This week I have another femme artist, Crypticgrrl, who’s dramatic close-ups were featured on a Fan Friday January 14, 2011 with this comment:

Crypticgrrl’s detailed close-up portraits are quite evocative. We hope to see more great digital paintings from her!

I’ve been eyeing her deviantART gallery for months now waiting to work up the courage to spring an interview on her and I’m very glad to be able to show off her gorgeous pieces to you, my discerning readers! I knew what pleasures we were in for art wise of course, but I am very pleased to also be able to present you with a truly wonderful interview and look into the home and works of a remarkably talented artist.

Crypticgrrl added a touch of black latex to TORWars. I can only say I heartily approve!

Share a little about you with us. Who are you, where are you from, what do you do.

Well, my name is Jacqueline Roy and I have lived most of my life just outside of Boston, Massachusetts. I’m 43 years old, married with one child who’s now *gasps* 20 years old (wow that makes me feel my age). I own a franchise family business with my mom and I try to cram some kind of art into every spare moment of the day. I am just not happy unless I’m elbows deep into creating something new and unusual.

Miraluka Darkness. Crypticgrrl's latest, awesome submission on deviantART.

Are you already or are you planning on being a full time professional artist?

I have always considered myself to be an artist but it’s only been recently that I have made the change to do this full time. I actually went back to school to get my law degree but there was a bit of a snafu with my tuition transferring over and in the process the admissions advisor kept hounding me to reconsider and change to an art major. I’m not sure if that means she thought I’d make a terrible lawyer or she really liked my artwork but I’ve relented and I’m happier for it. Studying art is loads more fun than studying Latin or brief writing. My mother has taken over the primary responsibilities for our family business and I’ve been staying home to work on my art full time.

What drew you to Star Wars: The Old Republic. Is there some part of the Star Wars Universe in particular that fascinates you?

This is where I could possibly get pelted with rotten fruit but I have to admit that I am more of a Trekkie fan, though I did love the Star Wars movies; all of them in fact. I guess I have always been a huge science fiction fan but Star Trek has been at the top of my list for decades because I really love the almost utopian society where they have done away with money or homelessness and illness. Star Wars, on the other hand, satisfies my love of adventure and cheering for the underdogs (scoundrels) of the universe.

SWTOR Zabrak by Crypticgrrl

Happily the Star Wars universe is famous for having notorious bad aim, at least if you’re a Storm Trooper so any apples launching shouldn’t be a problem.

I think it was the Force that fascinated me the most about Star Wars. I mean, seriously, who doesn’t grin at the idea of being a super cool Jedi or a badass Sith? I have been told (by my husband many times) that I am as pathetically non-evil as you can get; to the point that if I stole a stick of chewing gum, I’d probably run back to the store in tears an hour later to pay for it. So, you’d generally assume from that statement that I’d be all cheers for the Jedi and all rawr about the Sith, but after reading the book Star Wars: The Old Republic: Deceived I think SWTOR and Lucas Arts have done a fantastic job putting balance to the storyline for both sides and I have to admit that I have fallen to the dark side of the Force.

his was a quick painting I did to test out some tools... not the best work but the tools are great. - Crypticgrrl

Do you plan on playing SW:TOR and if so have you decided on what you’ll play yet?

Yes, I do plan on playing SWTOR. I actually have to try and avoid looking at the website to often because not only do I slack off in my work, I whine pitifully about wanting them to release the game already. I’m a huge nerdchick so I’ve played pretty much every MMORPG that has come out but my game lovins has always been reserved for science fiction based MMO’s and sadly those have been few and far between.

I am also an avid role-player *coughs*. It’s always been my primary focus for picking any of the games I’ve played. If the game is not suited to role-play or it doesn’t have a strong role-play community, I’m just not going to stick around to play it for very long. I get bored easily when a game consists of nothing but button mashing or the never ending slew of “kill so many baddies and you win a new armoured thong” quest.

As for what I’m going to play in SWTOR, I’m not entirely sure but it will definitely be a Sith.

My armor on this is way off and just slapped together, i'll post a touch up later. - Crypticgrrl

How long have you been painting, drawing, designing and what’s your specialty?

I started painting when I was 9 years old. The very first painting I did was an oil of my Siberian husky, Tasha. My parents were so impressed that they shuffled me off to art classes and I was hooked from that moment on. Though, I don’t limit my creativity to just painting or drawing, I am also a fiber artist. I have a gigantic, full sized loom in my studio and I weave wall tapestries with a 3D twist. Most of my woven art contains some kind of Shibori silk that I dye myself. So I’d have to say that fiber arts is my main love but painting and drawing comes a very close second because I do it entirely on the computer and there’s no mess to clean up! You just don’t know how big the no mess factor is until you’ve had oil paints splattered from ceiling to floor and you have to use turpentine to remove it from your hair and face.

