DeviantArtist Questionnaire

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slshimerdla
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Alright, I'm jumping on the bandwagon a tad late because of my being out of town, but here goes!

1. How long have you been on DeviantArt?

Amazingly, 11 and a half years! I haven't, however, always been active. I've gone through periods of time where I got distracted or my fear of trying got the better of me, and stopped painting. 

To be fair, for about 8 of those years, I was continuing with work in the same "neighborhood" - my Photoshop brushes/resources/tutorials: redheadstock and ObsidianDawn.com. That was a BIG distraction. :) Ironically enough, I started making Photoshop brushes for my artwork. Then they became my main focus for the longest time.

2. What does your username mean?

It's incredibly imaginative, let me tell you. It's my first name initial, middle name initial, and my very unique last name.

3. Describe yourself in three words.

Gah, these questions about oneself are always hard.

Perfectionist. Empathetic. Silly.

To me at least, these don't really seem to go together. But what can I say? I'm a bunch of walking contradictions. (I'm both creative and yet very logic-based, for example - right VS left brain.)

 4. Are you left or right handed?

Very right handed. I tried writing with my left hand once (since my mother is left handed, the idea occurred to me to try)... it was not a pretty sight.

 5. What was your first deviation?

Looking back, I submitted two on the same day I joined.

Watchful by slshimerdla  Bliss by slshimerdla

The cub in the clouds was painted with a mouse. Man, was I a glutton for punishment. But, I didn't know any better, and wanted to see if I was going to like digital art. The second one was before I started on my foray into digital art. I was in South Korea (my husband is military, and I went over there with him for a year) and lonely, and artwork was my way of expressing those feelings. I don't really remember what made me decide to try digital art. I think it was because digital art was a relatively new field, and there were some artists out there just creating some amazing stuff. 

 6. What is your favourite type of art to create?

Art that has some sort of specific meaning. A lot of artwork is just made to be pretty, and I like painting those, too. However, my favorites are the ones that express a particular emotion or situation. 

As some examples...

Faceless Strangers of Stone by slshimerdla  Touched on the loneliness that I was feeling when I accompanied my husband to South Korea. It was my first emotive painting.

Lonely, Not Alone by slshimerdla  I think we've all felt like jumping off a bridge at one time or another, whether seriously or not. This painting has spoken to a lot of people, and -- I've been told -- saved a few lives. That would be utterly amazing, and I'm humbled at the very idea.


Fleeting by slshimerdla  This painting was confronting a fear (whether large or small) that most people have - getting older, and losing some of that youthful beauty.
Mask by slshimerdla  I still love the idea behind this one. It's one of my favorites, truly. Unfortunately, it's not been very popular, but I love the "No one truly smiles without a mask" idea.
Tarnished by slshimerdla  This painting touched on a feeling that most women (and likely some men) have felt at one time or another. Oogled, groped, ... perhaps even raped. 


 7. If you could instantly master a different art style, what would it be?

Crazily enough, it's a style very similar to my own. As I mentioned above, I'm very meticulous and left-brained about my artwork most of the time. I absolutely looooooove to just zoom right in and work on the details. 

What I would love to be able to do, however, is the kind of realism that has more of a painted feel to it. That messy, visible-brushstrokes kind of style. Here's some examples:

Evening sketch by Manweri Dude, let me in, i'm a fairy! by anotherwanderer Jessica Parker Kennedy (study) by sharandula Angel by wlop Portrait study G by WesleyChen

I'm currently working (on and off) on trying to make sure some of my brushstrokes are visible like this, but it's ULTRA hard for me! I wish it wasn't, and at times it seems unattainable to me, given my meticulous nature. So, this kind of style would be my wish!

I also, however, love the more illustrated styles with patterns and designs worked into the composition:

Memories (2013) by elevonART Bauhinia by escume Fearless in red by WeirdSwirl Personal apocalypse by mareCaligine

 8. What was your first favourite?

According to my favorites, it was:

Her Silent Silhouette by arcipello

Although, I distinctly remember discovering arcipello in my second stint here on dA. So, either I didn't favorite things in the beginning, or perhaps you couldn't yet... or, it was a painting that one of my very early inspirations (enayla, puimun, dahlig, AquaSixio, etc.) have since removed when cleaning out their galleries for newer stuff.

