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. Ă‚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)Ă‚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." Ă‚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 . . . Ă‚Â I love to experiment with software and hope to continue to grow as an artist.Ă‚Â 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 IĂ‚Â 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.Ă‚Â Ă‚Â I do appreciate any comments and appreciate constructive criticism and suggestions.
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"Every artist was first an amateur."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ă‚Â Thank you for visiting my gallery!
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Comments (32)
doarte
I love the Poe words with this incredible image. Enchanting work, the entire image holds together!
blankfrancine
This is fabulous,Cathy. Their expressions are so intense.Looks like a fantasy novel cover.
e-brink
A truly nice piece of work. Wonderful composition and posing. Their expressions - one of refusal and the other doomed, yet accepting, work well together to tell the tale. You did extremely well with those! The atmosphere is well hinted at with the darkening sky and the black wing marking a delightfully fierce and non-negotiable arrangement. "Time and the bell have buried the day, the black cloud carries the sun away". (Eliot again).
mgtcs
Great scene my friend, excellent expressions! Congratulations!
magnus073
Cathy this one is so stunning, you really blew me away here. Their expressions really make this extra special as you can feel the darkness closing in. What a great idea to bring Poe to life in such a way.
JSGraphics
Simply Marvelous! Very Well Done! Be sure to visit my gallery!
zollacce
Excellent work !!
popeslattz
Like Mandi, the first thing I thought was that this looked like a book cover. After reading the Poe quote I see that we weren't too far off. An excellent illustration for this passage. I think it could be even darker...
pops
Superb artwork
wannes
Beautiful scene, excellent poses and morphs... Excellent work!!
Cimaira
Wonderful scene, excellent poses and expressions
adrie
Very beautiful and powerful scene my friend, excellent done.
Miska7
Very nice scene. Great characters, poses and expressions! Really well done.
SIGMAWORLD
Wonderful image!
Zazou
Splendid illustration ! Bravo !
KarmaSong
Very beautiful dramatization and illustration of Edgar Allan Poe's poetry, I can almost sense the drama building up here, and the whole scene is superbly rendered. Excellent work!
calum5
Great expressional work,you portrayed their feelings superbly ..Cool!Bye cal:)
Cgaynor
I too love their expression, the contrast between them, the ambiguity one could find in hers. Great work.
stevey3d
Superb image Cathy! Wonderful composition and expressions!
amota99517
This is so great! The facial expresses are so well done. I can feel their emotions. Marvelous work!
anahata.c
annabel lee looks distressed but also strangely accepting, hard to pinpoint but you got the sense of her knowing her fate even while she resists it; and her lover (the narrator of the poem if I recall) is wholly distressed, not accepting her fate at all. His embrace doesn't actually touch her body, but surrounds it as if he's not quite ready to believe that the angel will take her; or maybe he knows the angel will take her but can't stop it. Lots of ambiguity where normally we'd expect to see clear & immutable distress—which means that you've read deeply into the poem & not just interpreted the basic storyline. Also, very nice job on the hair Cathy, of both people; and the background is a kind of da Vinci background (if you don't know da Vinci well, look at jpgs of his ptgs, and look at his famous "moonrock" backgrounds: He paints pre-creation backgrounds that make his figures look like they've emerged out of a timeless past...I gave two links below). An intuitive choice for the poem. Also your shading is complex & thoughtful. I just read e-brink's comment, and I see I agree with him, which is nice considering the consistently terrific quality of his work. Another of your finely thought out literary interpretations; you're one of the few who do this here, and they're very thoughtful, wonderful visual responses & always a pleasure to see. (Here are small jpgs of da Vinci's Virgin of the Rocks,here, and Mona Lisa, here. There's a larger MLisa in the original Wikimedia image; but the smaller will give you an overview.)
JaneEden
The scene, matches the beautiful words perfectly, you did a great job. hugs Jane xx
Jollyself
wonderful comp and light here....nicely done
farmerC
Exellent work.
three_grrr
Mark has gotten it right on the mark! I too see that look more of acceptance then outright distress on Annabelle Lee's face .. and your interpretation of the poem is magnificent. Another beautiful background .. fitting the poem so well, fitting the mood so beautifully.
kitzie21
Very dramatic picture! I think you captured the gothic mood of Poe quite well on this one. Many people already commented on the expressions of the characters. They, along with the poses, really sell the picture. This is nicely done!
lucindawind
oh fabulous work !
JeffersonAF
Excellent.
Amethst25
Beautiful image.. Before I read what you wrote it reminded me of one of Terry Goodkinds books. Very well done other have expressed in far better words than I can at how well done this is!
Elcet
Great expressions for an original and expressive composition!