A gold medal?

I’ll take it!

The results of the International Photographic Competition didn’t turn out the way I wanted – but I’m in good company! I got to sit and watch with old friends, new friends, and some of the best photographers and artists in the world. Out of how many entries did my artwork make it to the top eight in the United States? I’ve heard mixed numbers so I won’t repeat them.

I came home with a Gold Medal in the Illustrative/Digital Art category and a Platinum (Top Four) in the High School Senior Category.

What a rush! That’s why I entered. Trophies are great and the cash prize would have been awesome, but the real reason I entered was to feel the rush and excitement from the new, history-making International Photographic Competition. I got to be part of PPA history this week, along with (roughly) sixty-four other photographers and artists.

I cheered people I knew, people I didn’t know, and pretty much forgot that I’d miss out on any money by the end. Friend vs. friend in the competition…dang! I cheered as a commercial image came up and it was a pristine-looking kitchen in the Dallas area. Folks, it had not one but two dishwashers! What’s not to love?

We, the Final Four in the High School Senior category, made a funny picture right before the final judging event as if we were fighting in Mortal Kombat. It was great.

Left to Right: Elizabeth Homan, Me, Ericka Manning, and Karen McCall

So I’d like to take this time to congratulate the sixteen winners. Fantastic job.

Now I’d like to tell you a little bit more about my Digital Art entry, “A Good Death.”

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As many of you know, a few years back I started creating artwork based on the stories I’ve written over the years. All of the stories are connected, each one telling a different aspect of the story. Some of them are battles, some are character portraits, and others still are significant moments in time within the story.

This year, I created several pieces but only one was going to go through to IPC. I knew what I wanted from the start.

Synas of Vahla.

Synas is the son of King Tytin. Tytin was murdered the night before Synas’ wedding day by his daughter, Synas’ sister, Teryl. Teryl’s lover, Mardin, murdered Synas’ older brother, Ronyn. Norys and Venys, the younger siblings, were whisked away to safety before Teryl could murder them, too. Synas survived only to be tortured later on.

Eventually, the story leads to Synas marrying the elven queen, Íralathïl. Together, they would rally the northern elven kingdoms to fight against the Enemy – the great foe of the world. But before they could do that, Teryl marched her armies to the borders of the elven kingdom and the battle you see in the image takes place.

Synas killed Teryl.

Mardin rushed at Synas.

As for how this ends, one of them dies. Which one, though?

The video below will tell you.

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It took about a year to create every image that was used in this piece. Over five-hundred individual images were used for the elements that brought this artwork together, including one stitched landscape image that had thirty-six vertical frames. I traveled across the country for it, from Alabama, Washington, Colorado, and Texas (can you spot the Texas Tech building?).

Playing the part of Synas of Vahla is Kris Baggett. He did an excellent job with the intense emotion.

Mardin, played by a knight in Spokane, also modeled the armored soldiers in the back.

Two rodeo queens in Evergreen, Alabama, modeled the Vahlan cavalry and the elven cavalry. Finally, yours truly modeled the elven archers. I did get to paint some hair on myself, so that was great.

It is true that I’m taking a short break from creating this kind of artwork – but only temporarily. I’m going to spend some time focusing on my studio and the future of my business. For now, though, I hope you enjoy the story and the art that was so near and dear to my heart. I poured a lot of passion into this one.

A year of photographing.

Eighteen hours of Photoshop.

Six months of waiting.

I now present to you “A Good Death.”

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