Exclusive Interview to :



Deanna Hancock



Interview by Jerry Composano

Digital Artworks proudly presents Deanna Hancock :

Digital
Artworks
Welcome to Digital Artworks, Deanna. We are honored to keep company with such talent.

First tell our readers about Deanna, the mystery woman with no “about” link on her site.

Deanna It's strange you mentioned that, as I was just thinking the other day, I really should finish the one I started a year ago. 

I've had pages on the Internet since 1995, so now that the year 2001 has arrived (and due to some prodding from friends), I guess it is about time to put the obligatory, but boring stuff ..... about me, online ... here we go.

I was born too many years ago for discussion here .. but I was born.
I've spent the majority of my life in Idaho, with the exception of ten
years spent in Alaska. A beautiful state with wonderful scenery, which has been a great inspiration for my dabbles in computer art. It was also in Alaska where I discovered the wonders of home computers with a VIC-20 ... anyone remember those? Cassette tapes for storage devices! But I became hooked and when the Commodore-64 became available, I immediately upgraded. A few years later another upgrade to a PC clone with a huge amount of storage .. 40MB(s) of hard drive space. WOW! I was on my way
for sure.

During eight of those years in Alaska I was employed as an
Administrative Assistant with the Department of Corrections, State of Alaska, where I also had the pleasure of working with computers in a professional setting. It was so great having fun at your place of employment .. like heaven. That's all there is ...


Digital
Artworks
Most people assume that artists of your caliber, and web designers with top notch pages, as yours is, have been extensively trained. Have you had any formal training in Art, Graphics, or web design ?

Deanna No, nothing formal, I'm basically a self-taught person, using the many books and tutorials that are available. I didn't take any art classes during my school years and really had no interest in it then. My interest really only started about 4 years ago when I began with 'tube' paintings with PSP and then did a few 'online' tutorials learning to 'paint from scratch' and found real enjoyment and satisfaction completing them. I discovered Bryce two years ago and it's been a love affair with that software, it's capabilities, discoveries and surprises.
I did take an online class from the HTML Writer's Guild for Dreamweaver, but that's it. Once again, I do my learning by doing, experimenting, tutorials and whatever works that satisfies my (and some would say), perfectionist requirements.

Digital
Artworks
How do you spend your time while not creating art? Do you have a career?

Deanna I am retired (opted out with early retirement) from the State of Alaska, Dept. of Corrections. I was born and raised in Idaho, USA, but spent 10 years in Alaska from 1980 to 1990. Alaska is a beautiful state with gorgeous scenery, but I was very happy to return to the 'lower 48.'

 

Digital
Artworks
Before we get to the good stuff and discuss your images, tell us about the system you run.

Deanna I am currently running with an HP 550 MHz Intel Pentium III, Windows 98SE, 384 Ram (maxed out), NVIDIA RIVA TNT Display with I believe, 16MB Ram and I need to up that, 27 GB Hard Drive, which is adequate, but filling up rapidly. I began working with Bryce using a 233MHz, 64MB Ram system and quickly learned it was not going to be adequate for my needs.
The image that Gary Vennie and I collaborated on, "Celebration of
Spring," nearly brought that system to it's knees, so to speak. The Bryce file was huge, by far the largest I've ever done, even with the new system. There were eleven poser figures, a few models, plus a dog, a cat and a considerable amount of foliage. It was then I decided I needed a more powerful system.


Digital
Artworks
Your command of Bryce and Poser are astounding. What’s extremely interesting to me is what you do with Paint Shop Pro. Your tube paintings are awesome. My favorite would have to be “Old Mill Stream” in your Tube Painting Gallery.
Tell me what tube painting is and how you became so good at it.

Deanna Tubes are much the same as 'Nozzles' in Painter. This is where my interest in art really got it's start, I guess. Some people use them in other ways, but, for me, I found using an individual tube as an art object was what worked for me. I would start with say, a building and just build from there. I'm not sure I was that good, but practice, practice and more practice usually helps.


