After retiring from her 35 year career as a designer and illustrator, Michigan based artist Susan Murtaugh took up digital art, creating digital paintings in applications like Sketchbook Pro and Brushes on the iPod and Modbook (a third party Apple tablet computer) and now the iPad.
Murtaugh doesn’t appear to have a website or blog, but displays her work in her Flickr galleries and is a regular contributor to fingerpainted.it, a blog devoted to digital painting on touchscreen devices.
Her topics range from portraits and still life to classic cars, matchbooks to florals. You can see her design background in the playful patterns with which she occasionally fills her backgrounds, as well as her design-oriented layouts.
What I find particularly appealing about her digital painting technique is her use of stylized texture, particularly when she uses textural elements in the role of brush strokes in defining forms.
There is an interview with Murtaugh on Photoshop Cafe that includes a step through demo. She also has a portrait tutorial using Sketchbook Pro on the AliasDesign site. She is a participant in thefingerpainters live digital painting demos.
[Via Telegraph]
I can’t believe these are digital paintings the strokes of the brush is so fine. They look like oil paintings for me.
WOW!
I checked out her flkr page and there she mentioned another artist of the same style’ which led me to a gallery showing of art that looks like oilcreated on or by computer…
Where’s all this headed??!
Great art, I like the floral…usually not my thing. The reflective surface of the auto is gorgeous!
I can see how art tech is advancing. I must get an iPad… get on board the digital train.
Nice work. It is hard to get the feel of real impasto in digital painting. Some software (ArtRage for example) allows making rather convincing illusion.
Her using the colors is amazing. Great art. I am painting through synesthesia which makes me see colors when I hear names and numbers. These colors I transform in paintings. Colors are my life.
Charley, Thank you so much for publishing this, I am quite flattered. And I think you have a fabulous site here, it’s now with my favorite bookmarks, I have a lot of reading to do here! Keep painting everyone.
Vow Looks real good especially the digital ones
I love these pictures!! Breathtaking!! really amazing.
Your Art is Totally Inspiring!!! Thanks!
The third one, on the right hand is really inspirational! good work!
I like the portraits and the lily. Lately more and more people are using digital art. It’s good to play around and discover something new and fresh. Gives you more ideas.
Hi Susan,
Just wondering if you are the Susan Murtaugh who made all the pictures of South Haven, Michigan. I volunteer at the South Haven Center for the Arts and we have a number of your signed and numbered posters. Love them all.
Thank you,
Suzie Blair