Artist Name: Cheryl Eng

Art medium(s): Digital Art, Photography, Photo Compositing

Artist bio: My journey to digital Photo Artistry started with a little 110 camera given to me when I was 7 years old. Film eventually led to digital and that meant using Photoshop. I have always enjoyed working in Photoshop. I've taken many classes over the years, and still only use a fraction of its capability. I found that digital scrapbooking wasn't enough and moved onto the more, free form style of Art Journaling. Something was still missing. Then I found the Photoshop Grunge course, and everything fell into place. During the lockdown I learned to use the DAZ 3d Studio to create and pose characters for my work. Though there are still times my family gets roped into posing for me. I find inspiration in music, the written word and even things seen out of the corner of my eye. I use it to create a magical realism, the surreal dreamscape of my imagination. Sometimes the image pops into my head fully rendered and I just have to figure out how to build it. Other times it’s a vague feeling or concept and I have to let it sit and grow and collect until it comes together. I collect images so that I can take pieces and build the images I see in my mind. I think that goes back to my degree in architecture. I build the background, bring in the main character(s) and then fill in the rest of the story. There is magic everywhere, you just have to look for it, listen for it, and really see and hear it. Something a college professor said stuck with me "You can make a beautiful photograph of anything, even something you consider ugly.” The arts have the ability to heal, connect, and help us grow. My art is a journey to all those magical, beautiful places.