Corel Painter Artwork
Curtis Boykins
Feels Fortunate to Have Found Karen Sperling's Corel Painter Videos, Books and Brushes
As a relatively recent user of Corel Painter, less than six months as I write this, I feel so fortunate that I discovered Karen's books on Amazon and from her books I found her website and all that she offers. And I'm glad that I discovered such a great teacher so early on in the learning process. There have been times when I've been watching one of her videos and my reaction was like, "No, really, we can do that? Cool! I've got to go try that!" I have a feeling that if not for her materials, I'd still be floundering.
So far I've availed myself of her online class on turning floral photos into impressionist-style paintings; several of the quick fix videos (most, if not all, come with a selection of relevant brushes); four of the digital backdrops that she has hand painted (those are really cool looking and add an air of sophistication to the objects I put in front of them); and Artistry Corel Painter Brushes volumes #5 (Colorful Energized Strokes), #7 (Oil Painting Brushes), #8 (John Singer Sargent Brushes), #12 (Clouds) and I just recently got #20 (Hair).
When I get a new brush volume I like to make a short brush stroke with each brush on a clean page just to see what they look like. There are 22 brushes in volume #20 and as I worked through sampling them there were several instances of, "I wish I had that brush when I did that painting," and "Oh, that will make painting that painting so much easier!"
I can't wait to explore them some more!
Thank you!
Terry Mills
Karen Sperling's Brushes Make Painting Easier
You may ask, "Why should I buy more brushes when Corel Painter comes with gads and gads of them"?
And that is a good question. Why? Because it makes your life easier to have brushes designed by an artist like Karen Sperling whose look and styles are something you want to emulate.
Sure, you can use Corel's brushes. But you will add many hours to your workflow making adjustments, and blending and blending and blending to get the same look that Karen Sperling's brushes give you practically right away.
Of course, every artist has their own look, and so you make adjustments to the opacity or the resat or the stroke jitter. But the basic brush that Karen made is so much closer to what you want a brush to do than almost all of the default Corel Brushes.
Take Cream Color. It is in the Artistry Brushes Volume #7. The basic stroke is already painterly looking. I find that the brushes that come with the program are generally too loud. What I mean by that is, they do too much of an effect. They either are too heavy, or add too much jitter, or they are a special effects brush that makes everything look like fur or pixie dust. And those are fun, for sure. But when you are a working artist, doing commissioned paintings for clients, you need brushes that work and don't need to be adapted extensively. Because even if you do adapt a brush how you like, if you don't save it, you won't be able to recreate that look again.
Save yourself the headache. Let veteran artist Karen Sperling make the brushes so you can focus on your work and making your clients happy.
Katie Katsenis
Highly Recommends Karen Sperling's Clear Explanations
Several years ago, I discovered Corel Painter. Although I love teaching myself new programs, I was a little intimidated. Frustrated by my inability to grasp the magnitude of this program, I found Karen's website and subscribed to Artistry Magazine (even purchasing back issues!). That was a good beginning, but I decided the best way for me to learn was to sign up for one of her workshops; so I flew to California for a week of hands on training in an Artistry Retreat. That class opened my eyes to all the possibilities for creating art without intimidation, and it was really fun, too!
After setting it aside for a couple of years (life gets so busy sometimes), I decided to start back up again and purchased Karen's Impressionist Landscapes video class and went back to work. She has such a clear way of explaining concepts and techniques, and she made relearning so much easier for me.
I recently discovered she is offering a 3-month Master Class, so I just had to sign up for that and continue my education and enhance my skills with Painter.
I've bought books and videos from other Painter experts, but their materials are more about how the program functions than how to actually use it to create art. So I always come back to Karen to learn the principles and how to put them into action. I can't recommend her highly enough.
Thanks, Karen, for sharing your knowledge and talents with the rest of us!
Diane
Karen Sperling Combines Artistic Talent with Corel Painter Expertise
I'm positively addicted to turning photos to paintings and have been using Corel Painter for a few years, but was missing the art and color theory to take my paintings to the next level. I have found that Karen Sperling's online classes and tutorials not only teach art and color theory, but they are also chock full of tips and tricks that can only be taught by someone who possesses Karen's artistic talent combined with her expertise using Corel. Her courses are instructionally sound and easy to follow. Can't wait to begin the online master class!