Digital
Artworks
I am very moved by your Bryce/Poser image titled “The Watchers”. Tell us what that image means to you.


Deanna Thank you. I really don't remember, but believe it might have been a song I was listening to while I was working on it. Sometimes I just 'go with the flow' .. whatever is happening at the time.

Digital
Artworks
I ask every artist this very same question. Where do you get your influence ?

Deanna A very good question, Jerry. My inspirations come from many sources, music, looking out the window at a beautiful sky, a gorgeous sunset, or a snowy, blustery, winter day. Often times I get an idea, or see a picture in the middle of the night, perhaps from a dream, I don't really know. I see a picture in a magazine and think "I can Bryce that" .. from life experiences, both happy and sad. The inspiration really comes from everything in my life and that has happened in my life. 

My very early inspiration came from an online friend, D'Lan de Caresk, who started the WET (Week End Theme) project in the alt.binaries.comp-graphics newsgroup in 1998, I believe. D'Lan was an inspiration for my work, much like Grandmother Beth, positive in his feedback and inspiring me to take the next step, which was Bryce. Unfortunately, D'Lan died from cancer, only a few months later.

A great deal of inspiration came from living in Alaska for a brief time and the beautiful scenery there. Those images were created in the early stages of my Bryce experience and can be seen in the Alaska Gallery.


Digital
Artworks
Other artists are often the driving force when developing a style. Who is your favorite artist ? 

Deanna Tough one, I admire the work of so many, both past and present. The current artist that inspired me would definitely be Grandmother Beth. I saw her work on the alt.binaries.3d.bryce newsgroup just before I decided to give Bryce a try. What a talented lady and I thank her for the inspiration she gave so freely to everyone. I favor (boring, to some) landscapes, over modern, sci-fi, or abstract type of art, although I do enjoy some of the fantastic work that others do in those areas. I really admire the work of Bev Doolittle, her art is fascinating and also the artwork by L.S. Lowry, very beautiful in it's simplicity. I believe his work has influenced what I tend to portray in my images a great deal. Each and every day I encounter additional artists who soon become a favorite ...

Digital
Artworks
How about a favorite piece of art by another artist ?

Deanna

There are really far too many to name, both current and past. The
digital, computerized art and artists are truly amazing. In a way, I'm glad I was a 'late bloomer' and didn't have to deal with the messy paint, cleaning brushes, etc., like my Mom did .. perhaps a few of her paintings, that are hanging on my walls, would be my current favorites.

Digital
Artworks
What is your favorite image that you have created ?


Deanna I would have to say the first one that won an award, "The Wild River Runs". This image was basically a dedication to my Mom and my first real challenge in post render work. I spent a lot of hours and some frustration with this one, so I guess it would be my favorite.

Digital
Artworks
Well Deanna, it’s been a pleasure corresponding with you over the past several weeks. You have been a great influence for me. I’m trying tubes out, as you know since I got most of them from you J, and it’s a lot of fun. Thank you for participating in the Digital Artworks monthly interview. This makes you our First Lady.

Deanna

Thank you Jerry and thanks to all the residents of Digital Artworks. You provide an excellent online outlet for all computer artists. I visit daily just to see all of the wonderful work submitted there, which is an inspiration as well. Thanks.

 I've spent a good deal of time looking at much of Marie-Claude's work on her tribute page. I had seen most of what she posted on the newsgroup  and one that struck me was her image, "The Camp". I guess I was  influenced by her work more than I realized. The really strange and  perhaps, one might even call spiritual feeling, is that my last two  images, 'Simple Black and White' and 'Al's Place', in particular, remind me so much of Marie's image. I didn't know of her death while  working on them and had only seen her image the one time she posted it  to the group. I learned of her passing while putting the finishing touches on 'Al's Place.' It's a very strange feeling, almost as if she  was guiding my thoughts and my art. 

Thank you, Marie-Claude.

DEANNA

 


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