Digital Art — 2020 (Part 2: July–December)

July through December 2020 — the pandemic rolls on, the practice continues daily. Halloween arrives in October with a storm of dark art, and December closes the most productive year of the digital career. Each entry links to the original post.

Bonny Mary

The Bonny Mary was one of the finest ships to ever sail the Caribbean. The Captain, as was required by the age, was a right bastard who worked her crew into the ground. Until one night, the crew mutinied and introduced her to the sea floor. Read more →

Alix Takes a Lover

Alix wasn’t looking for love. She was looking for power. But sometimes the two things come packaged together. A character study in ambition and vulnerability. Read more →

The Cage

The cage of privilege — it’s gilded and comfortable, and it’s still a cage. A quiet study in confinement and the invisible walls that wealth erects around those inside it. Read more →

In the Jungle

A person holding a glowing lantern cautiously steps through a dense, foggy jungle. Nearby, in the foreground, a large, ornate sword is embedded in a stone. The scene is bathed in a mystical light, highlighting the surreal nature of the environment.

A light study in a dense jungle environment — working out how to make filtered green light behave. The figure is almost incidental to the atmosphere. Read more →

Woman Warrior

A return to one of the most reliable subjects — the female warrior. Sometimes you just need a woman with a sword standing in dramatic light. No further explanation required. Read more →

Who’s the Real Monster?

The question that sits at the heart of most horror — is the creature the monster, or is it the person holding the torch? A recurring theme given fresh visual treatment. Read more →

“Let Us Play”

The season has turned and the autumn palette is back — and the dark fantastic reasserts itself. Fey creatures have their own rules about invitation and consent. Read more →

Catching Up

A reunion piece — two people catching up after a long absence, the world having shifted substantially around them. The warmth of an old friendship in cold surroundings. Read more →

Death Dealer

A woman with blue skin, dressed in black with intricate patterns on her outfit, points a smoking gun towards the viewer. Her expression is intense, embodying the aura of a Death Dealer. Her hair cascades over her shoulders, and the dark background adds to the mysterious and somber mood.

An homage to Frank Frazetta’s iconic 1973 painting — the Death Dealer reimagined with a female warrior, because why not? The original is one of the most recognisable fantasy paintings ever made. Read more →

Alternate Timeline

In the alternate timeline, the civil war goes differently. A speculative history piece set in the American South — what might 2020 look like if the wrong side had won? Read more →

You for the Long Night

A woman sits in a grassy field with autumn trees in the background. She has a relaxed expression, wearing a white tank top and black pants, with a small black bird perched on her arm. The sky is cloudy, creating a serene atmosphere as you quietly prepare for the long night ahead.

I was inspired to do this by a lyric (e.g. the title) in a Russian song by Miata I was listening to as I stared at a blank canvas. A #vampire (she has fangs but her mouth open made her look odd) has been spending the small hours enjoying #nature with her Rook before the #sunrise – #art #digital #painting #october #halloween #gothic

Vampire’s Kiss

A digital illustration of a woman with long, wavy auburn hair and pale skin, dressed in a white top. She has an intense expression showing prominent fangs, reminiscent of a Vampire’s Kiss. The background features a dark, cloudy sky, a tree, and birds flying near a body of water.

October is here and the obligatory vampire piece arrives. The question the image poses: who is biting whom? The power dynamic in vampire mythology is far more interesting than the folklore admits. Read more →

UnDental

An animated scene shows a woman in a dental chair looking terrified and screaming. A dentist in blue gloves, partially visible, appears to be working inside her mouth while a concerned assistant looks on. The view is from inside the patient's mouth, capturing this truly UnDental moment.

The title is self-explanatory if you look closely at the smile. A dark comedic piece about dental hygiene in the undead community — or the lack thereof. Read more →

Playtime Over

A person with dark hair drinks a cup of coffee. The image is taken from above, capturing their hands holding the mug and part of their face reflected on the coffee's surface. They wear a braided bracelet resembling playful times long gone, their nails neatly manicured with dark polish—a sign that playtime is over.

Midnight in the Tavern

A whimsical illustration depicts a blue-haired elf with pointed ears and a tiara, playfully posing with a large, green-skinned troll who wears a headband and numerous bracelets. The elf has a mischievous smile while the troll looks slightly grumpy. It's as if they just stepped out of "Midnight in the Tavern.

At midnight in the tavern, the regulars are not what they appear. A Halloween tavern scene with more going on in the shadows than the candlelight reveals. Read more →

Midnight Outside the Tavern

The sequel — someone stepped outside for air and discovered the street is no safer than the tavern. Halloween approaches and the world obliges. Read more →

The Witch’s Familiar

A person with a tattoo on their side lies on a bed, holding a glowing, magical orb in their hand. The Witches Familiar, a black cat with white paws, playfully reaches for the orb. The room has an intricate design with ornate elements in the background.

