I am a portrait artist and I live in Photoshop (cs2), I use Painter to make digitally painted portraits. I use a Cintiq and Dell 30" monitor combo to work, both color-managed using an X-Rite Monaco puck (until my Eye One Photo gets here next week).

I start with high-res photographs, retouch them in Photoshop, open the file in Painter and paint, using the Gouache brush and mainly adjust the feature, opacity, and resat to get the effects I want.

When I open a JPG and apply the first brush-stroke, the image becomes washed-out looking. When I re-open the file in Photoshop, it looks washed out still. When I view it in other apps it still looks washed out.

What has happened to my file? Painter is doing something to it, but what?

Thanks!

Charles Waugh