THE ART OF COWBOYS

For the wife of a cowboy, the home is in the kitchen. But for her husband, the soul is in the stable.  That's the story I was trying to achieve in editing this image.

Ever have an image you choose to revisit, just because? This photo was originally shot against a red barn, and was on of several I photographed.   As I chose to reconstruct and paint the image, I was particularly drawn to his gaze, fixed on something  off into the distance. I laughingly say he was reluctantly coerced into this photo session by his daughter.  This delightfully grouchy cowboy would rather be tending his horses than posing against a barn!  Nevertheless, he was a good sport about it and swaggered off as soon as I clicked the last shutter.  (I have to admit it was a little fun to torture this man who I've known for years, but that's another story.) 

Creating a painting or composite means isolating some components and introducing other elements to build a cohesive image.   First, I isolated the subject using the "select subject" tool in photoshop, which intuitively does a really nice job. Since the goal was to digitally paint the image, it was not necessary for me to refine the hair or the edges. 

I then  placed the cowboy onto my background.  When building backgrounds, I love to use textures as my base. Perhaps my favorite texture are concrete sidewalk shots I take with my iPhone during walks.  I open them in photoshop and start applying color and blend modes and just play until I achieve the result I like, sometimes overlaying another background,  over the final texture. The key is to play until you find something you like.   (A little note on that is to write the "recipe" for your image as you go, a step I often find I regretfully forget to do.This enables you to recreate the background if you need to! Better, get the background you create and drag it into your Libraries section for safekeeping and quick recall!) 

Third, I add any elements to build the narrative.  The wagon wheel was a great addition.  I tried to put it on an overlay blend mode, but because of the dark background this didn't work.  There is always a work around in Photoshop. Here was mine:  I created  two layers of the wagon wheel, keeping the bottom layer of the wheel on a regular blend mode.   Then, I took the layer above it and changed the blend mode to multiply and adjusted the opacity.  Finally, I grouped both together layers together  and reduce the opacity until I got  the affect I wanted to achieve. I also put a layer mask on the group and masked away parts of the wheel I didn't want to show.   I wasn't going for perfection, since I was going to paint the final image.  I also added  a bit of the barn on a separate layer, changing the blend mode to "multiply".    I couldn't have him leaning against nothing! 

Then, I painted.

I generally do a safe painting, then duplicate that image a.   Choosing a conservatively painted  image as the first draft  is a safety net more for me. Fear is a funny thing.  I always have that moment that I wonder if the client will like a more painterly approach.  Saving this initial draft alleviates that concern and allows me to be super creative with the second draft.   The client always prefers the second draft. After all, what's the point of commissioning an artist if the end result is to look more photographic, right?