One step away to perfection
I started back in 2005. I discovered Photoshop through a friend and I fell in love with digital art. Using online tutorials, I started as a self-taught artist who soon started to evolve and become more demanding with her own artworks. As a person who’s always aiming for perfection, I kept on practicing many hours a day and kept on raising the difficulty level for my own art. Later, in 2010 I decided to get a degree in Graphic Design and Arts. This decision was perfect to help me master some unknown things, such as preparing the final art, adjusting the file for printing, understanding templates, etc. It also helped me to enlarge my overall areas of expertise and to refine my skills and artistic vision. The transition into a professional artist started to happen on that time. I started to get requests from bands, authors, publishers,etc. Then, my work spoke for itself and more and more clients starter to contact and to commission me.
I’m a digital artist with special focus on photomanipulation. I use real photos and through several processes such as collage, morphing, digital painting and 3D, I achieve the final artwork that you’re able to see. I’m extremely versatile regarding commercial projects but, for my personal art, I definitely keep a dark fantasy, yet dramatic style. I work with Adobe Photoshop and some Photoshop plug-ins. Many times I also use Adobe Illustrator for vector work and I’m currently developing my skills in the 3D software Blender. My hardware is my computer and my Wacom Cintiq 24HD, that is definitely the best work tool I could ever use.
Sometimes I do get directions and sometimes the bands give me total freedom to be creative. Usually when a band already have something in mind, I like them to give me a briefing focusing on the main idea for the artwork, color tones, overall setting, etc. Then I like to show Work In Progress previews, so that, alongside with the band, everything flows in the desired direction.
Never stop learning, never stop practicing and evolving my style. Always aiming for more and better. From where I currently stand, perfection is one step away; and after achieving that step, there’s a new perception of perfection that keeps being one step away from me. A couple of years ago I would say that my present work is really good but, now I know that I can do better and challenge myself more and more. I think music and art are are entwined. Art is the visual way of feeling music and I always pay a lot of attention to album covers and general artwork that comes along with CDs or Vinyls.
That art is the first welcoming door to the music we’re about to listen and it helps complete the music world we’re about to enter. I’ve been fortunate enough to always been allowed to apply my personal style on the covers I’ve been making. The covers I did for Elegia and Well Of Souls are perfect examples of my personal style in art; dark fantasy. Symbolism has strong influence on my work. Since my teen years I’ve always had interest in learning about ancient religions, the occult, XIX cent. poetry and philosophy. I enjoy exploring those themes along with the dark side on the human mind and portray it in a glamorous dramatic way. I admire many artists such as Brom, Ray Caesar, Victoria Francés, Alexander Jansson, among many others. Combining those interests with my visual and aesthetic interests, I achieve the dark fantasy style I love so much, always with strong dramatic connotation. I keep on reading a lot, listening to music (paying attention to the music lyrics) and I keep on visually representing my ideal realm.
My artworks have already been in some exhibits, being the most relevant ones an exhibit in the Louvre Museum and one in Times Square, New York. My artworks have also been on display in other places in New York city, Miami and here in Portugal as well. Recently I’ve been associated with a project called Fashion Tails. This project is a massive collaboration between artists and public figures (models, actors and actresses, etc) to create awareness about stray animals and to encourage the adoption of abandoned animals.
I created an artwork featuring the actress Emily Procter. The artworks will be on display during 2016 in several museums and galleries across the USA, always aiming the promotion to adopt abandoned animals.
