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How to Use the Impressionist Brush in Photoshop Elements for Painterly Art

4 min read

Turn Your Family Photos into Paintings Worth Framing

Have you ever wished you could transform a favourite family snapshot into something that looks like it belongs in a gallery? The Impressionist Brush in Photoshop Elements does exactly that — it turns your photos into painterly masterpieces with soft, dreamy brush strokes that mimic the style of classic Impressionist painters.

This tool is perfect for creating unique gifts, wall art, or simply breathing new creative life into photos you have seen a thousand times. That candid shot of your grandchildren at the park? It could become a soft, artistic print worthy of your living room wall.

What the Impressionist Brush Actually Does

Unlike regular painting tools that add colour on top of your photo, the Impressionist Brush works with the colours already in your image. When you paint with it, Photoshop Elements samples the existing colours beneath your brush and repaints them with stylised, textured strokes.

The result looks like someone painted your photograph by hand — soft edges, visible brush texture, and that unmistakable artistic quality that makes people stop and look twice.

Finding and Setting Up the Impressionist Brush

You will need to work in Advanced mode for this project, since the Impressionist Brush lives in the full toolbox.

  1. 1Open your photo in Photoshop Elements and switch to Advanced mode using the mode selector at the top of the screen.
  1. 1Look for the Brush Tool in the toolbar on the left side — it looks like a paintbrush.
  1. 1Click and hold on the Brush Tool icon to reveal hidden tools beneath it.
  1. 1Select Impressionist Brush Tool from the flyout menu.
  1. 1In the Tool Options bar at the bottom of the screen, you will see settings for Size, Mode, Opacity, and Style.

Understanding Your Brush Settings

Before you start painting, take a moment to adjust these settings:

  • Size controls how large your brush strokes appear — larger brushes create bolder, more abstract effects while smaller brushes preserve more detail
  • Opacity determines how strong each stroke is — start around 50% for subtle, buildable effects
  • Style is where the magic happens — PSE offers several stroke styles including Tight Short, Tight Medium, Loose Medium, and Dab

I recommend starting with Loose Medium style and a medium-sized brush. This gives you that classic Impressionist look without losing your subject completely.

Step-by-Step: Creating Your Painterly Portrait

Let me walk you through transforming a family photo into artwork:

  1. 1Open your chosen photo — portraits and nature scenes work beautifully for this technique.
  1. 1Go to Layer → Duplicate Layer to create a copy of your background. This protects your original image.
  1. 1Select the Impressionist Brush Tool from the toolbar.
  1. 1Set your Size to approximately 30-50 pixels for a standard photo.
  1. 1Choose Loose Medium from the Style dropdown in the Tool Options bar.
  1. 1Set Opacity to around 60%.
  1. 1Begin painting over your image using short, directional strokes. Follow the natural contours — paint along hair lines, around facial features, and with the shapes in your background.
  1. 1For faces, reduce your brush Size to 15-20 pixels and lower Opacity to 40%. This preserves important details while still adding artistic texture.
  1. 1For backgrounds and less important areas, increase Size to 60-80 pixels for bolder, more abstract strokes.
  1. 1Continue building up strokes until you achieve your desired painterly effect.

Tips for Natural-Looking Results

The secret to beautiful Impressionist effects in Photoshop Elements is restraint and direction:

  • Paint with purpose — follow the natural lines in your image. Stroke downward along hair, curve around cheeks, and sweep horizontally across skies.
  • Vary your brush size — use smaller brushes where you want detail and larger brushes where you want abstraction.
  • Work in layers — if you want to compare before and after, duplicate your layer again before painting so you can adjust opacity later.
  • Save important features — consider leaving eyes and smiles less painted so they remain the focal point.

Finishing Touches

Once you are happy with your painterly transformation:

  1. 1Go to Enhance → Adjust Lighting → Brightness/Contrast to make final tonal adjustments.
  1. 1Consider adding a subtle vignette to draw focus inward.
  1. 1Save your finished artwork using File → Save As and choose a new filename to preserve both versions.

Your transformed photo makes a wonderful printed gift. Imagine giving Grandma a painterly portrait of her great-grandchildren — it is personal, artistic, and shows you put real thought into creating something special.

Continue Learning

Ready to explore more creative techniques in Photoshop Elements? These guides will help: