Artist, author and educator I love to work creating beautiful and meaningful art. My latest project involves our love for our new home in Asheville,NC where I attempt to capture moments and views from AVL and create my paintings inspired by them.

My best selling book The Art of Digital Photo Painting is available on Amazon or any bookstore. It takes you step by step through painting with a Wacom tablet and Corel Painter software.

To answer how the paintings are done, they are all started as photo reference, but like any artist, that does not mean that the photo I take is the one I paint. Usually I have taken many from the subject and then have pieced it together to create a composition that is pleasing to myself. I may add people, objects or subjects to get an inspiring moment in time I want to paint. I am a visual artist and paint best when I can see what I have in front of me to create. Then I use a Wacom Intuous 4 tablet and Photoshop, Painter and other various software to hand paint with a stylus on the tablet the painting. I usually do not paint directly on the photograph but use a blank canvas and look to the photograph for what I am painting.

When the digital painting is done and I print a test print I decide if the painting moves me enough to take it to the next step which is to print usually on canvas and then to use mixed media materials to paint directly on the live canvas. Acrylics, gels, mediums, gold leaf, mixtures of sand and grits may all be put into action with paint brushes and sponges. The painting is finished with glazes and varnishes and then that is the finished piece. Some are printed on fine art heavy watercolor paper and then might be glazed on top or matted and framed under glass.

The original paintings are then photographed to try to show their depth with the paint and varnishes and glazes and are for sale. The digital versions are also available for posters and prints. Usually my originals sell to private collectors who follow my work. The posters and prints are by special request, but as soon as I get my online shops up will post their links here. Right now there are some of my posters on sale in my Digital Paint Shop

www.digitalpaintingforum.com/shop/index.php?main_page=ind...

I hope this answers all the questions about if I paint digitally or not and how the paintings are created and inspired. My signature is my colors and I hope they move others and make them feel good. If you smile when you see one of my paintings, then the painting works for me!

If you would like to take a workshop with me please email or check on my schedule on my website. From May to October we have workshops in Asheville, NC and in August I am usually in Canada and January in London, England and also Las Vegas in March.

You can join me on Facebook: Marilyn Sholin

Follow me on Twitter: @msholin or if you are interested in how I create my art and teach about it follow @digitalpaint

If you are a cat lover follow @fletcher_kitten to find out whatz happening at our houze and whoze in trooble.