This domain is the pixelated playground of an eccentric and alliterative designer with an ongoing fascination for the technology of communication.
Computer technology has far to go to duplicate the spirit and excitement of art. When such a day is reached, however, it will require an artist to do the programming. - Gerald Oster (Optical Art, 1965)
The tools are digital, realized within the silicon pathways of a computer processor. The mind and eye that conceives are those of an artist of flesh and blood, hopes and dreams, heart and soul. No amount of silicon memory and complex mathematics will ever replace these.
About the Artist
Elizabyte is the nickname of geek, designer,
and artist, Bonni Elizabeth Hall. She
was born in New York in May of 1964
and, as the daughter of a military family,
lived all over the United States and
in Europe, and is now an Australian citizen.
Bonni first discovered the internet in
1993, a time when Usenet was still worth
reading and the majority of email addresses
ended in .edu.
Although formally educated in Fine and Applied Art and Design and with
an employment history which included such jobs as floral designer, fast
food jockey, retail clerk, and factory drone, Bonni eventually, and probably
inevitably, found herself working as a professional Information Technologist,
a career in which she learned that all of those amusing "how stupid
people are" stories told by support techs are completely true.
Bonni has, in fact, been making art (or some facsimile thereof)
since she was old enough to hold a crayon, but her interests also include
history (particularly English history), humour (Monty Python being a favorite), internet culture,
music, photography, cinema, theology, philosophy, psychology, a few other -ologies,
metaphysics (but not physics), cats, travel, and creative writing (not necessarily in that
order).
Bonni is very happily married to Andrew
Bromage, her own personal Alpha Geek,
whom she met on the net in 1994. Several
years, one face-to-face meeting, considerable
effort, and lots of paperwork later,
they were married on Easter Sunday, 4
April 1999 in Melbourne, Australia, where
they make their home with their daughters and her cat. Bonni regards her marriage
to Andrew as one of the few genuinely
sensible things she's ever done with
her life.
Visitors to elizabyte digital art may also enjoy Bonni's photography: Bonni's Picture Gallery, which is part of BonniNet, her personal domain.
About the Art
Bonni's artwork has received notice from many sources. She has won numerous
awards, and her work has been featured in the print media as well as on
the web.
The original artwork on the elizabyte domain is digital, built
purely out of pixels and imagination. Most is 100% created, using such
programs as Photoshop, Poser, Painter, Tiera-Zon, DAZ Studio, Iterations, and a few others. Some of the
images were based on digital photographs and were then manipulated and
altered using various graphics programs.
Note that some of the images portray nudity. Those images have a warning on the thumbnail, so that sensitive viewers may avoid them if they wish.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Are you a professional artist?
A. Yes, and also no.
I have formally studied Fine and Applied
Art and Design, and I've also been drawing
since I could hold a crayon. Over the
years, I've had my artwork exhibited,
I've won prizes in various shows, I've
had my work published in art magazines,
and I've done contract artwork for print and the web.
I have also done custom character portraits on commission, and have been contracted with a publisher to do book covers. I also used to create custom web graphics, usually (but not always) featuring custom artwork.
However... These days I'm extremely selective about the work-for-hire I do. I will still occasionally do work for hire (web design or other art/illustration), but for the most part, I have returned to creating art as a personal source of joy and pleasure, rather than for an income. I now only accept jobs that I am particularly interested in doing, for one reason or another.
Q. May I use your artwork to make sigtags
(tubes, nozzles, brushes, web graphics,
stamps, avatars, email stationery, cross-stitch patterns, needlepoint patterns, anything
else that involves cutting it up and/or using
it in/for something else)?
A. No, sorry. You may NOT use my artwork
for any purpose, commerical or otherwise, without my prior written
consent.
The reason for that is not because I am, as I've been accused of being, "mean" or "money-grubbing" or "stingy". It's because I've had my artwork taken and used and seen it absolutely mangled, covered with sparkly crap, turned into really bad digital cards, and even sold, as in, people took my art, mucked it around, and then sold it on, making a profit from my work (talk about mean!).
It does bother me that some people think
that if they can get their hands (or
right-mouse button) on it, it's theirs
to do with as they please, without any regard at all for the legal and moral rights of the artist. I do hope these people never, ever
use any public libraries; I'd hate to
think what they'd do to the books!
Rant finished.
Q. Why do you do fairies/fractals/photo manipulations/whatever?
A. Why not?
Basically, like any other artist, I make
images that please me to create and to look at.
Pretty much anything you see in the gallery
is there because I just happen to enjoy
the genre, style, or the challenge, and I thought
others might like the end result.
How can I contact you?
Via the contact form (preferred), or bonni AT spamcop DOT net. (Note: spammers will be blocked and/or reported.)
