Dark Fairies or Angels

Gustave Doré's work is more biblical but if we relate fairies with mythology we find an interesting link. The notion of a dark fairies is not far off from The Story of Redemption. The fall of the angels from the sky is thought to have brought all those supernatural beings upon earth. One of them being depicted here is Lucifer, or better known as The Fall of Lucifer, illustrated by Gustave Doré. The story goes as such, Lucifer was an exalted angel in heaven, and quite beloved as he was the next closest to God, after his son. Lucifer grew jealous of Christ not knowing why God was to have as his equal, or even what God had in store for his son. Lucifer then sought a rebellion and thus became Gods adversary also known as Satan. Claiming his freedom the War of Heaven came to be. The story is far more intricate, but as you can imagine, the heavens needed to be returned to its bliss. Those angels, dark angels or even as some would see it dark fairies come from that part of the story. And the Darkest Fairy of all Fell from the Heavens. Why not have this example as cute fairy tattoo. OK, a little bit too dark, but interesting isn't it?

Cute Fairy Tattoos or Evil Looking Folklore ones?

Hi Folks

It's been a little while, but I'm always back to put up a couple of new pics. Actually it wouldn't be a bad idea to use some of these beutiful fairy images to make a few cute fairy tattoos. Well, as a guy, there are some pretty mean looking fairy tattoos which would rival quite easily with some hard core ones. Yes, believe it or not. And why not!? I guess if your probably going to do something like that, just choose what suits you best. Obviously, some of those cute fairy tattoos that we refer to are those meant for the female gender. But you would be surprised to see some not so cute but outstanding fairy tattoos. And you'd also be surprised to see a lot of them on both Ladies & Gents. Cute Fairy Tattoos! Nahh, it's not for me. And then... Wow, I never thought their were so many amazing pictures of fairies that could actually go well as a tattoo. It actually is quite easy to find something fitting, if you think about it for a second. Fairy Tales come from folklore and the imagery in tattoos, back in the past, were very close related in most cultures. So to be rad, check out the history. That's not all... but I'll come back to this topic later.

Kay Nielsen Illustration

Always a pleasure to look

at one of these illustrations.

Don't you think!?

Harry Clarke Watercolour Masters

Harry Clarke is knon for his work on stained glass but he has extraordinary work on illustration. We could say that he's not only from the golden age but has also of pre-raphealite influence from the Victorian Age.

He has a similar approach as Aubrey Beardsley. Atlhough I find his work more minute and intricate. What makes it similar somehow is the figure drawings. The facial aspects are enlongated and the figures are tall and scrawny. Another mark is it being mostly black and white.

But he does have the odd work in colour. This particular one is rare and back from the 1920's and it's from a series illustrating Hans Christian Andersern's FairyTales. Wow, absolutely astonishing.

Harry Clark is of Irish origin and son of Joshua Clarke. He was born in 1889 and died 1930. He did other works, such as illustrated the Edgar Alan Poe's Tales of Mystery and Imagination and much more. All of are breath taking. If you're looking for his work on stained glass, then you should hop over to Ireland and go past The Honan Chapel on the University Grounds of Cork.

Ivan Bilibin

Ivan Bilibin was an artist that came from Russia. This means that his Art is Slavic.
He is also among my favorite illustrators.

When he traveled to the Northen part of Russia, he became acquanted with the Slavic folklore and the wooden architecture from those parts of the country.

His contribution to Russian Fairy Tales was original. He also went passed Cairo and Alexandia, only briefly, but came to settle in Paris around 1925.

He illustrated stories such as the Tale of the Golden Cockerel, Baba Yaga, Island Buyan. The Redfirebird is particularly beautiful. He was born in St.Petersburg, 1867 and died during the Leningrad Siege in 1942.

Kay Nielsen

Kay Nielsen is an artist from the late 19th century and also one of the names to be on the list of favorite illustrators. His origins are from Denmark and so his ilustrations have to do with Scandinavian Fairy Tales.

His most notorious is East of The Sun and West of The Moon, a norwegian tale that was introduced into literature by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe. These guys were a bit like the Grimm Brothers who collected tales from folklore and storytellers. Andrew Lang, another folklorist, also included this in his Blue Book of Fairy Tales.

But we're here to talk about Kay Nielsen. Actually, more to share one of his paintings with you. He also illustrated fairy tales such as Hans Christian Andersen and the Grimm Fairy Tales. So here you have this beautiful image of one of my favorite illustrators. A Kay Nielsen illustration of East of the Sun and West of the Moon. Enjoy

Watercolor Paintings

Have a look at this one by Edmund Dulac from a Fairy Tale

There's a great variety of watercolor paintings. And if one looks carefully, we can find a wide variety of paintings that look quite apart and different from each other. Let's take a simple theme. A watercolored flower. These can be done with blunt thrusts of the brush and you can easily produce a good looking flower.

But what about those that really look real. Often, it's not only about the watercoloring technique but the time you spend with it. If you keep layering very light coats of watercolor paint. These keep overlappind and create depth and a stronger colour. That's why some watercolor paintings are better than others.

Just take a little longer and I'm sure you'll be impressed with the watercolor paintings you produce. Give it a go and put on some music while you're painting.