Goldenwolf (artist)

2013-01-13T21:32:05Z

71.222.192.114: /* Controversy */

{{cleanup}}
{{unref}}
[[File:goldie_and_freya.jpg|right|thumb|150px|"Goldenwolf and her dog, Freya"]]
'''Goldenwolf''', also known as '''Goldie''' (real name '''Christy Grandjean'''; born March 28, 1974 in [[Wikipedia:San Bernadino|San Bernardino]], California, USA) is an [[anthro]] artist and is a professional, top selling artist in the [[fantasy]], [[furry]], and [[anthropomorphic]] genres.

== Biography ==

Goldenwolf was born on California, USA. Her parents did not stay in California long, moving to (then) West Germany for a few years, and then to Southern Utah where she lived off and on from Kindergarten onwards. She has been drawing since she could hold a crayon, drawing crude [[unicorns]] at first, then [[dragons]], and finally [[wolves]] and [[werewolves]] when she was out of High School.

She has always been into fantasy and animals, and has always been fascinated by werewolves and [[shapeshifter]]s. It was only natural that when she was introduced to [[roleplaying]] in her 20s that it took a strong hold on her. The game with the most influence for her was [[White Wolf]]'s [[Werewolf: the Apocalypse]] where someone could roleplay a werewolf, but a werewolf that was very mystical and spiritual, tied to the mother Earth, nature spirits, and the cosmos, and fight the evil corporations and forces that were bent on destroying the world.

The world this game brought to life consumed her and she spent all of her time in the 90's roleplaying, storytelling, and drawing her characters, other people's characters, scenes from the game, and werewolf art in general. This was the beginning.

== The Internet, Wolfhome, and the House of Were ==
[[File:Eyesofthenight.jpg|right|thumb|175px|"Eyes of the Night"]]
Goldenwolf made her first brief appearance online in 1996. She submitted a very few of her werewolf images to "[[Bender's Werewolves in Suburbia]]" and had a very small gallery of about three pieces there. However, lacking the necessary equipment and resources to get her artwork online properly, she left the internet in frustration. She returned again to the internet in early 1999 where she came across "[[RS Creations Werewolf Pages]]" and began meeting other [[therians]].

She was told at that time that it was preferrable to have a "handle" or a fake name when dealing with the internet, so she randomly chose the moniker "Goldenwolf" because she is blond and it sounded neat. Not long after she was contacted by [[Gre7g]] of [[Temple of Luna]] who brided for her artwork with a computer hard drive. This was Goldenwolf's first online gallery.

Not long after she moved in with Gre7g in Lenexa, KS to begin a business collaboration. Together the two began creating [[Wolfhome]], a 2D web-based graphical chat. Gre7g did the programming, and Goldenwolf did the artwork. They were later joined by [[Underdog]] to assist in the programming and development. Soon after Wolfhome became public Gre7g started dating [[Kyoht]] and moved her in as well. Goldenwolf and Kyoht became fast friends. Thus the beginning of the [[House of Were]].

In 2002 the household moved to Cedar City, Utah and were joined at that time by Goldenwolf's boyfriend at the time, [[Mitternacht]], and their friend [[WolfmageX]]. Goldenwolf and Mitternacht were married in 2003 and moved to Colorado in 2004. They later split in 2006 due to irreconcilable differences.

One of her paintings, ''[[Eyes of the Night]]'', was sold for $10,000 USD to a local appreciator of [[furry art]] at [[Further Confusion]] 2004. This is the currently highest selling piece of art within the fandom to date.

== Going professional ==
[[File:2011mountainshirts.jpg|left|thumb|175px|"Goldenwolf's T-shirts licensed with The Mountain"]]
At that time that she sold "Eyes of the Night" she met a fellow artist [[Sandra SanTara]], and they hit it off immediately. Sandra had been selling her artwork professionally in the science fiction/fantasy circuit for twenty years and saw the direction that Goldenwolf could go. After splitting with Mitternacht, Goldenwolf moved in with Sandra in her house in Boulder, Colorado and Sandra began showing her the professional ropes, taking her to Renaissance Festivals, Sci-Fi/Fantasy conventions, Anime conventions, Art and Gift shows, etc. Goldenwolf was very well received at these venues and began focusing on these to further her career as an artist and to broaden her horizons.

With Sandra's careful tutelage, Goldenwolf, who was by now simply known as "Goldie", began garnering attention not only online, but from businesses and other professionals. She was contacted by the Art Director/CEO of "The Mountain" T-shirt company in 2004 to license her artwork on their t-shirts. She happily agreed, and soon ''[http://www.goldenwolfen.com/artwork/wolf%20people/vantagepoint.htm Vantage Point]'', "Eyes of the Night", and her wolf tribal were gracing the fronts of The Mountain's signature tye-dye T-shirts. In 2010 The Mountain commissioned her to create an exclusive design for them, "Golden Feather", and they additionally picked up "Tiger Portrait" and a new piece of hers, "Bruin". As of 2011 "Vantage Point", "Golden Feather", "Bruin", and "Tiger Portrait" are popular T-shirt designs. At the same time as she was commissioned for "Golden Feather", she was asked if she wanted to participate in a deal with Wal-Mart. She agreed, and Wal-Mart began carrying her "Vantage Point" T-shirt in January 2011.
[[File:Teenwolf_wolfsbride.jpg|right|thumb|200px|"Screenshot from Teen Wolf, Pilot Episode, Part 2 featuring Goldenwolf's 'The Wolf's Bride' painting"]]
In the Fall of 2010 she was approached by New Remote Productions in Atlanta, GA about using her artwork on MTV's upcoming new series "Teen Wolf". She heartily agreed, and the studio then asked for a custom piece for use as a pivotal prop in the pilot episode. She created "The Wolf's Bride" for MTV, which was used in the Teen Wolf Pilot, Part 2. Other artwork was seen briefly in Teen Wolf Pilot, Part 1.

Goldie lives with Sandra, now in the East Mountain area of Albuquerque, New Mexico where they moved to in 2011 (after living briefly in Rapid City, South Dakota). The two have created a joint company, Wolfsisters Creations, under which they travel and sell prints, t-shirts, and art jewelry at art shows.

== References ==
<references />

== External links ==
{{Contributor|Goldenwolf}}
* [http://www.goldenwolfen.com/ Goldenwolfen.com] - Goldenwolf's official website
* [http://www.wolfsisterscreations.com/ Wolfsisters Creations] - Goldenwolf/Sandra SanTara Joint website studio
* [http://goldenwolf.deviantart.com/ Goldenwolf] on [[deviantART]]
* [http://www.furaffinity.net/user/goldenwolf/ Goldenwolf] on [[Fur Affinity]]
* [https://twitter.com/goldenwolfen Goldenwolf] on [[Twitter]]
* [https://www.facebook.com/Goldenwolfen Goldenwolf] on [[Facebook]]
* [http://goldenwolfen.livejournal.com/ Goldenwolf's Journal] on [[LiveJournal]]
* [http://www.youtube.com/user/glodenwolf Goldenwolf] on [[YouTube]]

[[Category:People]]
[[Category:Artists]]
[[Category:Therians]]
[[Category:Oklacon guests of honor]]
[[Category:Rocky Mountain Fur Con guests of honor]]
[[Category:Colorado]]
[[Category:1974 births]]

[[es:Goldenwolf]]

WikiFur - User contributions [en]

Goldenwolf (artist)