The familiar is not a pet — it is a companion, a co-conspirator, a fellow traveller in the dark places where magic lives. A Halloween eve portrait of the partnership. Read more →

Fey-tal Attraction

A mystical fairy with wings, pink-tinted white hair, and glowing skin lies in a meadow surrounded by green leaves and dandelions. She appears to blow on a dandelion while a large calico cat lurks behind her. Sunlight filters through the scene, creating a dreamy atmosphere filled with Fey-tal Attraction.

A dark Fey piece playing on the title of the 1987 film. Fey creatures are famously unpredictable — what they offer is seldom what it appears. Read more →

The Heist

A fairy with vibrant purple hair and butterfly wings is lying on her stomach, interacting with an anthropomorphic mouse holding a coin. They are surrounded by large coins and a mousetrap, inside a rustic, stone-walled room with stained glass windows—it's like they're plotting "The Heist.

Pre-Halloween, pre-heist. The team is assembled, the plan is airtight, and nobody is discussing the fact that half the crew are demons. That conversation can wait until after the job. Read more →

Fey Nightlife

Silly title, I’m at a loss. This is a continuation of my #Fairy / little people #artistic binge (it’s out of my system, I think). This is what happens to your #phone when you are asleep after a #night on the town. It’s why your #lighter (if you’re into that) is drained, your battery dead, and you’ve dialed your last crush, but swear you didn’t, when you awake the next morning.

Happy

The morning after Halloween and the day of the 2020 election. The title is aspirational. A light and colour study in defiance of the surrounding grimness. Read more →

The Morning Star

A dark-haired woman with glowing eyes holds a shining orb at the viewer's perspective. The background depicts a stormy sky with swirling clouds, punctuated by the presence of The Morning Star and a flock of birds flying ominously. The scene exudes a mystical and eerie atmosphere.

Lucifer — the light bringer, the morning star, the first rebel. A portrait rooted in Milton rather than theology, exploring the ambiguity of the fallen angel mythology. Read more →

Beyond Death’s Door

A mysterious figure in a black hooded cloak stands in a vibrant, mystical garden with twisting vines and colorful foliage. An arched stone doorway in the background reveals a night sky and a hint of an otherworldly landscape beyond, as if they stand poised beyond Death’s Door, ready for action.

Inspired by the game Hades and the broader tradition of the Greek underworld — what waits beyond death’s door may be rather more interesting than what waits this side of it. Read more →

Time

A woman with long wavy hair, wearing a blue top and skirt, stands with arms crossed in front of an ancient-looking, crumbling cityscape at sunset. As if suspended in time, her reflection or double appears to her right while birds fly gracefully in the background.

This was really an exercise in playing around with materials and settings on a primitive to make a #mirror – but the thing about mirrors is that you can’t have a figure in the mirror doing something different or looking different, so I built a way to accomplish this.

The Ruin

A blue-skinned warrior with a spear stands in a desert with sand dunes, facing a person in armor. The warrior wears a patterned outfit and a hooded cloak. The Ruin of stone structures can be seen in the background beneath a sky with moons or planets.

“Kle’itu led the #offworlder to what loosely translated in her language as ‘the #ruin of man’, or, as the strangers had mistranslated, ‘wealth of the people.’ Far out in the #desert it lay, where the mother-ground bleached herself before the twin suns.

A person in a black coat and hat stands on a grassy ledge, facing a large statue draped in colorful cloth, an homage to The Earth Mother. The scene is framed by vibrant green leaves, with an expansive view of the ocean stretching out to the horizon.

I channeled #caspardavidfriedrich to create this #bodyscape #artwork – it’s not my original concept, which was lost in a crash. It was #magical.

Disinclination

Znamya had no interest in getting involved in the partisan wars raging through the once peaceful land. Traveller after traveller came and went, unable to convince the giant to intercede in the affairs of of the little people. He had retreated to the outer lands as reactionaries spilled into public squares, each accusing the other side of being the worst form of evil, while failing to see their own reflection in their poisonous words.

A Wedding to Remember

A woman in a flowing white dress kneels on a beach at dusk, appearing distressed, with her hand to her face. Nearby, a broken sword and tiara lie on the ground—remnants of what was meant to be A Wedding to Remember. Seagulls fly in the darkening, cloudy sky above.

That’s not what you think it is. This is the aftermath of a #bridezilla moment.

Ice Water Nymph

Take a #water #nymph – chill – serve.

Solar Swim

Solar Swim. Yeah, not the greatest title but better than ‘untitled.’ It started out as a #woman swimming #underwater – then I thought “what if #water was #space?

