(no subject)

[wander_realtai]

This morning, I'm in this odd state of flux, where I feel pretty inspired creatively, but somehow the inspiration isn't flowing into action.  I may need to just do some doodles or something to get the creative flow started.

My Muse has apparently decided to take a journey to Faery and stay there.  Maybe she ate the food?  She should know better than that.  I'm giving her free reign, as long as she helps with the convention art too.  *laughs*  Of course, I might attribute this to the fact that I've been absolutely enthralled by the art of Brian Froud lately-- I've been spamming my poor Tumblr followers with it, on my RP blog, no less.  I justify it by reminding myself that my character is an artist too and would likely enjoy Froud's art.  So nyeh.  :P

You know, I think the thing I love the most about Brian Froud’s art is that his faeries— yes, the humanoid ones— do not look or feel human.  They have this unique, alien, slightly sinister and mildly whimsical feel and appearance.  A lot of faery art just presents us with human-looking women in pretty dresses, with wings.  They’re gorgeous, but they lack that utterly alien quality, where you look into their eyes and wonder how such a mind would work, what colors those eyes see, what music those ears hear, how emotions and desires manifest.  He’s really quite magnificent in that way, because it’s as if he taps into a world of pure other-ness where only rare human souls have tread.  I could stare at his art for hours.

Okay, I think I'm going to break out the Wacom for a bit and see if I can get things moving today.

Comments

[fannishliss.livejournal.com]

Husband and I were having a conversation about some faerie art we saw in a catalog. I was like, "Look at those breasts. Faeries are insects, they don't have breasts." He: "Yeah, they probably sting you and lay their eggs in your still-breathing carcase." me: "Yup. But maybe the breasts are like those mantids that pretend to be orchids -- they lure you in and zap! they sting you!!!" He: "but this one is a mammal, look she has batwings." Me: "Maybe the mammal ones don't sting. But the insect ones, watch out!!"

This is the kind of conversations we have.

Also saw Brave over the weekend. So spooked by the Willothewisps. DO NOT TRUST. o_O

[wander-realtai.livejournal.com]

LOL... Faeries as insects. Never thought of it that way before, but it does seem to be the inspiration for a lot of the art depicting them. And then there's Pan's Labyrinth, in which the first faery we see is a large, winged insect that morphs.

Will O' the wisps! They've been on my mind lately because of the story I'm illustrating. You know, I never quite understood why so many people seem to think faeries are sweet, adorable, kind, loving winged ladies who grant wishes. The myths are far more sinister. They won't always cause you harm-- not certain varieties anyway (the unwary traveler had best watch out for little men in red hats or beautiful black horses along a lake-shore, though)-- but you definitely don't want to cross even the "nice" ones. You might end up with a cow that no longer gives milk, or a dying crop, or some other misfortune.

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

Love a fairy that truly shows how wild, unpredictable and otherworldly they are. They are not like us (according to all legends) and the humanoid appearance is where their likeness to humans begins and ends...that being said - please dabble in faerie a bit longer. Do love the work you do and you bring that unique, eerie beauty to them that just sings to my inner Muse.

*HUGS*

[wander-realtai.livejournal.com]

Yes! As much as I love a lot of the pre-Raphaelite works, so much of the "fairy" art of that time inspired a much more bland, watered-down version of the fae that little resembled their origins in folk tales. (Though, Yeats did record some of the older stories, so it wasn't all Victorian Tinkerbell) It's always nice to see modern artists reaching back to those roots, when they were alien and inscrutable, powerful and unpredictable creatures who could, in the truest sense, be friend and foe in the same breath.

Hugs! I'm glad you like my take on them. :)