As a thank you from us to you, I hope you enjoy “Santa’s Surprise”.  You can download it here and use it how you please – print it and frame it for your holiday enjoyment, use it on a Christmas card, your background, etc.

Merry Christmas from Debra Linkous – Fine Art from Real Life.  May your path be blessed and have a safe and wonderful new year!

Congratulations to Gina C. – the winner of the Heirloom Give-away.  Gina submitted a photo of her adorable daughter, Emmalee in our Fan Photos give-away on our Facebook page.  There were SO many great photos submitted, it was a really difficult choice, but Emmalee’s adorability factor scored an 11×14 canvas print of this latest Fine Art from Real Life! 

Christmas is fast upon us!  Don’t wait – contact us with your treasured family photo to be transformed into a cherished heirloom for a beautiful gift for someone special this holiday season.

See how easy is it is to have your own photo painted into a gorgeous painting, sure to add that special touch to your home.

Check out the new logo!  It was time to move away from the boring, plain old look – and it was time to move on from the photography logo to this……

In celebration of the “New Look” and in making plans for Christmas, we are running a special!  Order a painting for regular price during the month of October and receive a box of 20 cards with your painting on the front – a $55 value!  You can use these as Christmas cards, announcements or just personal note cards.  The cards are printed on luxurious linen cardstock and come with matching envelopes.  You can have them personalized with a message on the inside, or leave them blank for your own written message.

Pricing and information for ordering is available under the Contact Us tab.  Please email debra@debralinkous.com for additional information.

A friend recently posted a photo to her online social networking account with the caption, “I could stare at this photo all day”.  When I saw the sweet face, I could see why.  How many of you have a favorite snapshot – a moment frozen in time that just pulls at your heartstrings and you wish that you could capture that expression in a portrait to be framed and hung for all the world to enjoy?  You can!!  Your snapshots can be transformed into Fine Art from Real Life by Debra Linkous.  Dig through your albums and find that photo today and contact us – we will help you grace your walls with Art….taken from your life!

I’ve been asked many times over recent months - “Are your paintings really painted or are they just photo-shopped”?  Well, the truth of the matter is that my art is created using several digital programs.  Some of the enhancements that I apply to the original photograph happen in Photoshop – such as color correction, resizing, cleaning up blemishes on skin, etc.  Once this happens, I then take the photo into a graphics program, called Corel Painter.  To anyone in the graphics industry, Corel Painter is widely known as the closest thing to really painting without actually getting a paintbrush wet.

Within Painter there are hundreds of “paintbrush” options – each one applies the “paint” to the canvas much the same as the physical brush would do.  There are textures, paint pallettes, pens, pencils, chalks, and I could go on and on.  This is a pallette that shows just a few of the brush strokes applied.  You can see where the pressure of the pen against the tablet determines how much paint is applied.  You can also see, just as in traditional painting, where the brush is set against the canvas and the paint is thicker and then runs out as the stroke gets longer.

The point I’m trying to make is – in answer to your question – yes, my art is truely painted.  Each pixel in the photograph is touched by a paintbrush, applying paint and techniques just as meticulously as if I was holding an actual bruch in my hand - but my brush is a Wacom pen and tablet.  I would venture to say that the time invested in painting in Corel Painter is much the same as if I were traditionally painting, minus the time for the paint to dry and cleaning my brushes. 

There is much education and practice to painting from a digial photograph.  There are programs out there and plug-ins for Photoshop that will apply a “painterly” look to a photograph.  Some produce quite nice results – however none of them have the control and precise techniques to turn a photograph into a true heirloom quality painting.

I could use the short-cuts, the plug-ins, the programs that are a one-button trick to make your photo look like a painting – but I choose to be true to the art form – taking time to develop your heirloom piece, enjoying each and every stroke that I paint on that canvas – I truely love creating a painting using your photos – that’s where I think Fine Art from Real Life really begins….I hope you enjoy the art that I create as much as I enjoy creating it for you!

Briana is the granddaughter of a dear friend and just celebrated her 2nd birthday!  This was a snap shot taken during the day, and what a gorgeous capture!   Wonderful ART from Real Life!  Your personal photos can be taken to a new level – contact us for more information!

This is the side by side showing the original snap shot and how the image was painted

Bridal photos can become exquisite works of art to remember that special day.  Contact us for pricing!

Photo courtesy of Michelle Brown Photography. 

This is Grace – the niece of a very good friend of mine.  Grace was a thrill to photograph, and I knew that one day I needed to paint her – she’s such a gorgeous baby!  Grace is two now…and expecting a little brother soon.  I can’t wait to meet the new little one -

Wedding photos can be transformed into a true masterpiece.  The gown is painted with great detail - by adding highlights and shadows in just the right places increases the drama of the painting.  By creating a painted background the focus is placed on the bride and the groom and takes away the distraction of the surroundings – just as I’m sure the married couple feels on their special day.

 Photo by Michelle Brown Photography

Happy Easter to my little friend, Beans!  I hope she had a wonderful day -

For comparison – Photo by Julie Williams