Who are your favourite artists?

For drawing and painting, I am so absolutely in love with Luis Royo, I would run away and have his children if he would share his artistic secrets with me. Well ok, that might be a tad bit extreme but I do love his artwork.

One of my top favourite fiber artists is Betty Maguire Hayzlett who has the ability to use fiber and fabrics in a way that you see beyond the medium. Looking at her art impacts me twice; first when I see the piece as a whole and say “wow, that’s beautiful.” And secondly when I step closer and realize she did the entire piece in fabric or string or even hand felted wool. Her art makes you want to touch it (which, of course, is frowned upon in most galleries).

I had to take a forced break from painting because my computer blew up. This was my first painting on the new machine This is the first in a series i'm going to do for Star Wars: The Old Republic Pin Up Girls! - Crypticgrrl

Do you do commission work? If yes where/how do you want people to get a hold of you?

That is a difficult question to answer. When it comes to painting or drawing for something like SWTOR or any game, I tend to shy away from doing commission work because people are usually looking for me to draw their character. They have an emotional attachment to the character and they are looking for someone to accurately pull that image or emotion out of their minds and place it on paper. Unfortunately mind dumps are not always accurate and the client’s reactions are unpredictable at best which has always soured me to the process of doing paintings for established role-play characters unless they are my own. I have had one too many reactions of “Oh it’s a great painting… but…” to realize that though I accept my art won’t please everyone all the time, this situation exaggerates that scenario.

The second painting in my series Pin Up Girls of SWTOR. - Crypticgrrl

I will do commissions for people who give me free control over the creative process. I actually have loads of fun working with people that way. It becomes a collaborative effort because there is always back and forth between each step of the process and I learn a lot about a person’s character. The best way to contact me for that kind of work is via my email crypticgrrl@gmail DOT com. My email goes directly to my cell phone which I have glued to my person at all times. If I am not busy or working on art (I get very single minded and block the world out) I’ll usually answer right away.

I’ve been in love with your Miraluka image for months now and I will unabashedly admit it’s my favourite. What can you tell us about this image?

Normally I work with real media or photography but I downloaded Painter 11 the other day and decided to try it out. I already had a wacom so I figured what the heck! This is my very first attempt with this program so be kind Hopefully once i've learned the program better, I'll actually do something that isn't bleh. - Crypticgrrl Dec 2010

I have to start this answer with a big LOL and a thank you. I do love it when someone appreciates something I’ve created but the truth is I flubbed that painting up so many times that it always makes me laugh when someone tells me it’s their favourite. My biggest flaw as a painter is I totally suck at perspective. Some people are gifted in this area, I am sadly lacking. I have two tricks to get around this problem, my mother and a little program called Daz Studio.

I’ve only actually had Daz for a few days so I’m not sure that actually counts but I always have to have someone else look at something I’ve drawn before I start painting it because I guarantee I will screw up something on the proportions or perspective. I once did a Star Trek painting and my mother saw it after I had finished and while she was looking at it, she slowly started to stretch her own neck then stood on her toes until finally she blurted out “I think her neck is too long, it looks weird.” So now I do a “neck check” after I sketch something out by showing it to someone in my family (usually my mom because she’s also very artistic and has a great eye for proportion) to make sure I don’t have an arm where a foot should be. The Miraluka painting was one that no one was available to do the neck check so uh… there are a few issues with that one and I cringe every time I look at it. I think now that I have Daz, I might repaint that one because it’s actually based on a the character I am strongly leaning towards playing first when SWTOR comes out.

This is a digital painting of the character Lord Braiden. I've made one mistake on it... the tattoo from what I have been told is Mandalorian and not Sith. - Crypticgrrl

I think my favourite is “Lord Braidon” because I painted that one for my husband’s SWTOR character and my husband loved it. He (both my husband and his SW character) is an evil bastard and I think I captured that quite nicely plus I learned a few new techniques that I’m very fond of from the painting.

I will say, however, the painting shows how little I know of the lore because I was informed that the tattoo I put on his face was wrong and if that character actually was a Sith and a Mandalorian, he would be uber bad ass. I never changed it because I think my husband is uber bad ass so it fits lol.