Here is the step by step procedure to give your photos the painterly look that you see on this sample.  I use Photoshop CS3 so these instructions may need to be adjusted a bit according to your system.

1. 1. Make a duplicate image of the photo you would like to apply this technique on by clicking on ‘Image’ then ‘Duplicate’ from the drop downs.
   

2. 2. This will give you a duplicate image which changes the name to add copy to end.  You can now close the original image.
   

3. 3. Click on ‘Image’ and select ‘Apply Image’.  In the dialogue box that will appear change the blending to ‘Screen’ and opacity at 100%.  This gives you an overexposed image which you really do want even though it looks pretty washed out.  Click on ‘OK’.
   

4. 4. Click on ‘Image’ and select ‘Duplicate’.  Clicking on ‘OK’ will create another copy named copy 2.
   

5. 5. Click on ‘Filter’ and select ‘Blur’.  From the fly out box select ‘Gaussian Blur’.  In the dialogue box that will appear use a radius setting of between 15 - 50.  For this image I used a setting of 38 but you will need to experiment with each image to see what fits the best.  A tip here is the higher the pixel setting the more ‘painterly’ the image will appear.  When satisfied click ‘OK’.  
   

6. 6. You will need to have both images visible for this next step.  Click on the ‘Move’ tool and while holding the ‘Shift’ button click on the blurred image (copy 2) and drag it onto the copy.  Make sure to release your finger on the mouse before you release the shift button or the images will not precisely line up.
   

7. 7. Open up the ‘Layers’ palette found under ‘Window’.  You will see the background layer and ‘Layer 1’.  Layer 1 will be highlighted making it active.  Change the blending mode to ‘Multiply’  This will give you the final result.
   

8. 8. Flatten the layers by clicking on ‘Layer’ and selecting ‘Flatten Image’
   

This artsy touch doesn’t seem to be something for every image but works really well with scenery and some nature shots.  It certainly can make some stunning images even more stunning.  Enjoy.

Thanks

Dotty

Wesdotphotography.com team.

Picture before the Orton Effect is applied

Picture after the Orton Effect is applied.