additional painting vocabulary elements (loose brush strokes, canvas texture, "accidental" runs and drips). I also increased the saturation to move from photographic towards painting color.

Why utilize photographs to emulate traditional media? The rise of digital photography has made it absolutely simple to mix photographs with Painter's natural-media tools. Entering this brave new world are a multitude of people that don't have a background in traditional drawing and painting skills, yet yearn to creatively express themselves. The combination of tools like Painter with digital photography offer novel approaches to bridging the appearance of traditional expressive tools with photographs. These tools offer many the opportunity to express themselves in ways they may have never otherwise attempted.

Beyond, there are artists with traditional skills that find the admixture of Painter and photography as valuable allies in producing entirely new possibilities. And you can't deny the fact that the ability to undo a bad brush stroke or ink line provides an invaluable safety net in the service of production art.

Traditional media like drawing and painting aren't going away any time soon, if ever. Their long traditions and permanence ensures a robust future. A pencil, watercolors, gouache and sketchbook are still far less expensive than a laptop, tablet, and software. There is an immediacy connected with sketching that is hard to duplicate digitally. The lack of an undo (well, perhaps the eraser is the traditional undo!) demands commitment to the applied strokes. The resulting art is a record of the artist's commitment to an idea.

Painter is adept at both art from scratch and photographic interpretation. I find that combining both these means of art creation the most exciting possibility of all!

Viva la Painter!

-john