I have come to know another really good artist here at dA over the past few months. Her name is Kadri and I have found her artworks to be amongst the most impressive that I get to see (although she unfortunately doesn't always agree, or feel that what she does is good enough)!

I would like to present her and her artworks to you here, and encourage you to go and look at her wonderful gallery, visit her homepage, and get to know her. (Don't miss out on her wonderful stock account !)

Interview

1. How long have you been doing art?

I think art have been part of my life from my early years. My mother is also studied art and she is gorgeous in tradition art. She gave me and my sisters ( and ) the love for beauty and harmony and good genes too She also made us to go graphic lessons and when we went to school, the art class for our choice. I continued in art class for 9 years and after that decided to continue in science for gymnasium. In those years I did very little art and I never think I should have started to do it the way and on level I do it now, if not a bad thing hadn't happened in my life. To cope my emotions, sadness and sorrow, I escaped on DA from real world, started trying manipulating and fell in love with art. So, I could say that art has been part of my life for long time but manipulations I have done from November.


2. What got you started?

I think I answered about it in the 1st question

3. Do you have any formal training either as a traditional artist or in digital art?

I was in art class, so I would say I have some training in color and composition but for children so young, they didn't teached us much - we just had more art classes, more change to creativity and more change to trying different tehniques.

4. What media or software do you normally use?

I am mainly doing photomanips. I used to have old and good photosop CS but now I have CS3 as I needed wrap tool badly and who wants to use the older one if you have newer. Also digital tablet is irreplacable help as I couldn't imagine drawing hair or cutting out figures without it. I also sometimes use Corel Photopaint to draw some things what could be easily done there (like ribbons).

5. Do you have a preference for the type of picture you like to create?

I usually try not to create too depressive works - I want that all my works would have some shine and hope on them - so that if you look at them, you would feel that there is still something to live for. I have mostly made fantasy or dark art photomanip. The last one is very popular here but fantasy art is the one whose my art belong even if those works get much less antention.

As my sister said about my art - I make paradeportraits refering for old paintings done of rules. There are one centre characther (mostly in gorgeous costume girl) and fantasy like, expressive background.
And I defenetly want that my work has a story - it has something to say - something to go with it.

6. Can you give a brief overview of your technique?

I think it is too complicated to write it down here but I am planning to make a turorial about that. The main thing to be said - I use everything I know about photoshop and improvise almost everytime. And my technique takes very long time Like 15 hours at least on work so I think you enjoy your way of doing manips with much less hours

7. What sort of things inspire your artwork?

Music, mainly, then some books I have read, some things I have written when I was young, some contest (yes, they can be really inspiring as they set you in one way and when you see the vision what you want, you have the idea )

8. Do you have any advice for aspiring artists?

Do not be afraid. First you have hard times and the works aren't as good as you want and some things won't come out but still - you learn with every new work, you improve. Just don't give up, do it again, again and again. Never afraid to try new thing, never afraid to try and figure out things. Tutorials can be your friends but they do not have to. There are many great artists here - you can always ask their help. There have been many who have asked from me and I think I have helped them a little and I plan to continue it in future.

9. Do you have any future plans for diversifying your artwork?

I am studying IT and programming in uni but I feel so much that art is the thing I want to do for living, so I have thought to find a ways how I could continue making my art and get little income, so I have thought about those things a little but not sure yet how or if...

10. Is there anything else you'd like to add about what you do? (Feel free to give links etc. where appropriate!)

I would really like to mention great magazine here in DA The-Undiscovered where I am also a staff member - this is a really great project with so great cause - I just wish that when I came here that there would have been somehting as being exposured is most important thing for starting artists (to all artists to be honest) And the level of the artists featured there is just amazing - it only makes me sad that those great artists have only so few views and notion.

And another great place to see superb art and get exposure is Word-worth-1000-pics where by theme works are featured.

And what more to say: keep your dream alive and follow the magic the art can give you

Here are some of Kadri's Artworks that I like best