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.

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A quick note: For the time being, I have taken all site registration requirements away. I set them up before because of various issues with bandwidth hammering and other misuse of my server and/or content, but I've thought it over and I'm going to try this and see how it goes. If I start having a lot of trouble with the kinds of issues that made me make some areas of site "registration only" to begin with, I'll have to go back to that. For now, though, it's all open (although still protected by copyright, hehe).

Q. Are you a professional artist?

A. More or less.

In college, I studiied Fine and Applied Art and Design, and I've been drawing since I could hold a crayong. 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.

I'm also a freelance web designer, although I take on fewer clients now than I once did, partly because I prefer to concentrate on my digital art, and partly because I have two little children to look after.

You can certainly hire me to do custom artwork. I can and will do images for various web and print purposes (prints, CD covers, web graphics, logo work, etc.). Please feel free to drop me a line if you're interested in something like that.

Q. I saw some fantasy character type illustrations in your gallery. Can I hire you to make one for me?

A. Yes.

I used to do hand-drawn character portraits for people back in the days when I was active in fantasy roleplaying, and I've also started to do digital RPG charcter portraits on a commission basis, so not only do I have the interest, I have some experience in the field and I'm used to working with clients. I'm very affordable, so please feel free to contact me if you're interested in a custom portrait.

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, you may NOT use my artwork for any purpose without my prior written consent.

And the reason the answer is "no" is not, as some people have accused, because I am "mean" or "stingy" or "greedy" or "money grubbing". (It amazes me that people think you can be "stingy" with your own goods and property, but that's another discussion entirely.)

Digital art is not created out of nothingness. It doesn't just magically appear with the wave of a magic wand (or mouse). It costs money to buy all the programs, models, filters, and various extras. It also involves a considerable investment of time, effort, knowledge, and creativiy. The end product is something which is original, new, and which has its own instrinsic value, in artistic and other ways.

It's not that unlike a potter making plates, cups, bowls, and so forth. The end product is unique and not very much like the ingredients of clay, water, and glaze made of powdered glass and pigment, and it wasn't done with magic but with a potter's wheel, time, effort, and hours in the kiln. Most of all, it was done with skill and expertise.

Just because my artwork happens to be made on a computer doesn't make it any less real, and it certainly doesn't mean that it has no inherent value as intellectual/digital property.

I use my artwork in ways that earn me actual income. When someone else comes along takes my artwork without permission, circulates it, cuts it up, makes it into tubes (stamps, nozzles, etc.), makes it into web graphics, "shares" it (in any form), etcetera, they dilute the value of the work and undercut my ability to make a living. I don't know about you, but I actually have bills to pay, and messing around with my ability to profit from my own work is not only a violation of international copyright laws, it strikes me as quite thoughtless and downright nasty. You "like" my work enough to chop it up, recirculate it without crediting me, and decrease its value...? Thanks, but no thanks.

Now, I'm going to quote a friend of mine, Shawn Backus, with her permission:

"Stationary or other graphic uses of my artwork is strictly forbidden! I have gotten emails regarding this in the past and why am I so stingy, mean etc. "It's personal or non-profit therefore it's fine!"

The fact is that once a stationary is created and distributed it is snatched up by various others who then re-work it and offer it again. This is extremely unfair to the original artists for a variety of reasons.

First of all "Fair use" by the standards of the law means that you are showcasing, reviewing or using for educational purposes, it does not mean that if you aren't earning a profit you can do what you'd like. Furthermore "Fair Use" requires that copyright information be displayed, this is often not the case with stationary, tubes etc.

Most importantly these types of "Graphic" use do not display the artwork in their best presentation and that is something that is of the most importance to any artist.

Lastly for those who cry that I'm stingy or mean. No I'm not, but this is my passion and my livlihood. If I came to your home and took something that was very precious to you would you think that was "Fair use"? If I intentionally and wrongly (even illegally) undercut you at work and you lost your job or income - would you feel that is fair? There really isn't much difference."

I think that just about sums it up.

And just for the record, I feel this way because I've had my work taken without my permission, chopped up, recirculated without credit, even used in commercial projects, all without my consent. It just bothers 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. I hope the high heaven these people never, ever use any public libraries; I'd hate to think what they'd do to the books!

Usually I don't give permission because it's so hard to police and keep track of who has permission and who doesn't and who's using what, etc., and also because some of my work was created for clients who probably wouldn't like to see their project all over the net in various forms.

Q. Can I buy prints of your images?

A. Absolutely.

At the moment, I have a store at Zazzle with some of my work in it. (Note that to see some of the images, you have to be logged in an verified as being of an appropriate age).

If the image you'd like isn't in the store, let me know what you're interested in and what size you'd like, and we'll go from there. I can do many of my images as prints (some I can't, but many I can remake if necessary).

Q. Why do you do nudes/fairies/fractals/whatever?

A. Why not?

Basically, like any other artist, I make images that please me. I like nudes, and enjoy the challenge of making them artful and attractive (and not just "hey, look at the nekkid chick!" pictures).

I do fairies and other winged beings because I have this fascination with wings. I don't know why, really. Probably it's from a childhood desire to fly away from my family and my life, but I don't really know. I just like them, and so I do images of them.

I do a lot of pictures with cute little kids or childlike creatures because I happen to like and have cute little kids.

Fractals absolutely amaze me. I get lost in them very easily and very quickly. It's almost mesmerizing, and infinitely relaxing (and just plain infinite; we are talking about fractals, after all).

Pretty much anything you see in the gallery is there because I just happen to enjoy the genre or the challenge, and I thought others might like the end result.

Q. May I link to your site?

A: Of course!

Please link to http://elizabyte.com/ and I even have some banners you can use if you like:

This website was designed to be viewed with a current browser (5.x and above), 1024x768 screen resolution or higher, 32bit color depth. You can view it reasonably well at 800x600, and you can use 16bit color depth, but some of the images will have banding and other displays that are less than optimal.

Registration is required to download any of the goodies or view the gallery images. This restriction has been imposed due to some issues with bandwidth and other abuses. Rest assured, registration is free, easy, private, and very quick.

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 now owns her own web development company and happily works from home.

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), humor (Monty Python being a favorite), internet culture, music, photography, cinema, theology, philosophy, psychology, a few other -ologies, cats, travel, parenting, 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.

For more information on Bonni and her life and interests, plus lots of her original writings of various sorts, please feel free visit her personal domain, BonniNet.

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.

All of 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, and Tiera-Zon. Some of the images were based on digital photographs and were then manipulated and altered using various graphics programs. Bonni no longer works with traditional media, unless you count doodling on an envelope while talking on the phone. Desipte the fact that traditional paints and equipment smell really good and create a nice atmosphere, digital art is much neater and it's cool to have a whole studio on your desktop.