— The featured artist of the 89th issue of Living the Photo Artistic Life magazine is California-based AWAKE artist Diana Haronis. It’s a delight to be able to interview Diana here on Quill and Camera . . .

Q: “Tell us a little about how you see art and photography.”

As long as I remember I have been interested in photography, art, and poetry. The magic of capturing a moment in time, whether that moment be a photograph, a fantasy image, or a passing thought, intrigues me.

Everywhere there is a unique passage, a magical moment waiting to be captured before it passes forever into eternity. My passion is to explore the wonder and beauty of that moment, in both the natural and mystical realms, and recreate what I see in a medium that can be shared with others.

I find my bliss in creating art of all kinds. I have experimented with many different mediums over the years, my favorites being oil painting, ceramics, photography, and now, photo-artistry. I love exploring all that is mystical, creative, and spiritual.

For me, creating art is a beautiful meditation. All the cares and worries of the world fall away as I become fully absorbed in the magical world I am creating.

Q: “What got you started in digital photo artistry specifically?”

My mom was the first to get me interested in digital photo art. She is a wonderful artist and began working in Photoshop back before it even had layers! I always loved photography and would give her photos to work with. It was fun to see the magical scenes she would create.

Yet when I finally broke down and did get a digital camera, I took a Photoshop class . . . and was hooked!

I was a late comer to digital photography because I loved my film camera and working in the darkroom. I had all kinds of creative filters and enjoyed experimenting with artistic techniques. I didn’t like the early digital cameras as they had issues with shutter lag, which was annoying. Also, I had lots of lenses and filters that I could not use with the digital cameras of that time.

I learned that I could create all the lovely filter effects more easily and precisely in Photoshop and also make corrections to save photos that would otherwise be unusable.

When I later discovered the Photoshop Artistry course, it brought my art to a whole new level! I always enjoyed both art and photography but learning to combine the two allowed me to create amazing images that could not be done with either medium alone.

Q: “What inspires you as an artist?”

I am attracted to all things mystical and magical. Faeries, Celtic myths, spiritual visions and dreams are the main source of my inspiration. Traveling to ancient places full of history and legends is something I greatly enjoy and I have been blessed to have visited many such places in many beautiful countries.

Communing with nature always inspires me as well and restores my soul.

And I love spending time with animals and children. Their innocent, uncomplicated view of the world inspires me and touches my heart. My grandchildren are some of my best models and I am constantly amazed by their creativity. My pets are often featured in my work as well.

My best friend, Radhe Cloud, who passed away last year was a wonderful fantasy artist. She continues to inspire me, and I often feel her presence close by, especially when I am creating art. We spent countless hours sitting around her dining room table painting, listening to music, and getting messages from spirit. Those were some of the happiest days of my life.

Other artists who inspired me early on were Jean Pitre, Roger Dean, and Vladimir Kush. I also love the faery art of Arthur Rackham.

And of course my mom has always inspired me as well. (As I said, she introduced me to Photoshop originally.) She is a wonderful artist herself and the most talented and knowledgeable person I know.

Q: “What does living the photo artistic life mean to you?”

For me, it means viewing the world in a different, more exciting and creative way.

Rather than seeing only what is, I always try to set my imagination loose and see what could be!

For example, if I come across a gnarly tree standing alongside a garden, I may imagine it is filled with faery houses or that it is the home of a wise owl who is currently reading a book to his grandchildren . . .

To my eyes, a ring of mushrooms is always an enchanted entrance to the Faery Realm.

And of course you must tread carefully over a bridge so as not to wake the troll who slumbers beneath!

Everywhere I look anymore there are enchanting discoveries looming just beyond our mundane perception and limited only by our imagination. And within any one of these you might discover the seed of some exciting new work of art awaiting you and your camera.

For me, going through life in this way is to live a photo artistic life.

Q: “What do you see as your next step as a photo artist?”

It’s been so exciting already. I currently sell my art from online galleries and I am also a contributing photographer for Getty Images.

My next main goal is to find a publisher for my Faery Shaman Oracle deck. I wrote and designed the cards some years ago, but only after joining AWAKE and the KAIZEN Group have I been able to create the art I envisioned to go with them. I am also working on a Tarot deck based on the classic symbolism, but with my own artistic interpretation.

Q: “Any tips for aspiring digital artists?”

First and foremost, focus on creating art that excites and inspires you rather than trying to create the kind of art you feel you “should” create.

The more you pursue what truly inspires you, the more eager you will be to continue working at your craft.

Obviously keep learning and practicing. You have to expect to create a lot of art.

And never give up on a canvas if it’s starting to come to life. If something doesn’t quite look right, keep working on it until you discover how to fix it.

Finally, don’t compare your art to what others are creating. That will drive you crazy and distort your gifts.

The only person you should try to be better than is the person you were yesterday.