Digital Art Muses

Digital artistry operates on the same principles as all other types of art. The Muses who watch over this particular form of art each have their own areas they protect and inspire. Like the sister-goddesses of Greek Myth, there are nine digital artistry muses:

Esperanza: Hope

Esperanza: Story 

We seldom recognize the connection of things until the choose to make themselves known through their stories. Esperanza wove her way into my life over several years, one unrelated bit at a time, until all the pieces were close enough to fuse into a powerful, living, if imaginary, being.

Not all art tells a tale, but sometimes all the elements of an image come together to create a story that reflects you and the world around you. In that moment, a spark passes between you, the artist, and the viewer, and a new ray of hope and understanding is born into the world. 

 

Bailanda: Dance

Bailanda: Energy, movement and dance 

A young woman in an ancient dance makes homage to the ancestors and to the spirit of the water.

Lines and direction create movement in an image and lead the viewer’s attention to certain areas creating a more interesting and balanced visual flow. When an image dances, it creates energy within the viewer.

Harmonia: Amor Y Gratitude

Harmonia: Unity and Harmony

 Harmonia sounds the call for love and gratitude. The primal sound of conch connects us with nature and the mysteries of the world unseen, the world artists attempt to capture with their arts.

Digital art often blends many different elements together. Art happens when they are joined together in harmony and tone achieving a wholeness that creates something new, a bit of beauty and peace that feeds a hungry world.

Profunda: Depth

  

Profunda: Surprise and Mystery 

Profunda calls for unexpected combinations or altered perceived distances or locations which can create a sense of surprise or mystery that lets us see things in a new way and deepens our connection to the world.

She asks us to see beauty in the discarded elements of life, push past the surface of things to discover the mysterious inner workings, and to recognize the magic of connection when it occurs.

Profunda showed up in disguise as what I thought was a broken and thrown away toy. While I felt a connection to her stance and regal bearing, she did not reveal her identity as one of the nine digital muses. Only later, when a friend asked whether she might be one, did I recognize her true identity. 

I hope she doesn't leave. I promise to be especially kind and sensitive to her from now on. She told me, "You thought I was a castaway when actually I was an offering to the elf world. I am here to help you see beyond your eyes."

Other muses waiting to manifest themselves:

Ariana: Color, Adjusting the dominant color scheme, or weighing it toward a warm or cool color bias, can create unity and balance as well as an altered mood.

Luna: Value, contrast, balance - Varying the placement of light and dark within the composition can create emphasis, contrast or balance, depending on intent.

Alicia: Shape, using proportion and scale, to change how we relate to the elements of the image.

Marvella: Magic and fantasy, using the juxtaposition of reality and imagination in a way that leads to truth.

Cantarla: Repetition, music, and rhythm through tone and texture. Accentuating the tonal intensity and perception of texture can create rhythm and emphasis and create a kinesthetic connection with the world.