Hiboux: One of my four rescued friends
"If you talk to the animals they will talk with you and you will know each other.
If you do not talk to them you will not know them, and what you do not know you will fear. Â What one fears one destroys."
--Chief Dan George (1899 - 1981)
The avatar I use is a photo of a kitten who adopted me last fall. She came to my door one night, hungry and cold and in need of shelter. I had already adopted a rescued dog and 2 fostered cats (I have a friend who works in animal rescue), but another friend told me that being chosen by a cat was a special thing, so, here she is in her new home. I called her Hiboux (French for owl for those who don't already know), since she reminded me of a snowy owl tapping on my door.
Sorry I need a new digital camera. The one used for this photo was one of the first ones ever made that utilizes a floppy disc. I am attached to it, but thought it was more important to show off my kitty here since this is merely my "home" page and not a display of my digital art. I'll update it as soon as I can.
I live in the US Midwest, have a degree in landscape design, compete nationally (only in the US so far)Â in dancesport, and choreographed contemporary dance for over a decade. I've been writing since childhood--mainly for my own amusement. A few of my poems have been published in obscure places and I used to write many interviews which were published online for years. None of my novels have met the public eye yet and that's OK because for me "the joy is in the journey." Â
I'm hooked on creating digital art. I stumbled upon it when I worked online for 11 years as a content editor and became intrigued watching the medium grow. 3D art feels like a good niche for me combining movement, landscape, my love of nature, history, art, technology, myth and storytelling . . .  I love to experiment with software and hope to continue to grow as an artist. I'm in awe of many of the beautiful works shared on this site. I've also begun a blog here called "A Novelist's Adventures in Digital Art" where I list useful sites and tools I find along the way:
My Blog
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I consider myself a beginner at digital art. We all have to start somewhere. I try to encourage other creatives on all skill levels as often as I have time. I learn a lot from the artists I favorite here and even from private emails with tips if you feel so inclined. I dont allow ratings in my gallery anymore, because I don't believe in "grading" art--it doesn't fit into my personal philosophy. That said, I do often admire many of the talented professional artists and am happy when they are showcased on the art charts here and feel the rating system--though it has flaws--is important to honor excellence.  I do appreciate any comments and appreciate constructive criticism and suggestions.
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"Every artist was first an amateur."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
 Thank you for visiting my gallery!
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Comments (28)
faroutsider
Creatively infertile? Not a bit of it! Where there's a seed of an idea in your head, there's always a beautiful image in the making. Gorgeous composition and mood setting!
stevey3d
Beautiful image Cathy! Wonderful colour and composition!
adrie
Very beautiful image my friend, love everything about this scene....excellent work.
chabot
very beautiful work! :-)
wannes
Somehow it reminds me of Mucha... Beautiful work, very well crafted!!! Excellent!
blankfrancine
This is a lovely, well-composed piece! Great to see something new from you,Cathy.
magnus073
Cathy this is simply the most lovely image I've seen in so long, wonderful work
mgtcs
She's gorgeous my friend, perfect colors and expression!
genesteal
Great image !
pakled
Looks like Mucha...
Flint_Hawk Online Now!
This is a stunning creation!
e-brink
Superbly well posed and composed. A very professional looking piece of work. One of your very best! I think one of your strengths is to us some sort of associated or 'period' graphics in conjunction with your 3D characters - you have a natural flare for that which obviously works well. May be a good idea to pursue that idea. I think you find it interesting doing the various aspects for picture like that and joining them together in Gimp. Once again, you got a great character pose and expression which reminded me of that first one I saw which drew me to your work in the first place.
magichild2
I love the way you've done this fairy..especially the lattice background, it's really a 10 in my book
Miska7
Very nice image. Great colours, textures and lighting! Really well done.
KarmaSong
It is a real delight to look at this splendid work of yours. Your image is gorgeous and reminds me of some works by Gustav Klimt .
tulipe
Fantastic image! It all goes together so well it seems your image always existed!
ragouc
Beautiful character. Good composition.
popeslattz
Reminds me of Alphonse Mucha's work but definately modernized by your skillful hands. I see the Klimt influence too. Outstanding work.
Zazou
What a wonderful composition ! Exquisite artwork !
Jollyself
very lovely...this would make an excellent tarot card
lucindawind
fabulous work !
SIGMAWORLD
Very nice work!
rds
Very creative work. Much like a trading card. Hmmmm... ;~)
anahata.c
nice comments here, I like what peter said (e-brink), and several people mentioned Klimt & Mucha, and one could add Beardsley too...all of them worked with that style & depicted flowing, dancing figures who seemed possessed by something transcendent (even if there was some old-style sexism in some of their images); and maybe Klimt (is mentioned) because your dancing souls seem to engulf your compositions in a way his subjects could. But you always have an independence between person & surrounding, and there's a freedom in that—and that's partly because your backgrounds are so intelligently designed and carry a weight of their own. That is, unlike some of the artists mentioned, your backgrounds aren't often flowing organic 'growths' that flourish & snake around the central figure: They're independent statements of their own. Your love of geometric design mixed with real organic flow—often present in your backgrounds—is infectious and very smart, Cathy, and this background has the texture of old glass, maybe stained or tinted; and the plants grow beautifully to the woman's right (our left) and are complemented by the vines running down her. She's dancing, but self-contained; and boy do I love the back-background (behind your frame): Looks like a lot of fertility symbols are in there. Very fine work, it has the feeling of a gentle dance (she's not dancing wildly [think: The Rite of Spring!]), but gently, as if she knows well enough that what she seeks is well within her; but she dances to coax it out. It's gentle. Fine image, and your palette is golden yellow with wonderful earth tones & some very fine greens & whites. Intelligent heart & passion...
amota99517
Beautifully done!
three_grrr
This is visually stunning! Both Mark and (anahata.c) and Peter (ebrink) said it all. I see a lot of art deco/art noveau influence here, and your own gorgeous style has made it so much better. I too love how each portion of your pieces could stand on their own, but allow the main focus to clearly shine, you are truly and uniquely excellent at accomplishing this in such a beautiful way as to make the whole piece shine.
kasalin
Fantastic colours and awesome work...!!! Dear Cathy, really incredible good :)
vapo
Marvelous picture... it reminds me of Art Deco's perfection and elegance!