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Name: Daria Endresen
Black Cat: aka Didi: Hi Daria, please introduce yourself. Could you tell us where you’re from and how you got started in the field?
Daria Endresen: I am a digital artist, based in oslo (norway). my interest for visual arts got its roots in my childhood - my grandfather was a painter and i used to spend a lot of time in his studio. my passion for photography started with acquiring my first DSLR but after a while i switched my attention to digital art and have been developing my skills ever since. i am self-taught.
B.C.: Give me a visual of your work area. What are your tools of the trade?
D.E.: I don’t care much about equipment at this point although i do admit that the good supply of it can make your life easier. I use the same old DSLR, canon eos 20D and a 28-75 tamron lense, together with the natural light from the window. for post-processing my favourite soft is photoshop CS3 and CS5, plus of course a tablet.
B.C.: Your art work is something between the photomanipulation and the digital painting. Please walk me through the typical process of making one of your amazing work.
D.E.: the forming of idea may take weeks or even months before i actually start doing anything. I don’t own a studio, so usually I shoot at home. a self-portrait includes more work and more takes, since I can't see what I actually shoot, and it all comes down to countless efforts until I hit the right pose. then its photoshop work which also varies greately, from 4 days to several months, depending on the difficulty of the image and the availability of additional material.
Name: David Anthony Magitis
Place of birth: U.K
Black Cat aka Didi: Hi David, please introduce yourself. Could you tell us where you’re from and how you got started in the field?
David Anthony Magitis: Hello I'm from the U.K. I started painting at a very early age, mostly walls/ doors ect. Unfortunatly this was not appreciated so I decided to move onto better materials such as paper.
Though out my education art was my biggest passion inspired by all the fantastic album covers you used to get back in the day. So I thought I'd like to have a go at that. After leaving school I went straight to college and after 2 years got a diploma in graphic design. Spent the next 3 years at university and earned a BA Hons degree in graphic design.
B.C.: What’s your favourite mediums(pen,charcoal,paint,canvas,etc…)to work in/on?
D.A.M.: I don’t really have a favourite medium, I'll have a go at anything I can get my grubby hands on. Currently playing around with Oils which is interesting. But if I had to choose I guess the airbrush, the flexability freedom and speed suits me best.
B.C.: Which artists do you admire and how do they influence your work?
D.A.M.: To many to list both living and dead. As an artist when I see a fantastic piece of art it inspires me to improve and to try to reach a standard that I am happy with. I'm still trying and still learning everyday.
Name: Steven Vincent Mitchell
Place of Birth: ENGLAND
Black Cat aka Didi: From how many years are you engaged in painting?
Can you share with the reader of xLegion the story of your artistic career ?
Steven Mitchell: I have been painting for 6 years, with a air brush.
Before that I have used many different 2d and 3d mediums.
I also worked as a tattoo artist and run a tattoo studio, so i have always been creating something.
I remember when I was 18 seeing a friend’s new tattoo.
Immediately I knew that this was the genre I wanted to work in.
So 1987 I apprenticed as a tattoo artist.
My mission as a tattoo artist, was to use my artistic skills to help clients express their inner visions on their skin, and mark their rites of passage in a time honoured way.
I owned and ran a tattoo studio for many years. In this time I met many fantastic people, who in turn enriched my life experiences; it was very fulfilling to share in this holistic, shamanic experience with them.
Towards the late nineties there were new visions growing deep inside of me that I felt compelled to express, but they were outside of the tattoo genre. So in 1999 I stopped tattooing.
I then visited the USA and Canada. While in the USA, I spent time with the Navajo and Hopi tribes. In Canada
I lived and worked with the Huron [Mohawk/Mohican] tribe on their reserve.
I feel privileged to have been embraced by these people, some of whose traditions, craft skills and mystical healing arts I now incorporate into my art and my life today.
I am inspired by the unseen, the mystical. When I am painting I go to a different world; a dark and symbolic world.
Name: Dorian Cleavenger
Black Cat aka Didi: Hi Dorian, Can you tell me something about your background and the influences that have generated the artist that you actually are?
Dorian Cleavenger: Some of my influences come from a strong interest in historical artifacts as well as contemporary ones. I have always been known as the “why” kid and my curiosity has been and is still insatiable. This interest in the sciences, biology, physics and just about everything visually tangible, has been my database of reference that I use to built scenarios and imagery from. I find the human animal the most curious one, it defies the template of nature but yet it exists… why?
B.C.: What medium of art do you use most often for your creations? Do you have a "typical" or preferred way of approaching a painting?
D.C.: I have experimented with almost every medium and have concluded that acrylic paints are my preferred medium. The most outstanding characteristic of acrylic is its fast drying time, which is detrimental to most people but an asset to me. I have a short attention span but I also like the realism that oil paints can achieve with its blending capabilities. I have developed techniques using acrylics that can incorporate the best of both worlds.
B.C.: Do you always plan your compositions before starting to paint, or are there instances when you let the paint suggest some of the content?
D.C.: When I am doing a commissioned piece for a client much discussion and preplanning is necessary to bring the project to a satisfactory conclusion; but if I am doing a fine art piece for myself then the project template is much different. I have only myself to satisfy as well as the general public. Generally the painting will take on a life of it’s own and it tells me what should be done as it progresses. You have to believe the world you are creating is real if you want others to believe it.