Mystic Sparrow issue 21 - dec 2018 | digital artistry
by
Ali Oppy 1
ALI OPPY - New Zealand I’ve always enjoyed creating art, and I have tried many different art forms. One of my most enjoyable was creating paintings using spray paint to the accompanying sound of upbeat music in front of a live audience. After many years of doing this, however, I decided it was time to move to something new. I soon discovered the digital world and fell in love with Photoshop. With no digital art skills, I started to create using Photoshop and a few other editing programs. And after many hours spent watching tutorials and many dedicated hours spent practicing, I started creating fantasy artwork in what I hoped might become my own style — limited only by my imagination.
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I discovered Sebastian Michaels, his Photoshop Artistry course, and then “AWAKE” Living the Photo Artistic Life.” and now doing the ‘KAIZEN” course. I thought here is my chance to try and improve my art and try and refine how I do my art. Looking for my own artistic name was something I wanted from early on, and it ultimately came to me through the sadness of my father passing away. At my father’s funeral a sparrow flew in and stayed for the whole time of the service to the end and then flew away. This was how the creation of my artistic name ‘Mystic Sparrow’ came about. When I first started, I created work in a variety of styles, from fantasy to surreal, trying to discover my own unique style. I now love to create what I think of as “Fantasy Female Portraits.” My world of mystical and magical fantasy art seems to carry a touch of mystery, which I think further brings my “Mystery Sparrow” to life in my art. In fact, I incorporate a small sparrow within all of my images, sometimes obvious sometimes not so obvious. A specific process I tend to follow when I work is ... I start with a general idea of what I want to attempt, and pick out my model ... then I build the background ... and bringing those together, I begin layering in other images. Everything else grows from there. I just keep adding different images, and most times what I have in mind never quite ends up the way I expected. I will add an image ... and what do you know ... another idea occurs to me,so I run with that one until I am happy with how it looks. Add another image, and off I am again, chasing down another idea that struck me. When creating my images, I often get so lost in the process, I feel I end up in the world of fantasy. The outside world ceases to exist. I usually have about four different compositions on the go at any one time so when I get stuck and don’t know what to do next, I leave that image and move to another. Later on, I will come back to my original piece with fresh eyes. In the end, it probably takes me on average about 40 hours to complete any one piece of art. Many artists now inspire my creativity. As do fantasy movies, like Maleficent (my all-time favourite). I also surf the internet for fantasy artwork to see what sparks my imagination. My most loved artist is the painter Jim Warren with his fantasy and surreal type art. He is a great inspiration. For me, I think it’s that I now see life itself as an artistic creation ... one that I can enhance and carry further within my fantasy world — a world of pure creativity, without boundaries. My artistic journey so far has seen my art published in the “Artists Down Under” magazine [featuring the AWAKE artists of Australia and New Zealand] as well as “Fine Art Photography from Around the World” magazine. Most exciting of all was being featured in the April 2018 edition of “Living The Photo Artistic Life” magazine, and having one of my images on the cover, was something I thought was going to only be a dream. When creating my art I like to run by the rules of, set your own goals, create for your own satisfaction, and enjoy every artistic creation you create. Decide from the start to leave your mark as an artist for the universe to enjoy. We are all our own unique creators, each of us living our own artistic life. So most of all, just love what you do and have fun doing it.
