Red River Pros: Marilyn Sholin

Marilyn Sholin incorporates photography and digital imaging to achieve fresh and intriguing works of art that have won her worldwide professional acclaim and awards. She is a popular speaker at photographic conventions, has authored two books and conducts workshops in the U.S. and abroad where she shares her artistic techniques with others. She is active in charity work and donates her time and talent to several non-profit organizations.

The Client

A self-project intended for future sales and toward creating bodies of work.

The Assignment

"The setting of the tables and the tiny details were what inspired me to create an intimate moment on the Sunset Terrace of a mountain inn."

The Execution

"I stalk the world with my camera and find events and images that I feel tell small stories. I look at all my photo references as ground work for future paintings. I take multiple images of the same subject looking to combine them all into a photo reference that will tell a story and make a creative painting. None of my current work is directly from one image but of many put together in Photoshop to create a composition that pleases my eye."

Post Production

"Once my photo reference is done in Photoshop I open it in Corel Painter and begin testing to see which brushes will give me the best effects. I also use a number of plug-in filters to perfect either the reference photo or the final painting. Some of the plug-ins I use are NIK, Topaz, LucisArt and AlienSkin. There are more, but basically I test to see what the effects may be and this gives me a direction in which to go.”

"After that I paint in Painter using everything available to me including clone painting, quick clone painting and adding paint to the painting. When I think I have achieved all the proper painterly effects I begin printing test prints. I also take the paintings a step further and use acrylic gels and mediums and paints on the images after printing."

The Output

"Aurora Art Natural paper is my favorite. It holds the ink and colors true to the colors I see on my screen and has just enough texture to add to the artwork. I love the variety of sizes it comes in so I can have a box of paper for each project and not have to waste time cutting paper. It's all done for me! The weight of the paper feels great to the hand and shows my vibrant colors beautifully."

Contact

Marilyn's web site and blog are at: marilynsholin.com. She can be emailed at: [email protected].
Other contacts for her include Facebook: Marilyn Sholin, and Twitter: @msholin and @digitalpaint
Pick up one of Marilyn's books at Amazon

Favorite Papers

UltraPro Satin

UltraPro Satin looks and feels just like traditional photo lab paper and features a medium depth luster finish.

Favorite Of: Jim DiVitale & Peter Randall

River Linen

River Linen adds a special dimension to your printed image with its premium quality linen surface paper.

Favorite Of: JVS & Helene Glassman

Aurora Art

Made using fine 100% cotton rag content, Aurora Art White and Aurora Art Natural offers the look and feel of fine art paper.

Favorite of: Marilyn Sholin, Matt Hoyle, Susan McCartney, & Kaitlin Walsh

Arctic Polar Satin

With its crisp blue white shade, Arctic Polar Satin ensures your images will project more brilliance. Its state of the art microporous coating will enhance details and color saturation.

Favorite of: Al Francekevich & Susan McCartney

Polar Gloss Metallic 255

Your images will take on a brilliant, almost luminescent quality with Polar Gloss Metallic 255. Everything from airplanes to flowers will look bolder, more saturated, and more real.