Dyan Dupont
eLearning Content Developer
Dupont Learning, LLC
Karen Sperling Makes It Easy for Photographers to Get Started with Painting
I'm a photographer and I want to learn to turn photos into paintings. I saw your Kindle at Amazon and it was the only one that did that in a form that was easy for photographers to get started. I liked the other examples I saw of your work and I wanted a long-term class where I could get feedback about my progress from the instructor, so I decided to sign up for the master class.
Looking forward to it.
C.K.
Karen Sperling is the Best Corel Painter Instructor in the World
I use Photoshop, Lightroom and Corel Painter as a combination in many of my images.
Karen Sperling is the best Corel Painter instructor in the world and she made me a master in the Painter software.
C. Willie Winslow II
Karen Sperling: Articulate, Creative, Knowledgable and Patient
Karen Sperling is an expert who shares her knowledge in a fresh and creative fashion.
Not only does Karen know the technical aspects of Corel Painter, but she also teaches creative concepts as well.
I have taken her class at WPPI and also a one-on-one class; she is articulate, creative, knowledgable and patient!
I highly recommend Karen as a teacher if you want to master this multi-faceted program and give your work a creative edge!
Felicia Tausig
WPPI Member
Former President, Santa Clarita Valley Photographers Association (SCVPA)
Creative Photography, Photos by Felicia
www.photosbyfelicia.com
Karen Sperling Vibrant Instructor
Karen Sperling is one of the most vibrant instructors I have had in Painter.
She approaches teaching from a fine arts background which translates into paintings of beautifully balanced color and detail.
In Karen's workshop, I was able to layer her clear and artistic instruction with my background knowledge of photography to produce a very pleasing and salable picture.
I can't wait to take another course from her.
Shirley Miers
Ocala, Florida
Karen Sperling Wonderful Instructor
I attended Karen's class at the PPA affiliate schools (MARS) in Cape May, NJ this year.
Karen is a wonderful instructor.
She knows her work, and conveys her instructions in a manner that is structured but not overwhelming.
My very first "painting" that I created to show at a bridal show received rave reviews from potential brides.
In fact - I told the subjects of that print that I had a surprise for them when they picked up their previews from their wedding.
When they walked in the studio, their first response was WOW - that's cool - WOW that's us!! They bought a framed 16x20 on the spot!!
I think that Karen Sperling would be a fine addition to the list of PPA instructors, and I would highly recommend her talents.
Theresa Terilli
PPA Certified
Karen Sperling Excellent Artist; Outstanding Communicator
To whom it may concern;
I am writing this letter on behalf of Karen Sperling who was the instructor for the Painter workshop at the recent MARS workshop in Cape May, New Jersey.
I am a photographer of over 30 years who, two years ago switched to a digital workflow with the intention of producing archival giclees of my library of photographs.
At that time I had no computer savy and knew nothing of Photoshop, Painter, software rips, color management, Raw files or any other aspects of a digital workflow.
I embarked on an extensive 18 month series of studies at various centers around the country. In my opinion Karen Sperlling exhibits the wonderful trait of being more than an excellent artist, but is an outstanding communicator as well. She is both patient and informative to whatever depth required by the individuals in her class. She can see the individual needs and attend to them while keeping the group moving at a pace that is exciting to everyone.
In my opinion, another of her best qualities is an engaging personality and a great sense of humor that is liberally appliied through the workshop.
I would highly recommend Karen to any group or individual that is considering taking advantage of her multi faceted talents.
Sincerely yours,
Bruce Keyes
Karen Sperling Well-Organized
I took Karen's class at MARS.
She was very easy to listen to for a week, was well organized, humorous and kept us on track (not an easy thing to do).
I felt everything she reviewed that week was helpful in learning Painter.
Sincerely,
Barbara Glaeser
Certified Professional Photographer
Likes Art History
I thought I would drop you a line about how I found you. I think it was on one of the
webinars through Corel Painter. I've been following some of your work and came to love
the style. I like the fact that you have some great knowledge of art history. I myself
took a class in art history and it's about the only book I still have from college.
I majored in Art in high school but never pursued it till now. I guess you can say I'm
returning to my first love.
I think it's great your classes are so affordable and look forward to learning more.
Chuck Morgan