![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[sticky entry]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/entry/sticky_entry.png){kind=small}
Hi everyone, I’m Dawn (she/her), a queer artist and geek. On my page, you will find mostly personal musings about fandom, my art, sapphic stuff and books/fanfiction.
Regarding fandom, I’m currently mainly interested in Star Trek, The Elder Scrolls and Fallout. I’m also a lifelong Xena fan. I love sapphic ships. The main one I’m currently watching is Mafin from Sueños De Libertad.
Though I’m mainly interested in art, nature, fandom and reading, I'm occasionally also into video & board games. The name of my page is a reference to Mark Rothko's painting Blue Divided By Blue.
If you enjoy my posts, please feel free to connect or leave a comment!
Some of my posts are access-only (including my art posts). If we're mutual subscribers, I will always grant access.
For a year and a half now, I've been (lightly) learning Spanish, mainly with Duolingo, Anki, and watching a daily novelita. Sometimes I try and read Spanish fanfics. I must say, I learned a lot in that time period, though I mainly learnt understanding language, not speaking or writing it. I started with a textbook a few days ago, which will hopefully help me with the latter.
Nevertheless, I see progress all around. I've recently restarted a rewatch of Cable Girls with original audio and Spanish subs, and I can mostly understand it! I'm so happy. I remember watching the series a few years ago. It was my first experience watching a Spanish show. I was intrigued by the language but understood nothing, did a first attempt at learning with Duolingo, but it didn't work out. I'm so happy that I've now reached a level where I can mostly understand a TV series now!
Are you learning a language now? Or do you know other languages beside your mother tongue?
Nevertheless, I see progress all around. I've recently restarted a rewatch of Cable Girls with original audio and Spanish subs, and I can mostly understand it! I'm so happy. I remember watching the series a few years ago. It was my first experience watching a Spanish show. I was intrigued by the language but understood nothing, did a first attempt at learning with Duolingo, but it didn't work out. I'm so happy that I've now reached a level where I can mostly understand a TV series now!
Are you learning a language now? Or do you know other languages beside your mother tongue?
I've just finished a rewatch of the first season of Fallout to get ready for the new one. I really love how they adapted this for TV. It's harsh, heartfelt, and absurd at the same time. Being humorous in a horror series is quite an achievement. The second season seems to tap into Fallout: New Vegas, a game that I played only partially after I finished Fallout 3. I just watched the first episode of season 2, and it didn't disappoint. It had the same vibe as the first, which I loved, and an intriguing plot. The quality seems *chef's kiss*
However, I enjoyed the rewatch and the new episode less than when I watched the first season when it came out. That hasn't got anything to do with the series or the franchise, but with the state of the world as it is now. When reading or watching the news, it feels like a lot of things are happening all over the world that seem unnerving. So when I did the rewatch, I was constantly reminded of this, and the post-apocalyptic future depicted in the series felt less like a fun escape and more like the same gloom we see on the news nowadays. Has anybody else had this experience with this series, or another series/book in the current times?
However, I enjoyed the rewatch and the new episode less than when I watched the first season when it came out. That hasn't got anything to do with the series or the franchise, but with the state of the world as it is now. When reading or watching the news, it feels like a lot of things are happening all over the world that seem unnerving. So when I did the rewatch, I was constantly reminded of this, and the post-apocalyptic future depicted in the series felt less like a fun escape and more like the same gloom we see on the news nowadays. Has anybody else had this experience with this series, or another series/book in the current times?
Daniil Kharms
Dec. 18th, 2025 08:33 pmIn October of this year, I started working for a Belgian online magazine covering Dutch/Flemish comics. It's volunteer work, but I loved the idea of working for the magazine, doing articles and interviews, so I applied for the job when I heard of it. Happily, I was accepted. One of the first interviews I did was published in the magazine today, and it discusses a comic based on the Russian avant-garde and absurdist writer Daniil Kharms (or Charms, in Dutch) by Dutch Illustrator Wouter Gresnigt. One of Daniil Kharms' better-known short stories is "Old Women Falling Out" from 1937, and it's featured in the comic. This is the short story:
Excessive curiosity made one old woman fall out of a window, plummet to the ground and break into pieces.
Another old woman poked her head out of a window to look at the one who had broken into pieces, but excessive curiosity made her too fall out of the window, plummet to the ground and break into pieces.
Then a third old woman fell out of a window, then a fourth, then a fifth.
When a sixth old woman fell out, I felt I’d had enough of watching them and went off to the Maltsev Market where I heard that a blind man had been given a knitted shawl.
I had never heard of Daniil Kharms before I was asked to do an article about this book. I read the comic and was intrigued. I write sometimes, very short/flash fiction in Dutch or stories for my own comics, and I instantly felt a connection to the humor and absurdist nature of this work when I read it. I decided to read a few of Daniil Kharms' short stories bundled in a small book after reading the comic, and I loved it. There is something so honest about his absurd stories in this form, for life can be absurd if you pay attention to what happens every day. For anyone looking for short stories, I greatly recommend the Russian author. The comic by Wouter Gresnigt is also great but is currently only available in Dutch.
Excessive curiosity made one old woman fall out of a window, plummet to the ground and break into pieces.
Another old woman poked her head out of a window to look at the one who had broken into pieces, but excessive curiosity made her too fall out of the window, plummet to the ground and break into pieces.
Then a third old woman fell out of a window, then a fourth, then a fifth.
When a sixth old woman fell out, I felt I’d had enough of watching them and went off to the Maltsev Market where I heard that a blind man had been given a knitted shawl.
I had never heard of Daniil Kharms before I was asked to do an article about this book. I read the comic and was intrigued. I write sometimes, very short/flash fiction in Dutch or stories for my own comics, and I instantly felt a connection to the humor and absurdist nature of this work when I read it. I decided to read a few of Daniil Kharms' short stories bundled in a small book after reading the comic, and I loved it. There is something so honest about his absurd stories in this form, for life can be absurd if you pay attention to what happens every day. For anyone looking for short stories, I greatly recommend the Russian author. The comic by Wouter Gresnigt is also great but is currently only available in Dutch.
Fandom when ships collide...
