The Scratching Log - Honoring Contest Fan Artists - Karyl Cunningham

Third up on the sunning rock to be bathed in the warmth of praise and honor is Karyl Cunningham, who stunned me with her unusual and energetic entry depicting a scene that rarely if ever shows up in Ratha fan art.  Her creativity is unmatched only by her persistence in battling time constraints, unco-operative materials (dried-out acryrlic paints) and other adversities.  So, you are being honored also for your determination in meeting the challenges as well as your artistic ability.  /CB

 

 

Your name: Karyl

Your age: 27

Title of your entry: The Death of Meoran

What media did you use for this artwork? Arcylic paint

Tell us a little about your process for creating this work.

Well, the process was a bit of a struggle from the point the pencil
sketch was finished. I found out at the last minute that my acrylics
had mostly dried out, so made a run to the nearest store to buy some
more. Except the new paints turned out to be poster paint. So, just in
case I didn't find anything else, I made some mess of an underpainting
to at least get something started. Then the planets aligned and a
voice shouted down from the heavens "thou shalt paint" and lo and
behold, Jo-Ann's was having a clearance sale on their acrylics. So I
painted over the messy excuse for an underpainting, and ultimately
decided to forego detail in favor of the sense of the tense emotion of
the scene (admittedly in part because it was getting pretty late and
close to the last night for submissions, and I didn't want to fall
asleep in my paints).

What inspired the work, and/or what were you trying to convey?

There was one scene from the Ratha books I had read that always stood
out in my mind, and that was the scene where Meoran tries to attack
Ratha, and gets a nasty surprise when she shoves a firebrand into his
jaw to protect herself. It was always strangely vivid, even more so
than the other scenes, and since I don't have my own copy of the
books, that made it the perfect scene to capture for the contest.
Plus, I don't think I've ever seen anyone draw out that scene before,
so I wouldn't have anyone else's version in my head already that might
block out my own sense of the image.

When did you first read the Named books, and how did you discover them?

I can't remember how long ago I first read the books, but I know it
was thanks to our local library. My sister was rather obsessed with
cheetahs at the time, and had borrowed a copy of Tomorrow's Sphinx. I
thought it sounded neat, so next chance I got, I borrowed it too, and
found the Ratha books alongside it. Our library doesn't have them all,
but they had enough to get me hooked. ...Okay, I was hooked by the
first one, I'll admit.

What's your favorite book in the Named series?

I'm going to go with the first for now since it's the one I've read
most often. Sadly it's been too long to really give a clear and actual
favorite, though.

Coffee or hot chocolate?

Depends, am I trying to get warm or wake up? If it's the dead of
winter, I'm a definite fan of hot chocolate. Of course, sometimes I
also mix the two.

Ereader or print?

Both. There's something nice about the feel of a real book, and of
course I grew up on them... but for travel I think an ereader would be
nice, especially one of the ones that has eink technology, with a
non-backlit LCD screen, so it's more like reading on paper and gives
less eye strain. But I do like the idea of being able to carry a few
hundred books with me at once without breaking my spine.

Firekeeper or Herder?

Firekeeper, all the way. I've always been a fan of sitting around the
fire, and I don't think I've got the attention span to be a herder.

Thakur or Bonechewer?

I seem to remember being a bigger fan of Thakur when I was a kid. Not
that I disliked Bonechewer, but Thakur had a bit gentler a style I
think.

Ratha or Thistle-Chaser?

I really need to read that book again to know for sure...

Do you have a link where people can view more of your artwork?

I have a few actually. For the vast majority of my art there's this
one: http://lyrak.deviantart.com/
For my craft items that you can actually buy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/lyrak
And, for my photography portfolio: http://karyl.smugmug.com/