I just couldn’t resist this little guy - look at those puppy dog eyes! More practically, this demonstrates a really good use of Painter’s brushes to render that lovely silky fur texture. You really do want to reach out and stroke this little fella. The contrast of painting styles between the very photorealistic dog and the more Impressionistic background is nicely managed too.

As ever I’ve got several more honourable mentions along the way. Another shaggy dog story is Hal Smith’s Dad, Let’s Go - a sweet and fun image with a lovely use of colour and light. Were is an image from Jordan Dill’s fascinating Court of Leaves concept collection and it’s characterised by her signature device of a smoky, warped face swimming up out of the shadows, but deviates from her normal autumnal tones with a rainbow effect which makes the figure’s haunted and haunting expression even more eerie. I’ve also been following new user Phillipe Geric’s work with interest - these surreal figures, chimeras of animal, human and plant, such as Centaure, are reminiscent of the work of Roger Dean.

This stunning face study from Michael is definitely the runaway favourite for the Pic of the Week - delicately toned and subtly painted, it displays a beautiful  contrast between soft matte and smooth shiny skin. The combination of grey and pink for most of the composition creates a luminous and fresh portrait while still allowing for a sombre style of lighting, and the restrained complementary colour palette really makes the green of the eyes stand out. Check out Michael’s La Dame au Diademe image too, which is accompanied by a fantastic little series of works in progress to show you how he builds up these gorgeous portraits.

In complete contrast, Mr Sour Face by Theodore Miller also caught my eye. First it looks like Leslie Crowther chewing a mouthful of lemon-flavoured pins, which made me chuckle, but more importantly it displays all the expressive verve of a good speedpainting - quick, significant brushstrokes with nothing wasted and essential details captured in a few sure lines. Mel Rigot’s Bridge in Early Morning displays some of the same qualities in a peaceful, minimalist landscape scene - quick rough strokes and scribbled colour are at odds with the tranquil hazy place that’s portrayed yet the juxtaposition works perfectly, partially thanks to the very restrained colour harmony used. Not Another Clone by David Taylor also displays some of these elements, but in a more finished and vibrant piece with a bit of Painter comedy thrown in. My final honourable mention this week is The Farewell of King Boabdil at Granada by Kristina Gehrmann. I’m a sucker for convoluted, verbose, 18th Century style titles - the longer and more flowery, the better! Having been drawn in by the name of the piece, I discovered that it was a wonderful history painting in Kristina’s signature storybook style, of an event largely forgotten in European art.

 Yes, it’s that moment you’ve been waiting for - our second Painter-based bookazine is here! The Complete Guide to Digital Painting Volume 2 presents a great range of tips, techniques and tutorials designed to expand your digital painting skills and inspire you to new heights of creativity. Over 250 pages are packed with a range of tutorials, from photo cloning and compositional techniques for beginners to guides to working with Painter’s more advanced functions for more established digital artists. Whatever your skill level, you can benefit from our advice on representing a wide variety of subjects, from sunlight to skin tone, and our Paint Like tutorials on a range of Old Masters and young geniuses alike will have you painting like a professional in no time!

You can pick up The Complete Guide to Digital Painting Volume 2 from http://www.imagineshop.co.uk/item_show.php?itemID=1146&action=maglist but get in there quickly to guarantee your copy of this essential collected edition as its predecessor sold out in record time!

We’re a day late on this Pic of the Week thanks to the snowy conditions in the UK which kept me from the office yesterday (Although my daughter had a wonderful time off school with snowmen, snowball fights and all the other frozen delights we don’t normally get in the south of England). I’m a big fan of steampunk so this image instantly caught my eye. I even toyed with my own entry for CGSociety’s Steampunk Myths and Legends which Sandra has created this clever and otherworldly image for. In particular I love the idea of the steam-powered, robotic caterpillar with the Mad Hatter and March Hare inside, evidently using it as a vehicle - they become less insane in the Carroll style and more eccentric and inventive like the characters created by Jules Verne instead, as the design references the fabulous machines imagined in tales like Journey to the Centre of the Earth. And Alice reading Tesla’s treatise on wireless power is just priceless - it instantly got me thinking of some of the great steampunk authors like William Gibson, Neal Stephenson, Bruce Sterling and of course Jeff Noon, who pepper their work with all sorts of little scientific, literary and pop cultural in-jokes, of which this is the visual equivalent. A great subject for a painting in this style and a very well-executed rendition of it - the colours and in particular the castle in the background are delightful.

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.

My festive pic of the week has to be this lovely alternative to the traditional Christmas scene by the very talented Ray Kamizoe. Many of you have submitted some wonderful Christmas images over the last few weeks, in particular Francesco Todini’s collection of Happy Christmas images, Richard Ramsey’s Shining Light and Santa’s Hot Rod Sleigh by Ken Morris, which made me chuckle. There have also been some wonderful images that caught my eye this week - Pat Brennan’s Warning (I’ve always loved that poem and plan to do exactly the same when I’m old and crotchety!), the dynamically painted Horses by Zafer Kurdakul and Patrick de Vries’ evocative and melancholy Time To Go.

I just wanted to remind you all that the Painter team break for the holidays now and won’t be back in our office until 5 January. Obviously we’ll log in over the holiday period and approve Gallery images as and when we can, but not as frequently as during office hours because we’ll all be busy enjoying the festive season with our families - and we wish you and yours a very happy holidays and a prosperous New Year! We’ll be back properly on 5 January with the first Pic of the Week of the New Year and much more besides. Season’s greetings!