Dec. 14th, 2025 01:22 amI've been in a fandom of a lovely ship from a Spanish telenovela for a year and a half now. There is this couple, Marta and Fina, who fell in love, and their story was written in a very romantic way, with both of them proclaiming eternal love for one another and saying that being without the other would be like living but dead inside. It's truly a wonder. But as things happen, at the beginning of the year, one of the actresses got pregnant and (most probably temporarily) left the show. So they wrote a dramatic exit in which Fina was blackmailed into leaving Marta without telling her she was being blackmailed or where she would go. She left a simple note with not much information, but asked Marta to go on with her life. Marta grieved for quite some time. The fandom fed on old clips and the hope of the actress's possible return. But then, a new character was introduced as what seems to be a temporary love interest. She flirted with Marta, but wasn't offering her an epic love story, just a new adventure that seemed casual at best, but one that could possibly be healing. Marta's reaction was one of attraction, but she was unable to dive into this yet because of her broken heart. And the fandom went insane. An ugly ship war erupted, where 'true fans' of Fina/Marta were saying nasty things about anyone liking the new character, the new (probably temporary) ship, and going as far as threatening the actress playing the new character. They only see Marta with one woman (Fina), and all else is a betrayal or corruption of their love story. As if the writers didn't separate them of necessity, and if the actress doesn't return, Marta should just be celibate and lonely for the rest of the duration of the show?
I see all that and am just dumbfounded. I enjoy the storyline with the new character, and don't see how that would make me less a fan of the original ship or make me miss them less. But apparently, such a thing cannot exist. I am cautious about what I say on Twitter, and even then, I lose followers just for reposting an image of the new character. It's insane. I have never experienced this. I remember Xena in the old days, and a lot of people shipped Ares with Xena. I never saw any of the Xena/Gab shippers attack them like this. Now, am I just very naive? Is this a new phenomenon? Does this always happen in fandoms? Does anyone have experience with anything like this?
I see all that and am just dumbfounded. I enjoy the storyline with the new character, and don't see how that would make me less a fan of the original ship or make me miss them less. But apparently, such a thing cannot exist. I am cautious about what I say on Twitter, and even then, I lose followers just for reposting an image of the new character. It's insane. I have never experienced this. I remember Xena in the old days, and a lot of people shipped Ares with Xena. I never saw any of the Xena/Gab shippers attack them like this. Now, am I just very naive? Is this a new phenomenon? Does this always happen in fandoms? Does anyone have experience with anything like this?
Back from absence
Dec. 10th, 2025 05:26 pmHi everyone! I want to appologize for my absence on this site. A few things happened in my life and I had to take a step back and take some rest. It took longer than I expected, I'm sorry for that. How have you all been doing? I'm in a better place now and planning to start posting again. Wishing you all a lovely week and a happy december month!
Three weeks for Dreamwidth: Which book was the toughest for you to get through?
This would be "The Well at the World's End” by William Morris published in 1896. The story itself isn’t complicated, but it’s written in an archaic style. Since I read it in English, which isn’t my native language, this was quite hard to get through. Thankfully, I read it on an e-reader (Project Gutenberg has the ebook for free, since it’s in the public domain), and so my e-reader could instantly translate a lot of words. A notable observation was that many older English words I encountered seemed to be linked to older Dutch words, which was interesting.
I knew of the book because we discussed it in a design course in school. Not the story itself, but the beautiful design of the pages with the Illustrations by Edward Burne-Jones. I sometimes wonder if they made reprints of the book as it was with the original illustrations, or if the only way to see this is at a museum. This is what a page looks like:
I decided to read it when, at a certain moment, I heard that this book might have influenced Tolkien for his Lord of the Rings series, and that intrigued me and made me decide to give it a go. I wasn’t aware of the archaic style. When I started reading it, I was puzzled. I assumed I must have been mistaken about the publication date, thinking that the book was way older than I believed it to be. I looked it up and discovered it was just written in an older style. Nevertheless, I decided to continue reading it and I finished the book. Apart from being hard for me to read, I enjoyed it, it’s a nice fantasy story.
This would be "The Well at the World's End” by William Morris published in 1896. The story itself isn’t complicated, but it’s written in an archaic style. Since I read it in English, which isn’t my native language, this was quite hard to get through. Thankfully, I read it on an e-reader (Project Gutenberg has the ebook for free, since it’s in the public domain), and so my e-reader could instantly translate a lot of words. A notable observation was that many older English words I encountered seemed to be linked to older Dutch words, which was interesting.
I knew of the book because we discussed it in a design course in school. Not the story itself, but the beautiful design of the pages with the Illustrations by Edward Burne-Jones. I sometimes wonder if they made reprints of the book as it was with the original illustrations, or if the only way to see this is at a museum. This is what a page looks like:
I decided to read it when, at a certain moment, I heard that this book might have influenced Tolkien for his Lord of the Rings series, and that intrigued me and made me decide to give it a go. I wasn’t aware of the archaic style. When I started reading it, I was puzzled. I assumed I must have been mistaken about the publication date, thinking that the book was way older than I believed it to be. I looked it up and discovered it was just written in an older style. Nevertheless, I decided to continue reading it and I finished the book. Apart from being hard for me to read, I enjoyed it, it’s a nice fantasy story.
Three weeks for Dreamwidth: What book surprised you by turning out way better than you expected?
I already talked a bit about The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Kundera, which was a book that surprised me in various ways. However, the book I wish to pick in relation to this question is Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.
This was a book that I read for a school assignment. We had a list of books to read, and I went to the library relatively late, so many other students had already picked the books I had marked on my paper and wanted to read. This book was the only one I could still find in the local library. I recall picking up the book from the shelf and reading the summary. I instantly disliked it. It was formulated like a typical love story, and at that time, the last thing I wanted to read was a (straight) romance book. But since I had no other option, I picked up the book and started reading it. Rather quickly, I was taken aback by the strength of this story, the rawness, the deep and obsessive love between unlikely lovers. I loved every moment of reading it. I think this book enflamed in me a bit of a passion for classics, as in the years to come, I read a good number of them, remembering this book and how something you think you might not be interested in might surprise you and enchant you.
I already talked a bit about The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Kundera, which was a book that surprised me in various ways. However, the book I wish to pick in relation to this question is Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.
This was a book that I read for a school assignment. We had a list of books to read, and I went to the library relatively late, so many other students had already picked the books I had marked on my paper and wanted to read. This book was the only one I could still find in the local library. I recall picking up the book from the shelf and reading the summary. I instantly disliked it. It was formulated like a typical love story, and at that time, the last thing I wanted to read was a (straight) romance book. But since I had no other option, I picked up the book and started reading it. Rather quickly, I was taken aback by the strength of this story, the rawness, the deep and obsessive love between unlikely lovers. I loved every moment of reading it. I think this book enflamed in me a bit of a passion for classics, as in the years to come, I read a good number of them, remembering this book and how something you think you might not be interested in might surprise you and enchant you.
