her, through my eyes
this is my best go at this for now...
Instructions:
1. Open a photo that you like and convert it to black and white.
2. Adjust the levels of the portrait so that you supersaturate the whites and blacks (be careful not to lose all your details). When you are happy with the result, merge the levels layer and your portrait layer.
3. Add a layer mask to your photo layer. Make sure to fill the layer mask with black. Your photo will disappear from your page, leaving an all white canvas.
4. With the layer mask selected and your foreground color set to white, choose a brush that you like. I went with Anna's ScriptTease Learn and the butterfly brush in ArtPlay Palette Authentic. With your brush start stamping on your page. You should see portions of your photo reemerge under the areas you stamp. You can vary the strength and opacity of your brush on different areas of the photo to add more depth in some areas. I went strong over the eyes.
5. Create a new layer above your photo layer. Choose brushes that you like. I used a combination of Anna's DifferentStrokes brushes, stains, and my favorite MetroGraffiti splatter brush. I used a different layer for each brush! You could do it on one layer, but it will make it harder to change things and move them around. ETA: In response to Vivre's question ... yes, I did all the brushes in black. You could do them in color but it will take considerably longer. The gradient overlay gives great color in one step.
6. Now you have to create a gradient fill adjustment layer above all your brush layers. Make sure you set the blending mode on this layer to overlay. Choose your gradient (I went with one of the standard ones), and your angle.
7. I decided I wanted a little bit of black splatter, too. So, I created one more layer above the gradient fill and used the metro graffiti splatter, again.
If you have any questions, pm me.
Credits
Anna Aspnes
ArtPlay Palette Metro Graffiti http://www.oscraps.com/shop/product.php?productid=30061&page=1
ArtPlay Palette Authentic http://www.oscraps.com/shop/product.php?productid=30430&page=1
Different Strokes BrushSet No. 2 http://www.oscraps.com/shop/product.php?productid=27957&page=1
Different Strokes BrushSet No. 7 http://www.oscraps.com/shop/product.php?productid=28718&page=1
Different Strokes BrusheSet No. 8 http://www.oscraps.com/shop/product.php?productid=29258&page=1
Dripped Stains No.6 http://www.oscraps.com/shop/product.php?productid=30492&page=1
Dripped Stains No.3 http://www.oscraps.com/shop/product.php?productid=27932&page=1
ScriptTease Learn No.1 http://www.oscraps.com/shop/product.php?productid=28531&page=1
ArtPlay Palette Find My Way (loop) http://www.oscraps.com/shop/product.php?productid=27640&page=1
Thanks for looking