Nilsa's Book Blog: Artist Interview: Barbara Neal

Today I would love to welcome the very talented graphic artist, Barbara Neal to my blog.
Why don't you tell us a bit about yourself....
Well, I am much older than most in this business. I am a Mother and Grandmother. I was born in Chicago and pretty much lived here all my life. I love to cook, read, spend time with family and of course paint. I live life to the fullest and always take time to stop and smell the roses as often as possible.

Who or what inspired you to become an artist?
My Mother, she was a very gifted artist. She was able to sketch portraits that were so beautiful and realistic to her model. Sadly she never followed through on making a career of it. She passed away in 2006 and I have a huge notebook filled with her sketches some dating all the way back to the 1940s I do not think she ever knew or realized how talented she really was, I will always admire her as an artist and truly my inspiration.

Did you go to school to learn your skill?
I did not go to School to learn my skill, I am self-taught by trial and error.

Who is your favorite artist? Why?
I admire Luis Royo; his sensual and dark paintings are amazing, his fantasy worlds and mechanical life forms look so realistic. I have been a fan of his work for many years

What type of Art do you prefer?
I love all Digital Art. I am blown away at some digital art pieces I see. They are so vibrant; it seems sometimes the subjects can actually jump out at you.

How long have you been creating your art?
I have been digitally painting for about 17 years. I started with smaller pieces for web sites or personal tags. Years later I started on larger pieces for prints.

Did you ever feel like giving up?
Yes Sometimes I do. I am not as young as most Digital artists. It’s a very competitive business and my competition is the younger artists who have learned their skills in School. They’re Schooling has taken them way beyond what I know.

Who normally buys your art?
Generally it is more the online shopper who loves Digital Art. I have found that most of my sales are from people who love Fantasy art.

What is your preferred medium? Why?
Photo manipulation. I really enjoy the challenge of doing this type work. To take a model and or objects and merge them together on a completely different background blending it so well that the viewer actually believe this is for real is a rush to me.
I love when people look at my work then glance at the before images and gasp in shock that I made the scene so realistic.

What is the best thing about being an artist?
The freedom we have to use our imaginations in the work. To be able to get a vision and make it happen is wonderful.

What is the worst thing about being an artist?
Ha-ha the money you can earn hence the saying “Starving Artist” this is so true. It’s very hard to sell art now days. Like I said above the competition is fierce.

Besides designing the book cover for The Rising Moon, by Nilsa Rodriguez, did you design any other?
No sadly I have not done any more Covers as yet.
I am hoping soon that changes but again it goes back to what I said the competition is huge in this business.

How did you come up with design for the book cover?
Once the author told me about the story, the characters, their own vision and the book title I started to see the design in my imagination. After a little fine tuning we had the cover fitting the author’s vision.

Is there any new projects you're working on?
Not at this time.

Do you have any art ready for purchase?
Yes my Art Gallery is at Fine Art America http://fineartamerica.com/art/all/Barbara+Neal/all

Here’s your chance to market your art. Describe it and why readers should take a look?

Well I think anyone who wishes to have quality prints on their walls my art will not disappoint. Especially if they like Fantasy Art.
I pour my heart and soul into my work. I try to capture true fantasy in my fantasy work so that when you look at it you can actually believe the scenes are real.