Three weeks for Dreamwidth: Which video games defined your childhood / teens?
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (Nintendo Game Boy)
This was the first game I got for my original Game Boy in my childhood. I remember having to save money from gifts from my parents and grandparents to be able to buy a Game Boy and a game. I first got the Game Boy without any games. When I went to the store, the store attendant said I needed a game for it to work, but I didn’t have enough money for it yet. So I bought just the Game Boy and started ‘playing it’, meaning I turned it on and off without a cartridge for months just to see the Nintendo Logo animation, before actually being able to have a game for it :)
When I finally had enough for one game, I bought this one, remembering a friend of mine who had Super Mario Land 1 and loving it. This game didn’t disappoint and was significantly better than the first one. I played it countless times, beating all levels on the island and then starting the game over. It was a great experience. I remember the music also being very remarkable.
Tomb Raider 1 (PC/DOS)
I got the first Tomb Raider from a friend of mine, and this was the first time I played a 3D game. It was pixelated DOS graphics with some early 3D cutscenes, but I was blown away by it. I loved the setting, the atmosphere, and the heroine. One day, a friend of mine came to visit, and we decided to play the game together (one person played and the other watched, as it’s not a multiplayer game). It was just then that we came upon the ( Spoiler ) I continued playing on my own after that, but I didn’t finish the game until much later, in my late teens, when I picked it up again.
The Sims 1 (PC/WIN)
The original Sims game was just a wonderful experience. I spent so many hours on this one. It was revolutionary in so many ways, and a wealth of resources was available for it. There were the official expansion packs, but there was so much fan-made content available that was almost always free everywhere. I downloaded numerous fan-made skins and furniture. I liked to make my houses in the game a bit medieval, or look like ancient Roman houses. I remember having a lot of fun adding all the Xena characters to the game, as fan-made skins were available for almost every character, including the gods. I think I even made a sort of ‘Olympian’ mansion that housed all of the Xena gods.
Other honorable mentions:
Re-Volt (PC/WIN) Racing with toy-cars!
Speedbusters (PC/WIN) A fun and humorous arcade racing game.
Aladdin (Game Boy) An Amazingly fun Game Boy platformer that follows the Disney movie. It also has great music.
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (Nintendo Game Boy)
This was the first game I got for my original Game Boy in my childhood. I remember having to save money from gifts from my parents and grandparents to be able to buy a Game Boy and a game. I first got the Game Boy without any games. When I went to the store, the store attendant said I needed a game for it to work, but I didn’t have enough money for it yet. So I bought just the Game Boy and started ‘playing it’, meaning I turned it on and off without a cartridge for months just to see the Nintendo Logo animation, before actually being able to have a game for it :)
When I finally had enough for one game, I bought this one, remembering a friend of mine who had Super Mario Land 1 and loving it. This game didn’t disappoint and was significantly better than the first one. I played it countless times, beating all levels on the island and then starting the game over. It was a great experience. I remember the music also being very remarkable.
Tomb Raider 1 (PC/DOS)
I got the first Tomb Raider from a friend of mine, and this was the first time I played a 3D game. It was pixelated DOS graphics with some early 3D cutscenes, but I was blown away by it. I loved the setting, the atmosphere, and the heroine. One day, a friend of mine came to visit, and we decided to play the game together (one person played and the other watched, as it’s not a multiplayer game). It was just then that we came upon the ( Spoiler ) I continued playing on my own after that, but I didn’t finish the game until much later, in my late teens, when I picked it up again.
The Sims 1 (PC/WIN)
The original Sims game was just a wonderful experience. I spent so many hours on this one. It was revolutionary in so many ways, and a wealth of resources was available for it. There were the official expansion packs, but there was so much fan-made content available that was almost always free everywhere. I downloaded numerous fan-made skins and furniture. I liked to make my houses in the game a bit medieval, or look like ancient Roman houses. I remember having a lot of fun adding all the Xena characters to the game, as fan-made skins were available for almost every character, including the gods. I think I even made a sort of ‘Olympian’ mansion that housed all of the Xena gods.
Other honorable mentions:
Re-Volt (PC/WIN) Racing with toy-cars!
Speedbusters (PC/WIN) A fun and humorous arcade racing game.
Aladdin (Game Boy) An Amazingly fun Game Boy platformer that follows the Disney movie. It also has great music.
Three weeks for Dreamwidth: Name three ships from three different fandoms that you like
Xena / Gabrielle (Xena: Warrior Princess)
The warrior and the bard. This is my original OTP, and will always have a place in my heart. They went through so much together, complemented each other in many ways, and loved each other deeply. It was canon that they were bound together always, even in different lifetimes, they would find each other again. The beauty of the show was also that you could see them as whatever you wanted them to be: deep friends, lovers, or something in between.
Sara Lance / Ava Sharpe (Legends of Tomorrow)
A reformed assassin and a clone from the future. One is impulsive, chaotic, and the other is ordered and strict. Their differences initially made them struggle to get along, but like in a classic ‘enemies-to-lovers’ trope, they quickly fell in love. They formed a powerful couple, taking the lead of a team of misfits to solve problems in the timeline. I always thought they fit very well together, their love story is powerfully written on the show, and is also the main couple.
Seven of Nine/ Raffi (Star Trek: Picard)
I loved them together, but I can’t deny that this was a bit of a mixed bag, due to their potential and how the show decided to deal with it. Both characters are powerful in their own right, but they are also damaged in some ways. The audio drama "No Man's Land” is actually one of the few instances where the couple is portrayed well, showcasing tender moments and moments of vulnerability in which they can heal together. The show itself was subpar in writing the couple. The viewer didn’t get to see them fall in love (only a hand-holding scene in S1 that implied they had fallen in love). In the second season, they are together but constantly bicker and argue. In the third season, they had broken up. So much more could have been done with them.
Xena / Gabrielle (Xena: Warrior Princess)
The warrior and the bard. This is my original OTP, and will always have a place in my heart. They went through so much together, complemented each other in many ways, and loved each other deeply. It was canon that they were bound together always, even in different lifetimes, they would find each other again. The beauty of the show was also that you could see them as whatever you wanted them to be: deep friends, lovers, or something in between.