9. What type of art do you tend to favourite the most?

Mostly realism and illustrations in the styles and with the level of talent that I want to achieve myself someday. I also favorite a lot of those other, less achievable (but equally desirable) styles that I mentioned above. Pretty much everything I favorite is an inspiration for my own work in one way or another.

10. Who is your all-time favourite deviant artist?

Oy. I have to pick one? I'm not sure I could do that! It would come down to two, most likely.

:iconarcipello: :icondestinyblue:

Both of them work so well with lighting and color to produce absolutely breathtaking works. Arcipello is there because he's been an influence for a very long time. DestinyBlue was a more recent find, but if I had to choose just one, it would probably be her. Mostly because of the emotional content of her work. She has managed to do what I've been trying to achieve each time I re-begin my foray into the wonderful world of digital painting. Breathtaking works with real, specific meaning and overpowering emotional content.

11. If you could meet anyone on DeviantArt in person, who would it be?

I'd be happy to meet anyone that I've shared a connection with here on deviantArt! 

12. How has a fellow deviant impacted your life?

Any number of deviants have influenced me into becoming an artist, or impacted my style. Waaaaay too numerous to count.

Unfortunately, however, with my entirely sporadic attendance here on dA in the past, it's been hard to form (and keep) any real connections. There's been a lot of little moments that have really stuck with me, however -- see the last question below!

13. What are your preferred tools to create art?

Photoshop. Occasionally Corel Painter, although less of that lately - but I want to get back into it again. Over the years, I've mostly used a Wacom Intuos tablet. However, this last Christmas I got a big gift from my hubby, mother, mother-in-law, and others -- a Wacom Cintiq. I absolutely love it, and am not sure I could go back to anything else!

In olden times, I did a lot of stippling (with ink/pens), as well as some graphite/pencil drawings. I'm looking to try watercolor pens one of these days, too.

14. What is the most inspirational place for you to create art? 

You know, this question is interesting. Because, really, the place that you "create" art is in your head. So, if I go with when my ideas are first conceived, that can be almost anywhere. During a movie, while reading a book, listening to a song while driving, having a conversation with my husband... those are big ones. My husband writes books in his free time (josephjohnfiction.com), so he's also a very creative individual and inspires me a lot!

Being a digital artist, where I physically create that art is pretty limited. I have a two person desk that I share with my husband, and that's where most of it is done!

Lastly, however, where I FEEL the most inspired is in nature. Hiking, kayaking, swimming, or just being anywhere in nature is where I recharge and find the most inspired and refreshed.

15. What is your favourite DeviantArt memory?

I have a couple of these! One of my earliest fun memories was when Rushy was inspired enough by one of my paintings to make me a haiku for it.

"How cool is that?!" - I thought then (and still do now!), that my artwork actually made someone feel something enough to create a work of art of their own. Rushy's kind action inspired me to create more paintings, including one that was centered around a haiku of my own: Lonely, Not Alone 

Speaking of Lonely, Not Alone, a lot of the comments made on that painting are other memorable moments here on dA. As I mentioned above, I've had a few people tell me, via either comments or notes, that that painting has helped to save their lives. How absolutely humbling is that, to be able to have that kind of positive impact on someone else's life? Absolutely amazing.

I really want to go back and recreate that painting, and probably will sometime soon, given how powerful it was for people. It was one of my very first digital paintings, and was quite good for the level I was at back then... but I feel like I could do it so much more justice now. We shall see.

Thank you very much for reading and/or skimming this, and I hope everyone has a great weekend! ::blowkiss:

#DeviantArtistQuestionnaire



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SharkHarrington's avatar
SharkHarrington
I enjoyed reading your journal (the whole thing).  Just sort of happened upon your profile while throwing some llamas around.  Your artwork is marvelous and it was interesting to learn the backstory for some of your paintings.