MEET THE WYLDEBRYDES
Wylder's "Artist Statement":
26 August, 2004
Hmmmm... where to start? I'm a wife, mother (to 2 little kids and one
big dog), homemaker, artist, writer... I've worn a lot of hats in my
time (some of which earned money, some of which cost money), but these
fit the best these days. At other times, I have been a: cashier;
restaurant hostess; student (undergraduate, then graduate); linguist;
secretary; fund-raiser; political activist; spiritual student and
teacher; Reiki practitioner; and on and on...
As long as I can remember, I've loved making art. The medium didn't
matter, as long as I was making things. I've worked in 2D, photography,
actual (as opposed to virtual or digital) 3D (sculpture, jewelry)... I
even worked in fiber for a while, to include (but not limited to) both
spinning and dyeing my own yarn from wool, silk or cotton, and weaving
my own textiles. I have also created and made period costumes (mostly
Celtic or Saxon style, but also some sci-fi/fantasy and comic-book
inspired stuff), several of which have won prizes in costume
competitions at sci-fi/fantasy or costume conventions (to include
WorldCon - but that was a long time ago...).
I discovered digital art in late 1999, after my husband and I moved to
England (for his job). Since I wasn't working when we arrived here, I
needed something to do with my time. I taught myself HTML and made some
websites, created original web graphics with PaintShopPro, then created
abstract digital art with PSP (which I posted to my old site).
Later, I found Bryce, and made some landscapes, mostly for wallpapers.
While looking for tutorials, I stumbled across this program called
Poser. After that, my art took a dramatic turn (for the better, I
hope). Now that I have Bryce 5, I am once again playing with Bryce,
mostly making abstracts, but enjoy playing with Poser as well. I use
PSP mostly for postworking renders, but also occasionally for original
graphics, like websets or the like, such as the graphics for this site
and the gallery here.
I met Bryden a few years ago, through a Terragen users group (yes, I
got addicted to that program, too!), and we have become fast friends.
We now co-own WyldeBrydes Fantasy Art, and have plans in the works for
modeling fantasy figures and props, and creating textures for figures,
clothing and more. But that will most likely have to wait until my kids
are both in school all day. Come on, September! :)
Not much more to tell... I try to keep a balance between practical
matters, such as laundry and other mundane chores, and my passion,
which is my art. Unfortunately for the house, the art usually wins. :)
Wylder's Thoughts on Technique:
I was thinking about my hair
painting one day. My friend, Jean,
came over and I showed her my work. She was really impressed,
especially with my (at the time) newer pieces. She made a comment about
my hair painting technique that really struck a chord: "Your hair is
based on fire." This made perfect sense to me! I'm so attracted to fire
as an element, it really influences me a lot. So many people try to
make "realistic" looking hair, and I think it's great when done well.
Unfortunately, I'm not one of those who can do it well.
I'm having lots of trouble painting hair in a *realistic* manner. I
just don't have the control, even using a WACOM pen and tablet, special
brushes and such. I even tried making a couple of custom brushes for
PSP, but I still wasn't having much luck.
So, here I was, having all kinds of trouble, and getting really
frustrated at my lack of skill. I started playing around with it, and
began to really like the effects I was getting. The more I played, the
better I liked the overall effect. Pretty soon, I found myself making
literally *hundreds* of brush strokes with the smudge tool to pull out
the effects I wanted, and liking it even more. Why is it that we can
come up with all sorts of patience when we like the results, but not a
bit when we are not getting what we want? (If you're interested, you
can find my tutorial for my technique here.)
I also noticed that the textures I prefer to create tend to stay away
from photo-real. Maybe it's because I don't have the time or patience
to produce high-quality textures using the photo-real techniques. Sure,
there's plenty of PR textures out there for sale. But to me, if all I
do is take other people's elements and combine them, all I am is a
"technician," not an artist. Mind, I'm not putting down anyone who does
just that, and I sometimes choose to do so myself. Sure, it still takes
an artist's eye to combine the elements, pose the characters, light the
scene, etc., but that's more like collage work than … well,
than
"fine" art. I know collage is a valid art form, and there are those who
say that photography is more technique and equipment than "art" (I
don't agree with this, BTW), but I think I'm getting off my point. I
really like my "less than real" effects, and the non-photo-real
textures for my fantasy work.
Yeah, OK, so I do care what others think of my work. Why else bother
posting it to the artist communities, or to this site? Still, when
someone whose work I admire makes a nice comment on my work, I get such
a glow of pride all over! To me, that means something! Actually, it
means a lot to me every time *anyone* makes a nice comment, especially
friends (and especially my bestest art friend and business partner,
Bryden!).
So, I've decided to go with what I like for my art. Hope you don't mind
too much. I just happen to like the more stylized stuff for myself,
rather than the photo-real type stuff. Guess I just don't have the
patience to bother with the effort right now. That, and *anyone* can
use a PR texture, but not everyone can develop their own personal style
to create truly unique characters and settings, and ultimately, art. To
each her/his/its own!
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