One Wing in the Fire

Let me start by saying that this is a breathtaking piece.

It's of course, not the most original idea there is, since about everyone has done good and evil angels, myself included, but it remains one of the classics, and I think everyone should try it at least once. I think all angel lovers would flock to this piece, since that is what drew me in myself.

The vision of this piece was really catchy for me, especially since I love symbolism so much and can read my own ideas out of the works of others. I like how the dark angel has her wings and sword on fire, it's that keen taste of darkness, danger, pain, passion, seduction and heat of the moment. Darkness is an all-encompassing force, but without the light it cannot exist, yet it also tries to consume the light whenever it can, we can see that by how the white wings catch on fire.

The two landscapes are another great symbol to both Dark and Light, Death and Life. On the one side we see destruction and desolation, on the other side we see green grass and tree life. This artwork strictly draws the line between the different two worlds by pointing out those differences. In our own lives, I think many of us have visited both those places.

My bit of criticism on this would purely be technical, since the vision and impact of the idea was amazing. When you do a photomanipulation like this it is good to decide on what style you want to stick for it, sharp and more photographic/real looking, or a softer, blurrier from more akin to painting. It's good to pick one of those and stick to it. I know it's not always easy, especially with limited resources, but programs like Photoshop are excellent to help with that. The Sharpen tool is our friend as much as the Smudge and Blur, though the latter two should not be overused. Personally when I cannot get an image cut perfectly and there are spots I would like to blur out, I paint over them, use Transparency, it works like a dream, use the Spot Healing tool, it also helps.

I wish you good luck in the contest, this piece is really marvelous, you should be proud!