And I Ran…

This #digital #art finished rendering sometime in the early morning. It’s based on the #flockofseagulls song that was bee-bopping around my head last night.

Гадюка “The Viper”

A confident woman in a black dress and hat stands in a luxurious room, holding a pistol in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Known as Гадюка “The Viper,” she is surrounded by three people: a man in a gray suit looking back at her, another man walking away, and a woman in a purple dress.

A portrait of a Russian assassin — the kind of operative who is both the weapon and the strategy, and who would be entirely offended to be described as merely dangerous. Read more →

“Wait! What’s wrong with your eyes?”

A close-up of a woman with red hair, black lipstick, and a nose ring in dim lighting. She is staring directly at the camera as if to say, "Wait! What’s wrong with your eyes?" To the left, a gun is partially visible, and in the background is a tree and a streetlight against a cloudy night sky.

TJ and Jimmy had been cruising all night looking for the means to their next high. As they crossed Southside and Lewis, into a dangerous area commonly referred to as the ‘hunting grounds’, due to the immense levels of crime in the area, they suddenly saw her. The snow-bunny, as they called white girls, was walking alone.

Ascension

A digitally rendered scene depicts a dramatic, fiery landscape with a prominent female figure in an orange, form-fitting outfit and halo, standing amid intense flames. She appears to be pulling a large chain as if ascending to the heavens. Surrounding buildings and cityscape are visible in the background.

Ascension – Working title, okay, the title, because I’m lazy. What’s it mean? It’s a representation of time, sin, and absolution. If one can visualize that all time streams, past (a burning of an innocent), present (an exotic dancer), and future (I haven’t related the mech, it just looks futuristic) exist in the same space simultaneously, this is my take on it.

The Skydragon

A fantasy warrior woman with pink hair stands confidently outdoors with a spear. She wears a one-shoulder green dress adorned with red armor and has a skull tattoo on her thigh. Ruins and greenery surround her, while The Skydragon's presence looms near a wooden structure and a desolate tree in the background.

Irina Skydragon (Ирина дракон небесного) is the #character I’m playing in a #5e #dungeonsanddragons campaign. She’s a #kalashtar #celestial #warlock of ancient nobility – #skydragon because in Chinese mythology the greatest of the dragons is a celestial being, although she speaks with a Russian accent.

Draw

Thomasin challenges Black Phillip to a game of #chess instead of signing his book. Neither win.

Girl with a Clever Hat

A girl with fair skin and hazel eyes is wearing a large, wide-brimmed straw hat. She has a pearl earring and a delicate necklace. Her top has a green, leafy pattern. The girl with the clever hat is looking slightly over her shoulder with a calm expression. The background is dark green.

Yep, it started as yet another take on my favorite painting Twee tronijnen geschildert op sijn Turx by Vermeer aka Girl with a Turban aka Girl with a Pearl Earring.

The Uninvited

Some new art for Thanksgiving.

Noir Kitten

A green humanoid creature in a white tank top is sitting at a wooden desk, interacting with a holographic interface. The desk has a tablet, a bottle, a glass, and a noir kitten. A warm lamp lights the scene. The background is a rustic, industrial room.

In the gritty near #future of a #dystopian #fantasy world, Rag studied the holo-screens. He’d been hired to find this woman, he didn’t ask questions beyond what was needed to catch the #kitten – this would be an easy job for the grizzled private investigator.” – More #Digital #Art for my two fans (thank you 🙂 It’s kind of a foray into the #noir of the old fifties movies.

0xE00

A futuristic figure with glowing orange wings stands in a dynamic pose on a hexagonal patterned floor. Illuminated by vibrant colors, a reflective black sphere mirrors the figure’s silhouette. Abstract, metallic structures in the background hint at an advanced 0xE00 realm.

Something different from usual. What is it? Maybe an imagining of the moment a CPU encounters a fatal error.

Dreams of the 99 Percent

A shirtless man with a shaved head and tattoos sits against a wall surrounded by trash, including an empty bottle, cartons, and a can. His eyes appear vacant, revealing the shattered Dreams of the 99 Percent. In the background, a person leans out of a window. Graffiti is visible on the wall behind him.

As we head towards a dystopian future where the rich 1% keep the rest of us (the 99%) fighting each other over political and social ideals, while they cart-off the peoples resources under the guise of public service – oh, wait, it’s already happening.

In Her Image

A meditation on creation — what does it mean to make something in one’s own image? The piece is philosophical rather than theological, even if the imagery borrows from both traditions. Read more →

Inconvenient Exit

I was watching the 2012 version of Total Recall the other night and there’s a scene where Kate Beckinsale, sigh, slides out a window firing a weapon. Then I watched a Korean movie called 2009: Lost Memories which has a villain that dies all too early in the movie.

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