Sara Lance / Ava Sharpe (Legends of Tomorrow)
A reformed assassin and a clone from the future. One is impulsive, chaotic, and the other is ordered and strict. Their differences initially made them struggle to get along, but like in a classic ‘enemies-to-lovers’ trope, they quickly fell in love. They formed a powerful couple, taking the lead of a team of misfits to solve problems in the timeline. I always thought they fit very well together, their love story is powerfully written on the show, and is also the main couple.
Seven of Nine/ Raffi (Star Trek: Picard)
I loved them together, but I can’t deny that this was a bit of a mixed bag, due to their potential and how the show decided to deal with it. Both characters are powerful in their own right, but they are also damaged in some ways. The audio drama "No Man's Land” is actually one of the few instances where the couple is portrayed well, showcasing tender moments and moments of vulnerability in which they can heal together. The show itself was subpar in writing the couple. The viewer didn’t get to see them fall in love (only a hand-holding scene in S1 that implied they had fallen in love). In the second season, they are together but constantly bicker and argue. In the third season, they had broken up. So much more could have been done with them.
Three weeks for Dreamwidth: Do you like to draw/paint/… with music or in silence?
I work mostly with music. It happens very rarely that I work on a painting or drawing in total silence. An exception to this is often for brainstorming sessions, where any music tends to distract me when I’m trying to find ideas. Though this, too, isn’t absolute. On rare occasions, I can also put some music on.
When I draw, I tend to look for music that gives me a feeling of melancholy, as in that feeling, I find myself most creative and most attuned with the art I am making. Often it’s folk music (60s folk) that I put on, or instrumental dungeon synth - a relatively new genre but that’s still very much niche - medieval European music, ambient or game soundtracks like those composed by Jeremy Soule.
I tend to look for calm music. If I do put on something that deviates from that, it’s often indie rock from bands such as Sunset Rubdown or Helium.
I work mostly with music. It happens very rarely that I work on a painting or drawing in total silence. An exception to this is often for brainstorming sessions, where any music tends to distract me when I’m trying to find ideas. Though this, too, isn’t absolute. On rare occasions, I can also put some music on.
When I draw, I tend to look for music that gives me a feeling of melancholy, as in that feeling, I find myself most creative and most attuned with the art I am making. Often it’s folk music (60s folk) that I put on, or instrumental dungeon synth - a relatively new genre but that’s still very much niche - medieval European music, ambient or game soundtracks like those composed by Jeremy Soule.
I tend to look for calm music. If I do put on something that deviates from that, it’s often indie rock from bands such as Sunset Rubdown or Helium.
What was your favorite childhood book?
May. 9th, 2025 11:07 pmThree weeks for Dreamwidth: What was your favorite childhood book?
My favorite book as a child was the Dutch book ‘Eefje Donkerblauw’ (Little Eve Darkblue). It is a wonderful story with beautiful illustrations, and it’s about fascination for colors, and love. The book in essence, explains how color mixing works in the most adorable way.
Eefje loves dark blue, and everything in her life is dark blue. Teapots, chairs, bed,… Everything. Then, at a moment on the beach, she meets Koning Goudgeel (King Goldenyellow), who adores yellow. She becomes enchanted by him, and as her fascination for him grows, she starts to incorporate yellow into her life. She paints yellow flowers on her blue teapots, mixes bits of yellow in her clothing. When she meets the king again, he has done the same thing to his world, but then with blue. They fall in love and ultimately start a family. All of their children love green.
It is a charming tale, and apart from the color information, it also beautifully explains that loving someone and adding someone to your life also means adding pieces of her/him/them to your life, so your life becomes fuller and deeper.
This book, sadly isn’t translated into English to my knowledge
My favorite book as a child was the Dutch book ‘Eefje Donkerblauw’ (Little Eve Darkblue). It is a wonderful story with beautiful illustrations, and it’s about fascination for colors, and love. The book in essence, explains how color mixing works in the most adorable way.
Eefje loves dark blue, and everything in her life is dark blue. Teapots, chairs, bed,… Everything. Then, at a moment on the beach, she meets Koning Goudgeel (King Goldenyellow), who adores yellow. She becomes enchanted by him, and as her fascination for him grows, she starts to incorporate yellow into her life. She paints yellow flowers on her blue teapots, mixes bits of yellow in her clothing. When she meets the king again, he has done the same thing to his world, but then with blue. They fall in love and ultimately start a family. All of their children love green.
It is a charming tale, and apart from the color information, it also beautifully explains that loving someone and adding someone to your life also means adding pieces of her/him/them to your life, so your life becomes fuller and deeper.
This book, sadly isn’t translated into English to my knowledge
Three weeks for Dreamwidth: In what way has your art/writing changed over the years?
I’m going to answer that for my art.
I mainly made fantasy gouache paintings and pencil/pen drawings from imagination in my youth. Years later, when I was in college, I dropped the fantasy theme and switched from gouache to acrylic, but pen drawings were still part of what I did. I also experimented with watercolor and ZIG Art & Graphic Twin brush pens. Later, I kept the pen (sometimes fineliner) drawings, combined with their digital equivalents, and continued exploring acrylics. Most recently, I’ve been trying to become familiar with oil painting and rekindled my love for pencil drawings.
Over the years, my love of pen/fine-liner drawings has remained, and I’m looking to experiment to make better paintings. Fan art came and went in my journey, from being very present in my youth to almost absent and, most recently, once again taking a vital place in my art journey.
I’m going to answer that for my art.
I mainly made fantasy gouache paintings and pencil/pen drawings from imagination in my youth. Years later, when I was in college, I dropped the fantasy theme and switched from gouache to acrylic, but pen drawings were still part of what I did. I also experimented with watercolor and ZIG Art & Graphic Twin brush pens. Later, I kept the pen (sometimes fineliner) drawings, combined with their digital equivalents, and continued exploring acrylics. Most recently, I’ve been trying to become familiar with oil painting and rekindled my love for pencil drawings.
Over the years, my love of pen/fine-liner drawings has remained, and I’m looking to experiment to make better paintings. Fan art came and went in my journey, from being very present in my youth to almost absent and, most recently, once again taking a vital place in my art journey.
Three weeks for Dreamwidth: Which book(s) didn't you finish and why?
I generally always try to finish the novels I start reading. Sometimes it happens that there is a long gap between reading sessions, and I have to read back a bit. In the case of The Lord of the Rings, I even decided to reread the first 150 pages because it had been way too long.
