Every year our sister magazine Digital Photographer runs the Digital Photographer of the Year Awards. I’m pleased to tell you that the winners of this prestigious competition have now been announced for 2008. Are you one of them? You can find out by visiting this link: http://www.dphotographer.co.uk/competitions_2008.php

And don’t forget to start thinking about your entries for this year’s competition!

This lovely image by Helen caught my eye on Friday  and I had to wait all weekend to make it my Pic of the Week today! There really is something magical about this wonderful painting; from the evocation of fairy and folktales in its subject matter to its glorious colour harmony of bright blue-greens with gold. In particular the way Helen has painted the soft, shiny satin cloth is a real delight; it genuinely looks tactile and touchable, and combined with the deliberately porcelain skin, kookaburra’s feathers and delicate use of repeated textures it creates an image which demostrates a lot of skill with texture and colour. This image really does reward extended viewing too - there are a lot of little features to spot…

This stunning image by Kelley Harris is one of the most intriguing I’ve come across this week. The rich, muted colour harmony based on creamy neutral shades with notes of crimson, purple, gold and deep azure is warm and inviting, drawing you in to look at the soft curves of the flowers and the violin and the flowing shapes made by the staves of music. Closer examination reveals that they’re drifting off of the manuscript paper and into the space of the painting itself, as well as trailing up the back of the small, bridal-costumed statue in the foreground. These little touches of magical realism are a perfect way to add depth and story to a still life. 

Of course there have been some other fantastic images posted on the Painter Gallery this week. Shannon Story’s Moon and Sunflower is another example of a still life with a bit of added magic - in this case, a shining silver-blue moon nestling amid the petals of a perfectly painted sunflower. Himalayas by Marcus Honeysett demonstrates a sound understanding of dry brush techniques, evoking powdery surface snow and cloudfalls tumbling down a mountainside. Meanwhile, Phillip Arif’s portrait Jamaica Inn displays great use of dramatic lighting and chiaroscuro.

 I’d also like to extend a warm welcome to the many new users who joined last week, and let you know that we’re all hoping to see your artwork soon!

There were many contenders for the Pic of the Week today but eventually I managed to make a decision! This image by Odwin captures the fleeting beauty of cut flowers perfectly - their mixed textures and translucent colours are beautifully represented, especially against the stark black backdrop which really shows off their richness. This little study would have pleased one of the great Dutch flower painters of the 17th Century. It was a close call though because Simon Sturge nearly took the crown - but I couldn’t decide between his delightful Little Angel and Little Devil images with their cute faces and wonderfully textured shining skin. Summer Sky by Eric Schranz also caught my eye - it’s a miserably rainy day here and I’d much rather look at watermelons and summer skies than out of my window! And I’m intrigued by the tale behind Anne Hale’s From the Secret Orchard and also by the way she’s created lovely tonal variations based on soft blues and russet tones. Before I wind up this blog entry I have to mention an image that, although it doesn’t fit the criteria for the Pic of the Week at all, had the Painter team laughing our heads off when we got into work this morning - Bill LaFlamme’s snapshot of his sleepy cat Velcro, who appears to have an amazing extendable jaw…

A very Happy New Year from everyone at the Official Corel Painter Magazine! We’ll kick off 2009 with the first Pic of the Week this year. Some really wonderful artwork has been submitted to the site over the Christmas period, but what really caught my eye this morning were Victor Lunn-Rockliffe’s cartoons on the subject of Painter, in particular this one. Jousting shows the differences, similarities and tensions between traditional real media and digital art in an appealing, whimsical way. The most obvious part of the image is the two painted knights jousting, but this cartoon is full of little rewards for those who look at it for a while - I particularly like the vacuum-like Image Hose and the battering ram paintbrush! Take a look at some of Victor’s other cartoons, like When Redo Becomes Nodo for more cheerful comedy commentaries on the life of a Painter artist.