All of my digital work is done using an Intuos 3 Waacom tablet in conjunction with Photoshop and Corel Painter. Although you can usually accomplish the same tasks with either program, each has their strengths and weaknesses. Photoshop has great transform options and interesting brush controls that allow me to manipulate paintings with ease. It also has a great many options for color and value adjustment. Corel Painter brings out the traditional artist in me who just wants to apply paint to a gessoed canvas. It does a fantastic job of simulating real paint and texture.

Most paintings begin in my sketchbook with small pencil thumbnails and are then scanned into Photoshop to add value. Once I have a clear sense of the color scheme, the thumbnail is enlarged to full size where the fun can begin. Often the painting takes on a life of its own during the process, but the mini-thumbnail atleast gives a good initial direction. This is a very traditional way to work, but on occassion a project may call for a different method.