I can remember two books that I actively decided not to finish. The first one was a Dutch book called Onderuniversum (Under Universe) by Pen Steward. The second one was Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving.
Onderuniversum is a sci-fi story set in Belgium and the Netherlands hundreds of years in the future. Everything here has become a desert, there have been ecological disasters, and the local world is made up of city-states. There, poor people live in houses built in the spaces where maritime canals used to be. I bought the book when I met the author at a stand at a local fantasy con. She told about her story, categorized it as ‘urban fantasy’ (which, in my opinion, it isn’t), and I was intrigued because the story took place (partly) in my country. I know not many sci-fi/fantasy novels are set in my country, and I definitely hadn’t read one. The book was young-adult, but I didn’t realize that until I started reading it and saw the category on the back of the book. I’m really unfamiliar with young adult books; I haven’t read many. This story just didn’t work for me for various reasons. I didn’t like the male protagonist; the world-building was, in my opinion, not well done. I also didn’t read like urban fantasy, and the desert setting meant that it had very few things left that were recognizable as Belgium or the Netherlands, except for city names. It could have taken place in any place, even a fictional universe. I decided to stop reading at 200 pages.
The second book, Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving, is well known and respected. I had read The World According to Garp years before and loved it, so I bought this book. It sat on my shelf for a few years until I got to read it. Remembering my fun with his other book, I expected to love this one, but I didn’t. I just couldn’t get into the writing; I disliked the style of writing, as well as the story. I wondered why I felt so different about this book, and I think this is probably a case of personal taste changing over years. I think it was possible that, had I read it after I read The World According to Garp, I could have appreciated this book. I gave up reading after a particular scene in the book that I thoroughly disliked for how he wrote it.
I generally always try to finish the novels I start reading. Sometimes it happens that there is a long gap between reading sessions, and I have to read back a bit. In the case of The Lord of the Rings, I even decided to reread the first 150 pages because it had been way too long.
I can remember two books that I actively decided not to finish. The first one was a Dutch book called Onderuniversum (Under Universe) by Pen Steward. The second one was Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving.
Onderuniversum is a sci-fi story set in Belgium and the Netherlands hundreds of years in the future. Everything here has become a desert, there have been ecological disasters, and the local world is made up of city-states. There, poor people live in houses built in the spaces where maritime canals used to be. I bought the book when I met the author at a stand at a local fantasy con. She told about her story, categorized it as ‘urban fantasy’ (which, in my opinion, it isn’t), and I was intrigued because the story took place (partly) in my country. I know not many sci-fi/fantasy novels are set in my country, and I definitely hadn’t read one. The book was young-adult, but I didn’t realize that until I started reading it and saw the category on the back of the book. I’m really unfamiliar with young adult books; I haven’t read many. This story just didn’t work for me for various reasons. I didn’t like the male protagonist; the world-building was, in my opinion, not well done. I also didn’t read like urban fantasy, and the desert setting meant that it had very few things left that were recognizable as Belgium or the Netherlands, except for city names. It could have taken place in any place, even a fictional universe. I decided to stop reading at 200 pages.
The second book, Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving, is well known and respected. I had read The World According to Garp years before and loved it, so I bought this book. It sat on my shelf for a few years until I got to read it. Remembering my fun with his other book, I expected to love this one, but I didn’t. I just couldn’t get into the writing; I disliked the style of writing, as well as the story. I wondered why I felt so different about this book, and I think this is probably a case of personal taste changing over years. I think it was possible that, had I read it after I read The World According to Garp, I could have appreciated this book. I gave up reading after a particular scene in the book that I thoroughly disliked for how he wrote it.
Three weeks for Dreamwidth: When is your favorite time of day to create?
The evening, always. There is something about the evening and the night that calms me, relaxes me, and puts me in a mood in which I can create more easily. In some way, I sometimes find daytime to be stressful, even when I have days where I’m at home and don’t really have tasks/responsibilities.
I remember when I was in college, we had our most important art project at the end of the final year. I was in a rough situation at home with my parents, and the days felt as though they were constantly full of stress. I couldn’t work. I knew I had to complete the project, and felt that everything became more relaxed in the evening, so I decided to change things up and work at night (from 7 pm to 7 am) each day (we had some time off from lessons to complete the project). Then I went to sleep and woke up in the afternoon. I took care of some things and got ready to start again at 7. It was a crazy routine, but it worked. I was relaxed and completed the project. I passed. Fun fact: I often listened to Edith Piaf’s music while working on that particular project. It somehow fit with my mood at that time.
The evening, always. There is something about the evening and the night that calms me, relaxes me, and puts me in a mood in which I can create more easily. In some way, I sometimes find daytime to be stressful, even when I have days where I’m at home and don’t really have tasks/responsibilities.
I remember when I was in college, we had our most important art project at the end of the final year. I was in a rough situation at home with my parents, and the days felt as though they were constantly full of stress. I couldn’t work. I knew I had to complete the project, and felt that everything became more relaxed in the evening, so I decided to change things up and work at night (from 7 pm to 7 am) each day (we had some time off from lessons to complete the project). Then I went to sleep and woke up in the afternoon. I took care of some things and got ready to start again at 7. It was a crazy routine, but it worked. I was relaxed and completed the project. I passed. Fun fact: I often listened to Edith Piaf’s music while working on that particular project. It somehow fit with my mood at that time.
Three weeks for Dreamwidth: Which artists do you like or did influence you?
In my youth, I was enchanted by classic fantasy artists I found while being subscribed to a fantasy art newsgroup (Yes, it was long ago). I don’t remember all of their names, but I know the first art book I bought was one of the Hildebrandt brothers talking about their Tolkien Calendar that they did in the seventies. It was amazing. They talked about their process of painting scenes from The Lord of the Rings, using reference pictures in which their family members posed for sketches, which they made into paintings. It had the quality of fine art, but in the fantasy genre. I still have this book. It’s torn, and the pages are loose. But I still look through it from time to time.
It greatly influenced me, but sadly, I left creating fantasy art behind when I went to study art. It was frowned upon, and it was not ‘real art’. It was useless, they said. There was no market for it. I never lost the fascination. Larry Elmore, Frank Frazetta, Boris Vallejo & Julie Bell, Jesper Ejsing … I still look up to them a lot. Their work is fantastic.