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D i s gu i s e M e M au v e
25
P r i d e A n d Pl ac e
7
Da n c e O f D i s gu i s e
26
Pi x i e P e r f ec t
8
Siofr a
27
Fo r e s t S pi r i t
9
T h e Hou r G l a s s
28
Whi te Wi ngs
10
E ncha n te d Sky
29
F ly i n g Sou t h
11
H i dd e n So r row
30-31
A n g e l O f D i s gu i s e
12
Sou n d s O f S i l e n c e
32
S ta i rway To M y T h oug h t s
13
S pi d e r e l l a
33
T h e Fa e Fa l l s
14
Au t u m n Fox
34
S e n s ua l Fa l l s
15
F i r e bi r d
35
S w e e t S c o r pi a n
16
S u bt l e D i s gu i s e
36-37
P h a n tom Blu e
17
Wi se Wi ngs
38
I n c y W i n c y S pi d e r
18
Au t u m n Fa i ry
39
M i n d Sou l
19
Be au t i f u l M u s i c 1
40
D r e am s O f F l i g h t
41
Mia
Be au t i f u l M u s i c 2
4
20
B r a i d e d Fa l l s
42
Ca l i s ta
21
Ca l l a
43
Devil De sire s
22
T w i l i g h t Ro s e
44
E l ec t rov i n e
23
Lady C h r i s s a
45
Fad e d F l i g h t
24
R e d W i n d O f T h e Fo r e s t
46
Got h i c Qu e e n
47
I l lu m i n at i o n
70
S to r m
48
Lady I gua n a
71
Em e rg e
49
B ro k e n D r e am s
72
Qu e e n F lo r a
50-51
Vo i c e s
73
52
D r e am O n
74
Au t u m n B r e e z e
53
H i bi s c u s Fa l l s
75
L e t ’ s F ly Away
54
Se a N ymph
76
Release Me
55
Tree N ymph
77
E s ca p e
56
W i l low
78
D r ag o n f ly So S h y
57
Adr ia na
79
D r e am i n g
58
R e r ly da n
80
S wa n So n g
59
S e n T h e Wood Fa i ry
81
W i n g s pa n
60-61
Lu c i d D r e am s
82-95
T h e Zod i ac S e r i e s
62
F ly L i k e A n Eag l e
63
M ot h e r T i m e
64
D e l i cat e D e s i r e s
- Tau ru s
65
So l i t u d e
- Ge mi ni
66
Awa k e n i n g
67
Hau n t e d V i s i o n
68
Lady O f T h e Lot u s
69
Co c oo n
K e e pi n g Watc h
- Aqua r i u s - Pi s c e s
- Arie s
- Ca n c e r - L eo - V i rg o - L ibr a - S c o r pi o - Sag i t ta r i u s - Ca p r i c o r n 5
Disguise Me Mauve 6
Dance Of Disguise 7
Siofra 8
The Hour Glass 9
Enchanted Sky 10
Hidden Sorrow 11
Sounds Of Silence 12
Spiderella 13
Autumn Fox 14
Firebird 15
Subtle Disguise 16
Wise Wings 17
Autumn Fairy 18
Beautiful Music 1 & 2 19
Braided Falls 20
Calla 21
Twilight Rose 22
Lady Chrissa 23
Red Wind Of The Forest 24
Pride And Place 25
Pixie Perfect 26
Forest Spirit 27
White Wings 28
Flying South 29
Angel Of Disguise 30
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Stairway To My Thoughts 32
The Fae Falls 33
Sensual Falls 34
Sweet Scorpian 35
Phantom Blue 36
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Incy Wincy Spider 38
Mind Soul 39
Dreams Of Flight 40
Mia 41
Calista 42
Devil Desires 43
Electrovine 44
Faded Flight 45
Gothic Queen 46
Illumination 47
Lady Iguana 48
Broken Dreams 49
Voices 50
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Dream On 52
Hibiscus Falls 53
Sea Nymph 54
Tree Nymph 55
Willow 56
Adriana 57
Rerlydan 58
Sen The Wood Fairy 59
Lucid Dream 60
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Fly Like An Eagle 62
Mother Time 63
Delicate Desires 64
Solitude 65
Awakening 66
Haunted Vision 67
Lady Of The Lotus 68
Cocoon 69
Storm 70
Emerge 71
Queen Flora 72
Keeping Watch 73
Autumn Breeze 74
Let’s Fly Away 75
Release Me 76
Escape 77
Dragonfly So Shy 78
Dreaming 79
Swan Song 80
Wingspan 81
The Zodiac Series
82
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Aquarius 84
Pisces 85
Aries 86
Taurus 87
Gemini 88
Cancer 89
Leo 90
Virgo 91
Libra 92
Scorpio 93
Sagittarius 94
Capricorn 95
https://mystic-sparrow.pixels.com/ https://artboja.com/art/lzqpfy/
© Ali Oppy
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