Fri, Apr 19, 12:54 AM CDT

Artist of the Month - UteBigSmile

May 31, 2015 at 12:00 am by gToon


We are very proud to announce the winner of this months "Artist of the Month" -  Ute Reichling [UteBigSmile]. Ute received nearly twice the number of votes from the Renderosity community for the Artist of the Month. She is a highly regarded artist and friend to many in the community. Ute works primarily with DazStudio and in Mixed Mediums, as you can see in her gallery. She is a talented and imaginative artist who creates evocative imagery which is often infused with themes of fantasy, science fiction, folklore and domestic scenes from history. Ute has contributed an astonishing  3,457 digital artworks since joining Renderosity in 2005.

Ute grew up in Germany in the mid-forties, but moved to Luxembourg where she lived until her daughter passed in 1995 when she moved to Spain. This was where she began to create digital art. Recently, she's moved back to Luxembourg where she lives with her husband and her dog, Biggi. She has had to cope with an amazing amount of grief and pain (a lot of which the Renderosity community has helped her to cope), but somehow she always seems to have a smile. 

Ute was kind enough to answer questions about her art and work menthods. My thanks to her for taking the time out of her schedule and for sharing her life stories with me. 

Renderosity: I love that sweet little dog you are holding in your picture. What is his/her name? Tell me more about him/her. Do you have a lot of pets in your life?

UteBigSmile: This is my little Biggi, she will be 14 this year,sadly she is blind since two years,but she copes very well,mostly because she is always in company of the other two dogs,a mini-poodle and a yorkshire terrier i presume.She is my sunshine and she gave me many years of joy,and thats why i want her to spend the “evening of life” in the best of conditions. There have been pets around me all my life,as a child i had a golden hamster that slept with me in my bed,later i had cats all the time,not fuzzy/special races,but common “housecats”.

Cats always fascinated me for their individuality.

Renderoisty: Your bio on the Renderosity page indicates you are living in Luxembourg right now. Can you tell the Renderosity community a little more about your background? Have youalways been interested in creating art works?

UteBigSmile:  Not really,the way my “agitated”life went on,i had no time for art,i had to work hard to make a living,i was working over 25 years for the european communities,in various functions.I speak 3 languages (german,french,english)and during my stay in spain i also learned “castellano”,the approach towards art came many years later.

After the tragic death of my daughter Diana in 1995 my husband and me ,we immigrated to Spain to start a new life.Sadly in the region we lived,we started to have internet access only around the year 2000 due to problems with the infrastructure,so i spend my time with fantasy and scifi movies and books. When we finally had internet access,i started to build my first private homepage.At that time i was only able to do little pictures in 2d,and after a while this gave me no more satisfaction.

Then in 2006 another tragedy happened,my son Steve who was a locomotive-driver in Luxembourg had a deadly accident,as his train collided with a train coming from france.My still fragile world broke completely apart and fell into shambles,depressions,psychotherapists,and darkness came upon me.

In 2008 my husband rené aka renecyberdoc then went searching in the net and he stumbled upon Daz Studio and Bryce which we got offered for free,we did not wanted to spend money into a software we did not knew if it would be the right thing.Today we are both addicted to daz studio and the 3d-communities and having the chance of being retired and sharing the same hobby,we spend our time inspiring and supporting each other.

I can go as far as to say that the art and the community here at renderosity saved my life, After having spend 17 years in spain,we decided to move back to our home country,the main reason beeing that i have another daughter Severine living in Luxembourg,and we wanted to get the “surviving”family as close as possible together.

Our start in our homeland was not that perfect,as within the first two weeks i broke my ankle bones,and now after all these months i still have pain,and its difficult to walk.But because i always kept my smile i use the artist name UteBigSmile

 


Renderosity: The image in your gallery, "Just want to see you a last time near..." (see image at top of page) is a favorite in the Renderosity community? What inspired you to create this image? How did you go about making it?

UteBigSmile: Thats a pure fantasy that came into my head,it is about a girl from outer space,who fell in love with a young man from planet earth,and because she has to go back home,she asks the young man to come to the blue cross,the place where they first met. Sad story isn't it?.


Renderosity: What kinds of applications do you use to create your art works? What is your work process?


UteBigSmile: In the first line i work with my main application,daz Studio,but i also use premade backgrounds or photographs from friends and artists (with their permission of course),wich inspire me to do some work with them.But often i start with an idea and the result is completely different from
 what i started with,it goes as far as to create a completely new work,that has absolutely nothing to do with the original idea.I get carried away so to speak,thats the most fun.I have no “default-linear”way of doing my works,i just let the inspirations carry me away (lol)

 

Renderosity: I notice that science fiction and fantasy/fairy tales are a theme in your works, do you read a lot in those genres?

UteBigSmile: I dont have much time to read in fact,but my husband and me watch a lot of fantasy and sci-fi movies on netflix/TV


Renderosity: Your characters often have very intense expressions. Is this something you work carefully on?

UteBigSmile: I work very carefully on expressions and details,i dont want my characters to look like puppets,i want to breathe life into them with expressions and interaction,i talk to my characters when i create them (lol),my artist-fellows here in the community always call me “queen of expressions”.I also pay very much attention to all details,like lips,eyes make up outfits,they all have to go together otherwise i am not satisfield.


Renderosity: What kinds of art do you love?

UteBigSmile: I love lots of different art-styles,Toons,comics,mangas,fantasy,apocalyptic,science-fiction and even fractals,depends on in which mood i am ,at that very moment when i fire up my DazStudio and start creating,same with music,i love rock,pop and reggae, but also classic,vivaldi,mozart,chopin etc.i am not limited in my mind i have a very open mind and i let the inspirations come in and flow around.

 

Renderosity: How has the renderosity community affected you and your works?

UteBigSmile: Renderosity is for me like a big virtual family,and i often get inspired by other artists works.The community inspires me and keeps me going,the contact and interaction with my fellow artist-friends always stimulates me,and pushes me further and further. 

 

Renderosity: If someone wanted to start creating digital art using Mixed Media, what advice would you give them?

UteBigSmile: To be frank, I dont know,everybody is different and feels different,i just open my application and let the juices of inspiration come in,i never force it though.And the fun and the happiness you have creating should be the number one goal.Lots of ideas come spontaneous in daily life,i can for example sit on a terrace watch the people go by and imagine the weirdest things (smile),run home and start doing something be it mixed medium or 3d,whatever turns up,be flexible.

  

 

Be sure to visit UteBigSmile's Gallery and Homepage. 


  

And if you are interested in DazStudio and/or Mixed Medium art be sure to stop by the Renderosity Daz and Mixed Media forums. 

Artist of the Month is highlighting a talented Renderosity artist that has been nominated by mods and admins, and voted by the community. Recognition is given to this member for their collection of works for that year. Since we only select one AOM per month, it is not about their works for that particular month. Instead, it is about highlighting a talented artist's works for that year, and they are recognized during that month.

To learn more about Renderosity's Artist Of The Month [AOM] award, and to view our past AOM's, please visit the AOM page.

Tags: Artist of the Month Mixed Media UteBigSmile
Sections: Community Archives

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