Regarding traditional art, I love Breughel, Mucha, Egon Schiele, Edward Hopper, Aubrey Beardsley, Giorgio Morandi, Caspar David Friedrich, Mark Rothko. In comics, I love Grzegorz Rosiński’s art.
In my youth, I was enchanted by classic fantasy artists I found while being subscribed to a fantasy art newsgroup (Yes, it was long ago). I don’t remember all of their names, but I know the first art book I bought was one of the Hildebrandt brothers talking about their Tolkien Calendar that they did in the seventies. It was amazing. They talked about their process of painting scenes from The Lord of the Rings, using reference pictures in which their family members posed for sketches, which they made into paintings. It had the quality of fine art, but in the fantasy genre. I still have this book. It’s torn, and the pages are loose. But I still look through it from time to time.
It greatly influenced me, but sadly, I left creating fantasy art behind when I went to study art. It was frowned upon, and it was not ‘real art’. It was useless, they said. There was no market for it. I never lost the fascination. Larry Elmore, Frank Frazetta, Boris Vallejo & Julie Bell, Jesper Ejsing … I still look up to them a lot. Their work is fantastic.
Regarding traditional art, I love Breughel, Mucha, Egon Schiele, Edward Hopper, Aubrey Beardsley, Giorgio Morandi, Caspar David Friedrich, Mark Rothko. In comics, I love Grzegorz Rosiński’s art.
Three weeks for Dreamwidth: Name five characters from five different fandoms that you like
Seven of Nine (Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Voyager)
An intriguing character who joined Star Trek: Voyager mid-show. She’s a rescued Borg, whose journey to individuality continues throughout the remaining Star Trek: Voyager seasons. She’s reintroduced in Star Trek: Picard, where you find out what happened to her after Voyager came home. She’s strong, extremely intelligent, and charismatic. I loved her journey in Voyager and the backstory they gave her in Picard. I wish they did some more with her in that series, however, though I like how they ended the series for her.
Morrigan (Dragon Age: Origins)
The 'witch of the wild’, as she is called. She’s beautiful, powerful, and lovely sarcastic towards her companions throughout the whole story. I loved her character so much while playing the game. I know she’s also featured in other Dragon Age titles, but I haven’t come across her yet. I’ve only completed Dragon Age: Origins, and played just a part of DA2.
Sara Lance (Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow)
She almost drowned when a yacht she was on sank, but was picked up by members of the League of Assassins to become one of them. She cheated death several times, and had a great story arc in Arrow, and also -partly, in my opinion - in Legends of Tomorrow. I say partly because a lot of her character is left unexplored in the later seasons and they made a weird decision in season six that I really hated ( Spoiler )
Alti (Xena: Warrior Princess)
I wanted to include a character from Xena that was not one of the leading ladies and I was hesitating between Callisto and Alti. Both are great villains, Callisto’s psychology and past are better explained than Alti’s, but in the end I choose Alti because I just loved the character when I was young and watched the series for the first time. Alti is an evil shaman: alluring, ruthless, power-driven, and wants to pull Xena to the dark side. But she’s also very charismatic, thanks to the wonderful interpretation by Claire Stansfield. I loved every scene with her in it.
Éowyn (The Lord of the Rings)
One of the few powerful female characters in the Lord of the Rings saga. She wants to escape the life she has, but finds herself blocked from possibilities again and again, till she dresses up as a soldier and takes matters into her own hands and goes away to fight the war. She also suffers from her unrequited love for Aragorn, which is a sad part of her story. I read the books, and in that, she was described as someone who grew older with life passing her by, and was surrounded by an air of sadness. Though her story ends more happily in the books.
Seven of Nine (Star Trek: Picard, Star Trek: Voyager)
An intriguing character who joined Star Trek: Voyager mid-show. She’s a rescued Borg, whose journey to individuality continues throughout the remaining Star Trek: Voyager seasons. She’s reintroduced in Star Trek: Picard, where you find out what happened to her after Voyager came home. She’s strong, extremely intelligent, and charismatic. I loved her journey in Voyager and the backstory they gave her in Picard. I wish they did some more with her in that series, however, though I like how they ended the series for her.
Morrigan (Dragon Age: Origins)
The 'witch of the wild’, as she is called. She’s beautiful, powerful, and lovely sarcastic towards her companions throughout the whole story. I loved her character so much while playing the game. I know she’s also featured in other Dragon Age titles, but I haven’t come across her yet. I’ve only completed Dragon Age: Origins, and played just a part of DA2.
Sara Lance (Legends of Tomorrow, Arrow)
She almost drowned when a yacht she was on sank, but was picked up by members of the League of Assassins to become one of them. She cheated death several times, and had a great story arc in Arrow, and also -partly, in my opinion - in Legends of Tomorrow. I say partly because a lot of her character is left unexplored in the later seasons and they made a weird decision in season six that I really hated ( Spoiler )
Alti (Xena: Warrior Princess)
I wanted to include a character from Xena that was not one of the leading ladies and I was hesitating between Callisto and Alti. Both are great villains, Callisto’s psychology and past are better explained than Alti’s, but in the end I choose Alti because I just loved the character when I was young and watched the series for the first time. Alti is an evil shaman: alluring, ruthless, power-driven, and wants to pull Xena to the dark side. But she’s also very charismatic, thanks to the wonderful interpretation by Claire Stansfield. I loved every scene with her in it.
Éowyn (The Lord of the Rings)
One of the few powerful female characters in the Lord of the Rings saga. She wants to escape the life she has, but finds herself blocked from possibilities again and again, till she dresses up as a soldier and takes matters into her own hands and goes away to fight the war. She also suffers from her unrequited love for Aragorn, which is a sad part of her story. I read the books, and in that, she was described as someone who grew older with life passing her by, and was surrounded by an air of sadness. Though her story ends more happily in the books.
What art medium do you like to use?
May. 3rd, 2025 10:26 pmThree weeks for Dreamwidth: What art medium do you like to use?
I work with fineliners, traditional pen and ink, acrylic paint, digital line art and coloring, and more recently, charcoal and pencils. As far as my favorite medium is concerned, I think it has always been fineliners/pen and ink or the digital equivalent. Though in traditional art, I nowadays mostly use fineliners in favor of pen and ink, the kind of drawing I make is more or less the same style as I’ve been making for years: line art - raw black and white or digitally colored. I love its classicness and timelessness. It’s very common in sketching and old book illustrations, and still alive in genres like old-school fantasy art.
