I'm trying again and everything went beautifully except my photo editing software called Photoscape X. Zorin OS has Photoscape 3.7 but when I tried it with the Windows App Support software (Wine) it didn't work and I prefer the newer X version as opposed to the older 3.7.
I tried learning Gimp, but gave up because there is just too much there and it has a ridiculous learning curve IMO. After a lot of trial and error trying many different photo editing software and online options I decided to stick with Photoscape X because it is what I have been using since I can remember and I'm comfortable with it.
My thought process is to try running Tiny 11 in VMWare Player on Zorin OS and install Photoscape X on that VM for when I need it. The good news is I don't use this software very much, but it is important to have when I do use it. Unfortunately, it's not possible to run a vm inside a vm to test.
My overall question is if it is ridiculous to go this route for a single piece of software? Everything else I use works, even my NTFS formatted drives. My backup program was Windows only but I switched to GRSync and was very happy. I also changed the office suite and web browser I use to something different that works well in Zorin OS (Onlyoffice and Brave Web Browser.)
I would say, Not at all. If it works for you and gets you what you need, that is the only thing that matters.
I might express concern about Memory allocation for photo editing in a VM. That may take a little research and tweaking.
You might look at QEMU for running the application.
Yes, Photoscape has dependencies on .dll's and API's not well supported in Wine, especially the later versions. I think avoiding a compatibility layer really is your best bet.
Alternatives to GIMP include Pinta (I use the latest and it works well), Krita, Photopea (Online browser based) - You might explore these without the pressure of needing them to replace Photoscape, given your method of using it as you outlined. They may give you a quick editor you can use natively and explore, falling back to your preferred and comfortable Photoscape as needed - pressure free.
I regret not asking about this before. Just gave that one a try and the few things I need for when I edit images were so easy to figure out on there while on gimp i keep struggling to find anything. FINALLY I can stop using an android app that had ads on my phone for image editing
I also see there are some features useful for drawing. Will keep in mind to try them out if i find an affordable linux tablet when my current old Android can't keep going anymore
So, it took me 4 days but I finally got everything setup and working the way I want it and have 6 pages of documentation that I wrote, just in case I ever have to do it again from scratch. There was a lot of trial and error and a few learning experiences, but overall I'm very happy with the result and happy to say I'm away from Windows 11 (sort of) QEMU didn't work for me but VMWare Workstation did so I'm running my photo editing software (Photoscape X) using a Windows 11 VM. I also created and tested an image of the hard drive drive using Clonezilla (great program.) I still can't believe after working on Windows operating systems for 25 years that I finally moved over to a Linux Distro. Also, the Generative AI on the Brave web browser gave me about 90% of everything I needed. Thank You all for the support.
I haven't come across your photo editor. I had to move to GIMP during lockdown until I retired. I used PaintShop Pro 8 from JASC at work. Then Corel bought them out and turned it into a monster, just like they did with Painter. I was annoyed for not downloading free brushes when PCFormat gave away Painter 5.5. I can highly recommend Paint Shop Pro 9 which is out of copyright and no longer for sale fron Corel. It works fine with WINE. Looks like it might have disappeared off Internet Archive after they suffered a Cyber Attack. 8 is still available: