Another Photo to Portrait Birthday Card

It's been a busy couple of weeks here in Branson, including hosting our dear friends from Phoenix for a few days.  That was very fun with lots of shopping, dining out, walking, talking, playing cards, and did I mention shopping?  There is so much to do here and the leaves have been turning to brilliant reds, golds, and oranges.  Perfection!

Yesterday was our very good friend Steve's *0th birthday (let's just say he is a year younger than me!) and I made a very special birthday card for him.  Steve is one of the most talented singers here in Branson and particularly enjoys singing for the dinner crowds at Mickey Gilley's Texas Cantina, next to the theater.  I've enjoyed taking my own photos and turning them into sketches then coloring them with my trusty Copics.  Here is what I did for Steve.  

This is the finished card.  Lots of layers and dimension.  The back paper is from my scrapbook stash.  The gold sheet music, black musical notes, and piano keys came from the DCWV "Performance" matstack.  And Steve's image colored with Copics.

The sketch came from Photoshopping the picture and adjusting the drawing to a level of detail that I could color comfortably.  As I do more of these I intend to make less detailed sketches.  Even though I've done artwork all my life, sketching images is not my best suit, but I love the coloring.  I have found my niche in this technique and really enjoy it. 

This was the snapshot I took of Steve while he was performing.  He hates -- I mean HATES -- having his photo taken and didn't know about this one until I gave him the card.  He might not like being photographed, but he was blown away by the image on the card! That was very fun to see. 

So, once again, happy birthday, Steve!

Thanks everyone for stopping by.  I hope you are having a great week and that this beautiful fall season is bringing you crisp temperatures, crisp colors and even crispier piles of leave to jump into!