Pear Day 29. 4 x 5 watercolor on 140 lb. cold press paper. © Sheila Delgado

Today my painting comes with a mini lesson on the wonders of Photoshop. I am not going to get all into the specs. I just want to show the difference it can make. I have a couple of friends who are new to using the program, and I wanted to share some of the features I use.

I have not taken any classes on Photoshop, I would love to. I am self-taught, and what I need to learn is still more than what I know. But learning is fun, so I have more to look forward to!

For posting my artwork here, I often use image adjustments to show it at its best. (Most often, the scan is true to life, and adjustments are not needed.)

Pear Day 29. (original) 4 x 5 watercolor on 140 lb. cold press paper. © Sheila Delgado

My pear today was done in a very light wash. More water than pigment. I did not start with a sketch. As you can see, the original scan looks completely washed out. Faded. I think it is due to the transparency of the watercolor. The white of the paper is reflecting through the paint.

Pear Day 29. (vibrance) 4 x 5 watercolor on 140 lb. cold press paper. © Sheila Delgado

The original scan was not true this time. I first adjusted the vibrancy. ( Image – adjustments – vibrance) This also gives you the option to change the saturation, but I rarely do that here. ( You can adjust the saturation with more control with the hue/sat tab.)

You probably can’t see much, if any difference between the original above, and the pear to the left. Honestly, to me they look reversed. My eyes must be tired. This time the change did not make a huge difference, but it did brighten the colors a bit.

Pear Day 29. (curves) 4 x 5 watercolor on 140 lb. cold press paper. © Sheila Delgado

The other adjustment I use is the curves. There is a lot you can do, and I may not even be using it correctly. You can deepen the colors here. This is good in some cases, and I do like how the pear looks here (to the right). But It is not true to the original.

Pear Day 29. 4 x 5 watercolor on 140 lb. cold press paper. © Sheila Delgado

To the left is the image with both the vibrance and the curves adjustments used together. The green is deeper, and the yellow is brighter. This is true to the original painting.

One more day of the 30 in 30 challenge. If you have not had a chance to visit Leslie’s site for a look, you still have time.

Thanks for stopping by! Thanks to all of you who take the time to comment. It is always great to hear from you!