Cathrine Langwagen is a digital painter and
compositor who loves the Myst series, and who
visualises and realises superb fantasy scenes.
DAL: Cathrine, a big welcome to the Myst issue of Digital
Art Live magazine. Many thanks for this in-depth
interview. This issue is a themed tribute to the famous
videogame Myst and its distinctive island and Ages. We
came across pictures of your crafted real-world “Myst
Puzzle book” and then thought that your gallery art would
be a fine fit with the theme.
CL: Thank you so much and I feel very honoured to be
featured in Digital Art Live magazine.DAL: First, tell us about your love for the Myst game(s)
please? You write on your website, for instance, that “I
have always dreamt of coming up with new ages for the
game”.
CL: I’ve always been the “logic puzzle and problem” girl,
being drawn — from very early on — toward solving
riddles and coming up with my own games and puzzles
for others to solve. Myst was the first real computer game
that I fell in love with, many years ago, and it changed
my entire view on gaming. Until that point I didn’t know
that there were fantasy games that did not include
violence or defeating enemies of some sort. This game
was relying solely on exploration, fantastic worlds and
solving riddles and it spoke to me and who I was on so
many levels. Not only did it connect with my love for
puzzles but also my keen interest in drawing and painting.
The fantastic worlds in Myst were a revelation for a kind
of art I felt an instant connection to. After finishing
playing Myst I remember going back to the shop where I
bought it asking for more Myst-games. Despite there not
being many games like that, back in the mid 1990s, there
was the follow-up to Myst. That was how I found Riven.Riven was even more amazing visually than Myst. I think
this is the point where I started fantasizing about painting
fantastic worlds of my own. Up until this point my doodles
and drawings were mostly of everyday, mundane things.