Before reading this post you may want to view the exhibit in this interactive slideshow

Here it is…a photo journalistic approach to all 17 pieces in my solo exhibit at the Lynnwood Library Gallery. Each piece is either 8×10 or 11×14 in size, matted and framed with 11×14 and 16×20 frames, respectively.  They are framed with museum-quality solid black beveled wood frames that are ready for hanging on a wall.  If you are interested in purchasing any of the work you see here, please fill out the contact form.

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Time draws near for the beginning of my solo exhibit at the Lynnwood Library Gallery in Lynnwood, Washington (just north of Seattle). The mats and prints thankfully arrived safely after being delayed due to Seattle’s “Snowpocalpse”, so all 18 pieces will be framed and ready to go for the show on Friday. The postcards have been sent to friends & family and more will be scattered about at the gallery. Very excited to ring in the new year with my first ever solo exhibit!

All of my friends and family (with the exception of my husband and a good friend who will be up for from San Francisco for a visit and to attend the Bad Faeries Ball) will not be able to attend, so I’ll be sure to post some pictures of the show. I’m looking forward to meeting some new people when I visit the gallery!

It’s been almost two years since time and my fleeting creative spark have allowed for the creation of any new digital fantasy art. So with great pleasure, I would like to unveil my latest piece (and addition to the Maidens of the Otherworld collection)….

Solstice Queen

She’s now available in print, greetings cards, and a number of different products! But, truly, just spreading the word about my work is payment enough. Thank you to those here who have been incredibly kind and generous by spreading the word!!

What do you think?

Another bit of news is that I created a page on Facebook to display my work. Anything new that’s created in this wave of creativity will be added there. Come join us here!

Do any of you have a Facebook account, group or page? I’d love to join!

I’m on YouTube! Well, at least my art is. Ive had an account for years but never really got into the whole “moving picture” phenomenon, being a still photographer and all. I decided it was time to branch out to other popular media Web outlets, so here it is..my YouTube Channel:

http://www.youtube.com/catarionna

Feel free to add me as a friend if you have an account, and a subscription to my channel would also be much appreciated! I’ll be posting slide shows set to music showcasing my art and photography. First in the series is Maidens of the Otherworld, seen here.

* Be sure to watch the video in high quality, by going to the following link and clicking “watch in high quality” in the bottom right corner below the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuAVIqwTv8c

These photographs were taken last Fall with my good friend and consistent model, Kristy Rose. I dreamed this series before it was created…in the dream I was taking photos of Kristy running through the green coastal plains of Ireland, large flowing scarf trailing behind her as she ran. I like dreaming about epic “high fashion” photo shoots

This is not quite the the location from the dream, and it’s definitely not high fashion, but the beautiful Autumn palette and Kristy’s serene expression gives these a very soft, romantic feel.

What do you think?  Should I pursue conceptual portraiture more aggressively, or just stick to nature and landscapes?

There are a lot of nice shots I’m still going through, so this is just a preview of what’s to come.

Our first trip after moving to Seattle was about 60 miles south to Mount Rainier National Park. The mountain overtakes the horizon from the entrance onto I-5 near our home, and it can be seen as far away as Portland and Vancouver. Up close, it’s mind-blowing…

We climbed to about 6,000 feet after a long, semi-terrifying bus ride up the winding roads. The crest is at a little over 14,000 feet. These photographs hardly do the real views any justice, but they come close. Very little editing was applied.

These photos were snapped at the Paradise location (named for the pure gorgeousness of it’s wildflower-covered slopes), where there is a visitors center and beautiful mountain lodge. To the south are some lower elevation peaks that are much older than Mt Rainier, and in one of the shots you can see Mount St. Helens faintly in the distance (about 50 miles away).

Mt. Rainier is the most glaciated mountain in the lower 48 states, but we heard stories from park volunteers about glaciers that have completely melted since they were children (over 50 years). That’s global warming for ya. Yet, it was a 90 degree August day when we visited and we were so high up that we eventually had to stop because of all the snow blocking the path.

Upcoming series: Oregon, Mt. Hood, old-growth forests, and Puget Sound & Lake Washington areas

The following art is work that doesn’t quite fit into the Maidens of the Otherworld series, but that I still consider fantasy-themed. All work is digital art/photo-manipulation using my photography, and was created between 2005 and 2006.

Happy Halloween! I’ve always loved this holiday but have not had a reason to dress up in recent years. So this year I decided to create some digital art! This is what evolved on my computer screen after taking a few self portraits. What do you think? I’m thinking about offering commissions for digital art…specifically if a client provides a photograph to work with. This is something I’ve always wanted to do.

To celebrate the day, I baked another pumpkin roll, am preparing a nice dinner for my husband and I, and best of all, I’m listening to my ever-growing Halloween playlist. I live for music! There is a lot of chanting, lovely harmonies, “darkness”, and autumn-themes to these songs. Here is a sampling of the songs that instill the spirit of Halloween and the changing season in my mind:

• Cormacus Scripsit by Anuna
• Cruel by Tori Amos
• Tomorrow Never Knows by The Beatles
• Devils Haircut by Beck
• World of Stone & 25 Years by Blackmore’s Night
• Maiden of the Mountain Deep by Katharine Blake
• Newgrange by Clannad
• Dance of the Satyrs by Daemonia Nymphe
• Carribean Blue & The First Of Autumn by Enya
• Bring Me to Life by Evanescence
• Evenstar from Lord of the Rings Soundtrack by Howard Shore
• Sirena, Ne Aludj El and basically everything by Faun
• The Mystic’s Dream, All Soul’s Night and The Old Ways by Loreena McKennitt
• I Am Eve, Lhiannan Shee, and Spiriti by Mediaeval Baebes
• 26 Ghosts III by NIN
• Wytche’s Brew by Omnia
• Huckle Duckle by Primaeval
• A Window To The Past from Harry Potter Soundtrack by John Williams
• Time of the Season by The Zombies
• Every song from the Oblivion video game soundtrack (thanks to Ben )

You can read a great post on the history of this holiday over at Christine & Ethan Rose’s blog

Happy Birthday, Dad!

My digital fantasy art has been now brought together for the first time into a fantasy art collection called Maidens of the Otherworld. I recently designed and sent out an email campaign promoting the Maiden’s website, which you can find here:

Maidens of the Otherworld Announcement

I would like to continue on with creating digital fantasy art…it’s been far too long since I’ve indulged in art for art’s sake, that which feeds my soul. What types of otherworldly beings would you like to see added to this collection?

These two photographs were taken in a rural part of Northeast Ohio where my parents now live. Their very kind neighbors have a beautiful pond with some rather lovely inhabitants. This swan and her babies posed prettily for me as I carefully walked around the pond snapping some photos of them.