Painting with acrylics is something I have been doing regularly for a few years now, and while still exploring the medium, I am looking forward to experimenting with oil paint. I’ve purchased paints and materials for that, and I’m curious to get to know the medium.
I work with fineliners, traditional pen and ink, acrylic paint, digital line art and coloring, and more recently, charcoal and pencils. As far as my favorite medium is concerned, I think it has always been fineliners/pen and ink or the digital equivalent. Though in traditional art, I nowadays mostly use fineliners in favor of pen and ink, the kind of drawing I make is more or less the same style as I’ve been making for years: line art - raw black and white or digitally colored. I love its classicness and timelessness. It’s very common in sketching and old book illustrations, and still alive in genres like old-school fantasy art.
Painting with acrylics is something I have been doing regularly for a few years now, and while still exploring the medium, I am looking forward to experimenting with oil paint. I’ve purchased paints and materials for that, and I’m curious to get to know the medium.
Three weeks for Dreamwidth: Name three books (or book series) that had an impact on you
I’m going to answer that only considering fiction books, no non fiction.
Robin Hobb, Farseer series
I read these books in my youth, and I think this fantasy series got me into really enjoying reading. For school, we got these lists of books to read, and I often didn’t connect with those books, especially not the young adult books they advised us to read. They were frequently full of drama, and I already had a difficult situation to cope with at home, so I didn’t want to read things that were depressing as well.
I found this book series in a bookstore, read the description about a young man growing up in a castle full of intrigue, training to be an assassin, though he didn’t want to be one. He also had an extraordinary magical gift to communicate with animals. I hadn’t read any reviews on this series, but I really liked the description and bought the first book. I loved it, read the whole first trilogy. I saw there were (at the time) two more trilogies following this story, so I read them as well. I have very fond memories of this, staying up late to discover what was going to happen. I started reading other fantasy books after that, as well as classic seventies speculative fiction that my father had on his bookshelf and that he had read when he was young.
Terry Moore - Strangers in Paradise
This comic book series is about Katchoo, a young woman growing up and being in love with her best friend Francine - who keeps dating men who were mostly bad for her. It starts as just a fun growing-up tale, with plenty of humor, but it evolves further to incorporate aspects of the crime and thriller genres.
I read the book while in college, studying economics, but what I really wanted to do was to study art or take art courses. Katchoo grew up to be an artist, and the book showed me parts of a life I liked to have: learning about art and taking life drawing courses. Being an artist. She also was a badass, taking no shit from anyone. I admired her, wanted to be more like her in some ways. I loved reading about her, and I think this is one of the few books I reread years later. It was again a wonderful experience.
Milan Kundera - The Unbearable Lightness of Being
This was a mandatory read for a college course about literature. I remember being intimidated by the title. I thought this would be a tough book to read and connect with, but I was very wrong. It read really nicely, and told the story about two people who had an entirely different way of seeing life and about what life should be. One chooses security, planning everything out, wanting security, and for instance, a steady romantic relationship. These were things that other protagonists saw as ‘heavy’, as she wanted a life that was light and free of responsibilities, taking everything one day at a time, and just having fleeting flings with people. The ultimate question this book raises is, what kind of life is ‘light’ and ‘heavy’; and I find myself often thinking back to how the novel dealt with these questions, frequently posing myself the same ones as I go through life. Not many books linger in my mind like that.
I’m going to answer that only considering fiction books, no non fiction.
Robin Hobb, Farseer series
I read these books in my youth, and I think this fantasy series got me into really enjoying reading. For school, we got these lists of books to read, and I often didn’t connect with those books, especially not the young adult books they advised us to read. They were frequently full of drama, and I already had a difficult situation to cope with at home, so I didn’t want to read things that were depressing as well.
I found this book series in a bookstore, read the description about a young man growing up in a castle full of intrigue, training to be an assassin, though he didn’t want to be one. He also had an extraordinary magical gift to communicate with animals. I hadn’t read any reviews on this series, but I really liked the description and bought the first book. I loved it, read the whole first trilogy. I saw there were (at the time) two more trilogies following this story, so I read them as well. I have very fond memories of this, staying up late to discover what was going to happen. I started reading other fantasy books after that, as well as classic seventies speculative fiction that my father had on his bookshelf and that he had read when he was young.
Terry Moore - Strangers in Paradise
This comic book series is about Katchoo, a young woman growing up and being in love with her best friend Francine - who keeps dating men who were mostly bad for her. It starts as just a fun growing-up tale, with plenty of humor, but it evolves further to incorporate aspects of the crime and thriller genres.
I read the book while in college, studying economics, but what I really wanted to do was to study art or take art courses. Katchoo grew up to be an artist, and the book showed me parts of a life I liked to have: learning about art and taking life drawing courses. Being an artist. She also was a badass, taking no shit from anyone. I admired her, wanted to be more like her in some ways. I loved reading about her, and I think this is one of the few books I reread years later. It was again a wonderful experience.
Milan Kundera - The Unbearable Lightness of Being
This was a mandatory read for a college course about literature. I remember being intimidated by the title. I thought this would be a tough book to read and connect with, but I was very wrong. It read really nicely, and told the story about two people who had an entirely different way of seeing life and about what life should be. One chooses security, planning everything out, wanting security, and for instance, a steady romantic relationship. These were things that other protagonists saw as ‘heavy’, as she wanted a life that was light and free of responsibilities, taking everything one day at a time, and just having fleeting flings with people. The ultimate question this book raises is, what kind of life is ‘light’ and ‘heavy’; and I find myself often thinking back to how the novel dealt with these questions, frequently posing myself the same ones as I go through life. Not many books linger in my mind like that.
Three weeks for Dreamwidth: Which sapphic films were in some way special to you?
Carol (2015)
I think this is no surprise, as the film is special to many people. It is a beautiful film, and frankly, seeing Cate Blanchett in anything is nothing less than a joy.
I saw this movie in a small local theatre/ art center. The art centre always screened a different recent movie on Tuesdays, a few months after a film had its official nationwide release. I knew I wanted to see this one based on the trailers, but I had no idea what to expect, whether the movie would be good or bad. I hadn’t read any reviews. However, I got seated in the crowded little theatre room, and from the first moments when the movie started, I was enchanted by it. The music with which the film begins is beautiful; it just captivates you immediately and takes you by the hand to show you this wonderfully crafted 50s winter, near-holiday setting.
