July 07
Painting fairies is a passion of mine so I am always eager to add books about painting the creatures to my collection. Everything about fairies appeals to me, and enchantment envelops me whenever I read a book about them. Perhaps it evokes pleasant childhood memories when my mum used to tell us stories about the fairies at the bottom of the garden and leave bags of sweets in the birdhouse for us with little notes from the fairies attached. Maybe my love of fairies is just a natural desire to believe in something magical. But I am absolutely hooked on visually devouring beautiful pictures of fairies and the inspiration behind them. It inspires me no end and spurs me to pick up my pencil and paints.
So, when it comes to reviewing a book on fairies I am very selective. An author has to infuse his passion in his book otherwise I am just not interested, a book full of beautiful paintings is all well and good but I want to know what inspired them and that is exactly what this book achieves. I would absolutely love to meet the author of this book as he brims with enthusiasm on the fantasy world. Paul Bryn Davies offers a unique twist with some of his painting as he doesn't just stick to traditional themes but paints tattoo-wielding fairies in environments such as waste ground and window boxes in metropolis. This sparks my imagination to how much more scope there is with fairies. The author advises that you should 'delve into your deepest imagination and drift away with the fairies.' Drifting away with the fairies certainly puts me in a deep relaxation and in the right frame of mind for composing an outstanding painting of fairies.
The book runs through the materials needed to get started in this hobby, which is a useful guide for beginners. But an extra little feature about this book which I really loved and I don't think is commended enough on the blurb on the back of the book is that on many of the pages there are cartoon fairies which are quite simple drawings which can be of great use to get children started in the hobby of drawing and painting fairies.
One of my favourite parts of the book is where Paul Bryn Davies turns a photo of his daughter and granddaughter into a painting of them as fairies. This provides an excellent guideline on how you can achieve this with your photos. Because he has used a photo of his family it really draws you in and makes you eager to achieve similar results for your family. How impressive to have family members painted as fairies dotted around the house!
The book is split into several parts such as 'fairy faces,' 'fairy limbs,' 'fairy clothes,' 'backgrounds' and 'foregrounds.' The book them ambles on to two visually delicious paintings entitled 'Autumn Wings' and 'Plant Life.' For the first painting, think warm mood-lifting autumn hues with the most delicate fairy playing a violin with birds flying above. This is a detailed step-by step project, which takes up 8 pages to ensure that you will get an absolutely accurate guide on how to achieve a painting just like this. Completing the project will ensure you pick up all the essential hints and tips on painting any fairy and of course you will have a complete sense of euphoria in completing such a wondrous painting.
The second project entitled 'Plant Life' is very decorative and utterly feminine, I can imagine a painting like this being hung in a little girl's bedroom to achieve a magical feel. Delicate pinks, mauves and blues capture all the traditional values of fairies. This is an utterly awe-inspiring book and I would recommend to anyone! Can you feel my enthusiasm for it??
Sarah Cooper
* www.thebookbag.co.uk *
Sept 07
If, like the author, you get accused of being away with the fairies then why not grab a paintbrush and have a go yourself at painting some pretty fairies? Fantasy art is currently very popular, and as nobody has ever seen a fairy, who is to say your own efforts are not accurate? Perhaps this is the appeal of fantasy art!
At last, an artist who confesses to using student quality paints! There is no palette suggested for the reason outlined above, but a selection of the brushes you need is something to add to the shopping list. Apart from that there is not a lot else, and much of it you will already have, which is refreshing and the honest truth. Have a go at some techniques such as stippling and wet in wet, and get to grips with masking fluid. All this is outlined briefly and looks a lot less daunting that it might do. On reading it through several times I could see that, hey, this is actually what you do so the lack of verbiage is as uplifting and the stress on not emptying your bank account. It is the same with the staged projects and I found I had better results than with other books with more diagrams and words so maybe you will too. Is it for a beginner? Some previous experience with using watercolors is advised but not absolutely essential - it is very much a hands-on book and reminds me that art is about doing rather than reading, especially when you are drawing something that does not exist.
For a practical primer that will have you reaching for a pencil, this is a fine book. Check out Painting Unicorns in Watercolour by Rebecca Balchin if you tastes run to the equine.
* Myshelf.com *
