Total Art Soul - for artists

Svartr is one of the founder members of Total Art Soul and has shown us much support. After a break away from the site because of moving home, she is back with a vengeance. We're very happy to see that she is now creating truly beautiful digital images.

After nearly failing her computer science courses in high school, Bonita was determined to learn what she failed to grasp in those harrowing hours stuck in a classroom. When she got her first PC in 1994, she gutted the thing without much care if it would work after I put it all back together. That began her love affair with computers from a technical standpoint. She was finally 'cool' and ranked amongst those geeks she had such envy for in high school.

A good friend, who would later become her husband, introduced her to the world of social networking before the Internet was made publicly available. Her Bulletin Board System (BBS) featured ANSI artwork created by their art group. This was her first real bite into Digital Art and the passion has only grown since.

She is a self-taught Digital Artist. Her scope includes Photo-Manipulations, Fractal Art and 3D Modeling. She has used a wide range of programs from professional photo-editors to open-source and abandoned student projects. Her artistic focus changes quickly as she tries new things or re-learn old techniques. Right now, she's into Abstract and Mandalas... tomorrow, who knows?

All Bonita's images are available as canvas prints, framed prints or greetings cards from here.

Bonita is very approachable and is happy to take commissioned work.

Inkyspider aka Kootsac has been a member of TAS almost from the beginning when we first launched on 1st January. We have very much enjoyed seeing her creations appearing in the gallery and her numerous forum posts. She is very committed to caring for the planet too which I admire.

If you were visiting her studio you would make your way up the stairs to the top of a funky old heritage house in a tiny village on a lake set in the mountainous Kootenay region of British Columbia. Perhaps you would notice the stacks of cloth, rich with earthy and bright colours, and a diverse array of patterns and images and wonder how she could make sense of this seeming disarray.

If you looked out the window you would see her inspiration. She grew up in South Africa where she earned a three year diploma in Fine Arts, with a focus on painting and print making techniques.

Recently she has taken a new direction, concentrating solely on the textile arts. She creates patterns and designs on fabric in a combination of traditional and innovative techniques, combining shibori, screen printing, dye, discharge dye and sewing techniques. She has recently returned to school to learn more about pattern drafting and clothing design.

Inky (as I affectionately call her) is inspired by nature, culture, pattern and geometry. Her garments and textiles have a universal, personal and tribal resonance. She likes to design garments and textiles that celebrate our cultural diversity and our connection to nature. She expresses this through vibrant and earthy colour, pattern, movement and texture. Many of the techniques and materials used in her textiles have roots in cultural traditions used worldwide. It is important to her that we preserve these traditions from cultural extinction so that we may

continue to expand on them with new innovations and personal expression.

She always uses natural fibers because they feel better on the body. She dyes, prints and paints her designs on organic cotton tee shirts, clothing and housewares. She uses natural fibers like silk, cotton, wool, linen and hemp. She enjoys deconstructing discarded jackets and coats and redesigning them. She finds these garments in thrift stores and garage sales and chooses them for their original design qualities, natural fabrics and hand tailoring techniques. She redesigns and constructs them and adds new linings and usually some accents of surface design techniques. She continues to move towards more organic fabrics and exploring natural source dyes.

Inkyspider takes custom orders and is a total delight so she would only be too happy if you sent her a message. You can find her re-usable food bags

here

and her wonderful textiles

here

I have long been an admirer of Doreen's work.  She was born in the Uk and emigrated to Australia in 1964. She has lived in Victoria, Queensland and is now living in NSW. She was a late starter and began art in her  40's. She put herself in the deep end with a painting of the famous 12 Apostles in oils. They can be found in Victoria on the Great Ocean Rd. She found that she could paint and from there she went from oils to Watercolor and then Graphite/Pencil drawing and to colorpencil drawing and layering. Her next challenge will be Pastels. She is so happy to have found this wonderful world of art.

I have been admiring her pencil drawings ever since Doreen joined the site.  I love how she just adds a tiny little bit of color in some of her works which is a nice affect.  I also love the fact that many of her subjects are wildlife and she really captures the essence of the animal.

Doreen has really been a big inspiration for me together with MightyFineArt who I featured earlier on.  I found myself really wanting to draw again and to try and get as good as these guys. I have a way to go but it's so wonderful to be inspired by such great talent. 

Doreen has a blog she adds to on a regular basis and where you can see the evolution of her work.  She gives her thoughts out loud and it's a great way to get some insight into the life of a wonderful artist.

Active members on our forum get featured here on our main blog.