When I was about 17 I became very ensconced in the world of Illustration,Reiniger, Konewka, Neilson, Clarke, Fitzpatrick, Mouse in short, a hoard of artists where mesmerizing to me despite the fact that I had not taken art as a module at school. Having an obsession about mythology and the supernatural as a child it was a natural progression that an Artist by the name of Arthur Rackham shone to me most of all, his work was striking and unique, and his use of color and shading compensated brilliantly for the limitations of color printing of the period.
He stood shoulder to shoulder with my favorite pre raphaelite artists(with whom I became obsessional around the same time). Picking up a copy of Sleeping beauty I was spellbound by his silhouette work , so much so I marched out to the shed and grabbed some black gloss and brushes and went to work on both doors of my room. The Airing cupboard and the back of my bedroom door. I was very pleased with the end result and to my surprise so was my mother when I had finished. But above all what struck me about his work was although delicate, charming and rich in detail it had a pervading element of the slightly sinister which quintessentially is the appeal for me.
This christmas period with the snow making me housebound I shall take a trip out to the shed, liberate some paint and brushes and try and reproduce the cupboard door once more.
1 comment:
oi mrs, you'd best post pictures if you do.
Post a Comment