LAUNCESTON, TASMANIA, AUSTRALIA, May 18, 2017 - / - From the fantastic to the abstract, the Artists Down Under group cover the gamut of artistic expression. And with the inaugural issue of the free monthly “Artists Down Under – Australia and New Zealand” magazine, launched on April 1, their work is now available for all to enjoy.

Although their work spans many genres, what they all have in common is the use of digital artistry techniques to realise their visions. Using photographs, digital shapes, and scanned ephemera they combine, warp, layer and mask them using computer software to create their images. It’s remarkable how similar the process is to classical painting techniques, despite only manipulating bits and bytes. Some artists even use a pressure-sensitive digital stylus and tablet to sketch and paint – and some use their finger on their iPad. The results are images of depth and complexity; some look like traditional paintings yet others are unique to the digital process.

The artists whose work is featured in the magazine met through Sebastian Michaels’ “AWAKE: Living the Photo Artistic Life” online photo artistry community. The idea for the group and magazine was the brainchild of digital artist Athalie Taylor from Tasmania, Australia. Athalie and other digital artist friends wanted to make digital art forms more widely understood and accessible, and wanted new ways to promote the unique work being done by Australasian artists to the Australasian art community. According to Athalie, “rather than waiting for someone to provide such an outlet down under, we decided to just do it ourselves”.

Being digital artists, it made sense for the magazine to be digital too. On the first of the month, the magazine appears online for free on Issuu, a digital magazine provider. Through the print-on-demand service Peecho, anyone can purchase printed copies of the magazine or even soft and hard cover books. The Artists Down Under community is active on Facebook too, where they run a public Facebook group to show their art and announce where the public can see exhibitions of their work.

The members of the organizing team did an amazing job to get everything up and running so quickly and smoothly. In collaboration with Athalie, graphic designer Colin Butterworth designed the magazine, artist Colin Campbell proof-reads each issue, and artist Mary Knaggs runs two Facebook pages, a private one for the members and a public one.

Athalie acknowledges Sebastian Michaels for his encouragement and support: “Without Sebastian and the ADU team this would be just a thought, but now it’s a reality”.

Be sure to join their Facebook group to see what’s happening and to marvel at the creativity and unique artwork being produced by the members of this special group.  Related links below; 

Artists Down Under - April 2017 Issue: 

Artists Down Under - May 2017 Issue:

Artists Down Under - Facebook Page:

Contact Information:

Athalie Taylor

Phone:   +61 3 63447961

Email:    artistsdownunder@gmail.com