Purple Star Flowers in Two Patterns

Purple Star Flowers in Two Patterns (Originally uploaded by randubnick)

It was too hot for the studio today, so I opted for digital art. I have had Painter for a long time, but I am still learning to use all its tools. Today I worked on using patterns. A while ago I used the "capture pattern" function to make a pattern from my photo of purple star flowers, so I started with that. I manipulated the pattern to get the size and configuration I wanted, then used it to fill the inner rectangle of this image. Then I opened the pattern pen, selected the same purple flower pattern, and swirled the pattern pen around in the outer part of the image. I adjusted the color, size, and transparency of the pattern pen to get the effect I wanted. (I am oversimplifying here, passing over the many mistakes, false starts, and discarded images.) I have used Painter's pattern palette and pen before with patterns that come with the program, but I am practicing using those tools with patterns I create myself from my own photos and images. All this trial and error provided me a lot of practice tonight. I worked until I got something pleasing enough to post, and here it is.