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.  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) 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." ÂÂ
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
ÂÂ
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.
ÂÂ
ÂÂ
"Every artist was first an amateur."
Ralph Waldo Emerson
 Thank you for visiting my gallery!
ÂÂ
Comments (20)
e-brink
This is very good... very good indeed. I like the mood you have created with this interesting style. I like the variety of living things, sometimes in telling contrast, hunting down what must be life.
magnus073
Cathy this is such a splendid image and feels like I'm right there watching her as she leaves this wonderful little village. Love all the animals and people moving along almost escorting her out.
mgtcs
Weird and excellent, great image, gorgeous effects, amazing work!
adrie
Very good piece of artwork my friend, excellent done.
wannes
The way you've created the feeling of movement is remarkable!! Awesome work of art!!!
blankfrancine
Looks like a frame out of an animation!Makes me think if some Power is drawing everyone towards it, or they are fleeing something. First class weirdness,Cathy.
faroutsider
Out there??? This is marvelous. Great sense of movement, fabulous colours and effects, the full range of ages of humans represented and a nice touch of irony with the fox running parallel to the horse and the dog (and cat). I love it!
Miska7
Really nice image. Great textures, colours and style! Excellent artwork!
farmerC
Shining work.
tulipe
Excellent image! It tells a story and we can't help wonder why are those people leaving town. That's what happened in some locations in Europe during WWII.
Sylvia
ART WITH LIFE
psyoshida
I think this is sensational! I love the cast of characters and the sweeping lighting/brush stroke which is so dramatic. They all look like they are on some kind of mission, quite determined. I love Mr Fox right up front too. Where are they going? Great story picture.
three_grrr
Oh no, not out there at all! Fabulous is more like it. I love the sense of wind and light, the almost dream quality of it, the feel of movement, I love the fox in there .. really adds to the dream quality. Playing is fun .. and you learn so much when you play with your programs. I can't believe the things I can do with my little paint shop pro! I hardly ever lust after the huge and expensive photo shop anymore .. hardly, grins.
popeslattz
You should do "out there" more often. This image is fantastic. Oned to contemplate. Excellent sense of motion and great Filter Forging.
Zazou
Wonderful illustration ! Love the style !
Jollyself
wow this is wild... excellent work !!
anahata.c
(marathon comment-warning!) Ok. Going back to images I haven't commented on, I picked this, this morning, because I remember my feelings when I saw it. It's another of your wholly fresh surprises, Cathy, people & animals who appear to have stepped out of a 19th C. novel, all walking in some strange procession of the soul in the midst of a 20th C. city---made of dreams, the present, and collective memory. (Sorry if this sounds like the sales blurb to a new novel: I really meant what I just wrote!) I do see the 'hunt'---ie, the hunting outfit and the foxes---but I also see a woman dressed for something ceremonious, followed by animals/pets who seem to be connected to her, and by ghost images of people from the past---hers or someone else's, we don't know: a child who almost seems like a ghost of ancient childhood, and a woman in the right who seems like an ancestor or even mother, walking in from the old country, a reminder to someone or something, we don't know what. I know these pieces may just be efforts to try-out new techniques, as you say here from time to time; and maybe people like me are ladening your efforts with overly heavy storylines: If so, I plead guilty, lol! But really, for me these feel like past & present, a move to another place that may have much more light & illumination than this city has; and you've given it all a visual diagonal "rain," you've highlighted parts of the animals in late-day orange sunlight (nostalgic, warm & rich, I think), you've done a wonderful painterly job with wiggly street lines (there's an example of the inexplicably delightful 'out of the blue' touches you put into all your pieces, man I love those lines!); and the center house/building---we have no idea what that is, except that it seems to hold a deep secret for these beings, indicated by your mysterious shading and by the primal empty feeling it gives off. (More archetypal backgrounds in your pieces.) Where do you get all these visions? They're heavy & fun, mysterious & playful; and they feel like a transition of some inner kind. It's like a procession from a Fellini film, only in the guise of a British/American 19th C. novel, with a 20th C. American city (that stoplight, another of your great touches), and with wobbly & painterly whites. Bravo! Ya did it again! So when they reach out-of-town, you'll tell us, right? I mean, what they saw? I think they're together, and I'd really like to know how long they go back, if all of them are alive or are just 'visitations', and if that lady is really going on a hunt or if she just likes dressing that way. (Maybe it staves off idiot suitors, who knows!) Terrific, evocative, mysterious and playful. What can I say, I'm a fan!
DocHaze
That is fantastic work...
kasalin
Great scenery and a great composition !!!!!!!!!!!!!
myrrhluz
I think this is out there in the sense that it strays from the norms and causes the viewer to think. It will be seen differently by each person who views it. What I see is alienation. While they are all walking the same direction, they seem to be separate units, on their own mission or purpose. Even the horse and rider seem distant from each other, lost in their own thoughts or reality. The colors and wavy lines give it a feeling of not being of the real world but journeys of the mind or spirit. The blank black windows, unadorned and stark architecture, hard pavement and glaring yellow light give the town a very bleak look, but whether it a physical place or a state of being, is open to conjecture. The cat seems to be not totally encased in his own world, but then cats regularly travel between different planes of existence. The use of color and texture is excellent! Wonderful image! I like this a lot!