The movie is charmingly slow and full of sapphic longing from two women of different social statuses and different age. It depicts the process of falling in love with someone and getting to know them, as well as the rougher parts of it, when sometimes reality tries to destroy your tender heart.
It is my favorite sapphic movie, and I sometimes rewatch it during the holiday season. It always manages to to enchant me again.
Bound (1996)
This is also a very well-known film. It was the first sapphic movie I watched. I was young still, somewhere in my teens. I remember seeing the movie mentioned in a TV guide, and reading the description, I knew was a movie about two women falling in love. It had an age suggestion of 18+. When I tuned in for the movie and saw the TV presenter introduce the movie, I remember laughing because he said the 18+ label was because of the violent scenes, not for the 'other’ scenes, as they could be ‘educational'.
The movie contains violence, but it also has a happy ending. And the chemistry between Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon is really amazing.
Een Vrouw Als Eva (A Woman Like Eve) (1979)
I think this older Dutch movie has been forgotten a bit nowadays. I don’t know what the general reception of this movie was when it came out, but it must have been revolutionary to have a sapphic romance movie produced in the late seventies. It features Maria Schneider as a lesbian character, and while the movie was made a long time ago, I always found that it was pretty modern in its depiction of the love story.
A Dutch woman visits a local music festival and falls in love with a female singer who performs there (Maria Schneider). The singer lives in a commune of women in France, and pleasantly, apart from Dutch, the movie also contains parts in French and English, as the Dutch woman and Maria Schneider’s character communicate with each other in French and English.
With this movie, a bit like with Carol, I was a bit enchanted by the music featured in it. I think I saw it in my 20s. The fact that it’s in my native language is fun, and it’s actually the only Dutch sapphic romance movie I know of. The story is nice for its time. I think it’s still worth a watch nowadays.
Carol (2015)
I think this is no surprise, as the film is special to many people. It is a beautiful film, and frankly, seeing Cate Blanchett in anything is nothing less than a joy.
I saw this movie in a small local theatre/ art center. The art centre always screened a different recent movie on Tuesdays, a few months after a film had its official nationwide release. I knew I wanted to see this one based on the trailers, but I had no idea what to expect, whether the movie would be good or bad. I hadn’t read any reviews. However, I got seated in the crowded little theatre room, and from the first moments when the movie started, I was enchanted by it. The music with which the film begins is beautiful; it just captivates you immediately and takes you by the hand to show you this wonderfully crafted 50s winter, near-holiday setting.
The movie is charmingly slow and full of sapphic longing from two women of different social statuses and different age. It depicts the process of falling in love with someone and getting to know them, as well as the rougher parts of it, when sometimes reality tries to destroy your tender heart.
It is my favorite sapphic movie, and I sometimes rewatch it during the holiday season. It always manages to to enchant me again.
Bound (1996)
This is also a very well-known film. It was the first sapphic movie I watched. I was young still, somewhere in my teens. I remember seeing the movie mentioned in a TV guide, and reading the description, I knew was a movie about two women falling in love. It had an age suggestion of 18+. When I tuned in for the movie and saw the TV presenter introduce the movie, I remember laughing because he said the 18+ label was because of the violent scenes, not for the 'other’ scenes, as they could be ‘educational'.
The movie contains violence, but it also has a happy ending. And the chemistry between Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon is really amazing.
Een Vrouw Als Eva (A Woman Like Eve) (1979)
I think this older Dutch movie has been forgotten a bit nowadays. I don’t know what the general reception of this movie was when it came out, but it must have been revolutionary to have a sapphic romance movie produced in the late seventies. It features Maria Schneider as a lesbian character, and while the movie was made a long time ago, I always found that it was pretty modern in its depiction of the love story.
A Dutch woman visits a local music festival and falls in love with a female singer who performs there (Maria Schneider). The singer lives in a commune of women in France, and pleasantly, apart from Dutch, the movie also contains parts in French and English, as the Dutch woman and Maria Schneider’s character communicate with each other in French and English.
With this movie, a bit like with Carol, I was a bit enchanted by the music featured in it. I think I saw it in my 20s. The fact that it’s in my native language is fun, and it’s actually the only Dutch sapphic romance movie I know of. The story is nice for its time. I think it’s still worth a watch nowadays.
Three weeks for Dreamwidth: What was the first website/blog/... you had on the internet?
I think the first website (or page I had on a website) was on Elfwood, way back in the early 2000's. As far as I remember, you could post your fantasy art there (on the wiki it said it also featured scifi art but I don't remember that very clearly), fanart and also stories you've written. It had a page dedicated to tutorials, and it had a community part too, in the form of Elftown, where you could have a profile with your interests and send messages to other users. Strangely enough, while Elfwood ceased to exist years ago, Elftown still exists on the web. I have no idea if it still has active users however.
On Elfwood I had a page that was mostly filled with my early attempts at digital art in Photoshop and Corel Painter. I also had a few fanart drawings on it.
While I appreciate Elfwood for offering me a place for my fantasy art, I remember it was also notorious for it strict modding system. Every time you wanted to post an image, you had to send in a ticket with your drawing. Mods then decided if it was good enough to post (if it wasn't fantasy/scifi enough for their liking, for instance, you weren't allowed to post it). I remember that I had fanart rejected because I used a photo reference to draw it, and they saw that. The latter made me quit the site, as I found it an absurd reason to reject fan art.
I think the first website (or page I had on a website) was on Elfwood, way back in the early 2000's. As far as I remember, you could post your fantasy art there (on the wiki it said it also featured scifi art but I don't remember that very clearly), fanart and also stories you've written. It had a page dedicated to tutorials, and it had a community part too, in the form of Elftown, where you could have a profile with your interests and send messages to other users. Strangely enough, while Elfwood ceased to exist years ago, Elftown still exists on the web. I have no idea if it still has active users however.
On Elfwood I had a page that was mostly filled with my early attempts at digital art in Photoshop and Corel Painter. I also had a few fanart drawings on it.
While I appreciate Elfwood for offering me a place for my fantasy art, I remember it was also notorious for it strict modding system. Every time you wanted to post an image, you had to send in a ticket with your drawing. Mods then decided if it was good enough to post (if it wasn't fantasy/scifi enough for their liking, for instance, you weren't allowed to post it). I remember that I had fanart rejected because I used a photo reference to draw it, and they saw that. The latter made me quit the site, as I found it an absurd reason to reject fan art.
