Erin Lamoreux - Keep on Learning!

First off let me say I'm sorry for all the time in between posts. I really don't have a good excuse for it this time; I haven't been pursuing artists as much as I could, and Wrath of the Lich King just came out, so that definitely delayed this post by a couple days. Anyway...on to what you guys actually came here for!

Erin Lamoreux. Another lifetime artist, now 23 years old and living in Austin, Texas, Erin has been drawing since before she should have been trusted with drawing tools (and the walls of her childhood home can attest to it). Even though she hasn't given up on traditional methods, her favorite medium has become digital. Using Photoshop, Artrage, Painter, 3dsMax, Maya, and others she creates wonderfully colored and atmospheric pieces. Even Erin's "speedpaints" (a few of which are linked below) come alive with great style.
"I'm inspired by many things. Nature is a big one," she says. "Ideas matter to me. If someone communicates a really awesome idea, I don't care if its roughly done." Craig Mullins, Bobby Chiu, and David Levy are some of her favorite artist just to name a few.
Erin's one goal is to keep learning. "A lot of people say 'if I could be as good as ____ I'd be happy.' I used to say that too, but the truth is when I get closer to that point, all I can see are points beyond, and that's not a bad thing! I enjoy every minute of it."

To take a look at Erin's beautiful gallery follow the link below:
http://bongoshock.deviantart.com/

French Style - Sabrina Miramon

Being back from a long halloween weekend we now turn our attentions to Sabrina Miramon, a wonderful cg artist and colorist from Lille, France. Sabrina started drawing about six years ago when she was 20. "Surrounded by talented people during my studies, it was hard at first to realize I was not good at it," she says, "but I worked and worked and here I am."
Sabrina draws inspiration in one way or another from everything she sees without really realizing it. She uses a Wacom tablet and Photoshop to work her magic. "I'm still rather impressed by traditional methods. They don't use ctrl+z/cancel." Currently she spends most of her time working as a background artist for an animated series in France. Sabrina would like someday to land a good, creative job or work on great movie productions.
She plays way too many video games, likes chocolate, and has a bunny named Indianna.

Contact Sabrina or check out more of her works at:
http://www.mioum.com/
http://radicalstab.deviantart.com

Spotlight on Philip Myrick

In the spotlight today stands Philip Myrick, a 25 year old painter from Kennesaw, Georgia. Like so many of our featured artists, Philip can't remember a time when art was not a part of him. He grew up painting, drawing influence from family, friends, life experiences, and the world around him. Artists the likes of George Grosz, Francis Bacon, and Paul Cezanne also had a major impact. Philip's favorite media is oil on canvas using brushes, pallet knives, and "stuff I pick up off the street." He is currently working on his own tarot card series, painting both the major and minor arcana. In his open time he works with his friend, Doug Cole, on his films. Philip's has great outlook and direction, saying, "I hope to help broaden the influence of art in Atlanta and change the idea of what southern art is all about."

Stop by at the below locations to check out more of Philip's works:
http://godcharon.deviantart.com/

Sarah Babich - Painting through the Pain

Our featured artist today is 17 year old Sarah Babich of Missouri. Sarah is fairly new to the artistic world, having only begun painting a few years ago. Shortly after she started doing abstract paintings she joined deviantART.com, "I'd say it definitely influenced me a lot," she says. "I draw inspiration from everything I see...a lot of times I don't know what I'm painting until halfway through." Using acrylic paints, her fingers, and a pallet knife, Sarah has already created many pieces that portray great emotion. She wishes to progress as an artist and work on differing styles, realism especially.
" I have fibromyalgia and I use art as an outlet to distract me from my pain. I try to make paintings that seem happy, so maybe they can make people feel better when they look at them."

If you wanna take a look at a great up-and-coming painter stop by at:
http://cheep.deviantart.com/

Capturing Beauty - Sanne van Splunter

Today we take a look at Sanne van Splunter, a budding photographer who lives in the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands. She began to get involved in serious photography about 5 years ago, but attributes her entry into the practice to her dad who taught her the basics and let her use his camera. Her current camera is a Canon EOS 350D and her favorite lense is the 70-200mm 2.8f IS USM. Among her major influences Sanne lists her dad, the DeviantArt community, and an equine photographer that she met by chance. "Meeting her made me realize that professional photography was not just marriage reportage, but could also be pet photography, something which I like very much," she says. Someday Sanne would like to make her photography into a career and be counted among the professionals.
"I want to keep evolving as a photographer. I do not want to do the same thing over and over again."

Go take a look at Sanne's wonderfully composed galleries over at:
http://www.svsfotografie.nl
http://tigress-phan.deviantart.com

Damir Bogdan - "the Goal is the Journey"

Welcome to the world of Damir Bogdan. A world of breath-taking flowerings, beautiful light symphonias, and awe inspiring fractalscapes. At the age of 30 Damir began dabbling in digital art when he received his first computer. Seven years later he has amassed an amazing portfolio filled with pieces so vividly colored and artfully designed that they will demand your attention for hours on end. To create his self-explorative masterpieces Damir mostly uses Apophysis 3D and Photoshop. He lives in Slovenia where he practices meditation and produces experimental electronica music.

To see more of Damir's incredible work or listen to his music visit:
http://love1008.deviantart.com/
http://www.myspace.com/love1008

Nei Ruffino - Colorist Extraordinaire

Today the spotlight falls on Nei Ruffino, a 25 year old freelance colorist from Los Angeles, California. Having never taken any formal instruction, Nei started off as a tattoo artist. Through word of mouth she fell into the career that she now loves and works on various projects from the likes of DC Comics, Zenescope, Hasbro, and Fantasy Flight Games. Nei attributes her entry into the comic world to Dawid Strauss and cites him as being one of her greatest influences, which also includes Christian Lichter, Steve Firchow, and Hueng Tae Kim. Nei's tools of choice include Photoshop CS3, Painter 2 & 9, and her Intous 3 special edition 6 x 11 wacom tablet.
When asked what she wished to achieve with her artistic career, Nei's response was, "I wish to achieve a well known status that lets me work on the things i really enjoy." She then added, "I recently had to reevaluate that question in my mind. It used to be to work on batman, but i have recently achieved that. I still feel i am fairly new in the industry of comics, so i have a ways to go."
On a less artistic note, Nei enjoys chocolate chip soft chews and pecan sandies, prefers cats to dogs, is 5' 2" tall, and will not marry you.

"It can only be two ways....i will either die...and therefore not be able to do art anymore.....or not be able to do art anymore and then die. I cannot imagine any other life."

If you wish to seek out more of Nei's pieces or contact her check the links below.
http://www.neiruffino.com/
http://bakanekonei.deviantart.com/

In the Spotlight... Alexandra Prillaman

Our first featured artist is Alexandra Prillaman. At the age of 21 she hails from Richmond, Virginia. Involved in art from an early age, she began posting pieces online her junior year in high school after she became aware of the internet art community. Some of her major influences stem from digital artists such as Matt Dixon and Nic Klein who "are able to infuse their work with so much life and personality while keeping it gritty, organic, and real." With her Intuos 3 tablet and Photoshop CS3 she produces amazingly colored works using very simple brushes, no tricks, and only one layer while listening to bhangra music.
“I would love to land a job as a concept artist for characters in video games, RPGs, or movies,” she says. “I’d also like to illustrate children’s books, so I’m a little torn.”

You can find more of Alexandra's wonderful work (along with a few purchasable prints) at either of the following links:
http://aprillaman.com
http://thundercake.deviantart.com/