The two photos at the top were combined to create an image with a little more happening than each individual image had to offer. The first is a nondescript crowd scene from a party while the second is a portrait with a very prosaic domestic background. The combined image was then treated to a good session of coral painter using a very oily brush and various blenders. I then used virtual painter 5 to add a less subtle overall effect which I blended strategically with the painter layer. Finally a canvas style texture was added by multiplying one of photoshop's patterns over the top and removing some of the lighter pixels in the layer's blending options.