Alice’s Wonderland

Alice Cao is a young digital artist now exhibiting at The Balmain Market Galleries. Her work is delicate and intuitive whilst at the same time being very precise. Alice has set out to prove that an artist can tell a story through digital means in the same way as with a paintbrush.

“My process is completely computer-generated. Whilst I do have a general structure, I still think the best art still needs a bit of a “go with the flow attitude. After all, art is not a science.” Alice uses Adobe Photoshop which she says is the industry standard with ‘intuitive functionality’ that best suits her work. “I start off with a quick gesture to indicate the flow – this helps me to guide the viewer’s eye and keep some motion in the picture. Then I do a loose sketch of the idea followed by proper line art which is aided by references. Underneath this I’ll lay down some colours – I may do a few of these compositions to get the right mood. I usually merge layers at this point and try to paint like I would traditionally. I’ll do a final layer of colour adjustments and effects if needed, pop in my signature, then call it a day.”

Alice’s artwork is like walking through an enchanted forest with mythical creatures. A pagan world in which you would expect to find King Arthur and Merlin in conference with the black knight. “I’ve just always been fascinated by fantasy and nature. I have grown up reading fantasy novels and playing games which were typically medieval based with dragons and wizards. I am enthralled by the romantic notion of riding a horse off to new adventures and unknown lands.”

Alice would love to see more digital art in physical art spaces like galleries and museums as they mostly only display traditional works.

Oct 13 & 27. Balmain Markets, 217-223 Darling St & Curtis Rd, Balmain. Info: www.artstation.com/alicecao

By Renee Dallow