Deviant Dimanche 7/21/13

I love carousels.  And all theme park rides.  Especially the ornate old ones.  I love period lingerie.  And all lingerie.  From Opheila-Overdose.

Vanity Fair

More lingerie, and that shabby chic interior!  With a dark twist.  Love it.  The blonde looks like a Rapunzel or even a fair Rosalinda.  By Usagi-Tsukina-krv.

Fashion Usagi

Color! Magical Animal!  Personification! Apoplexy!  By ZiyoLing.

Colorful Wings: Peacock

Tumblr Tuesday 7/16/13

Surrounded by her animal friends and obvious supernatural goings on, the subject seems very calm.  Perhaps the supernatural events are hers to control.  By Rodrigo Luff of Neon Forest.

Detail from 'Storm'

Snow White in her glass coffin echoed by the art style has heavy outlines and bright color style emulating leaded glass windows.  By S. Hruby for Die Muskete Magazine.  Tumbled by fuckyeahvintageillustration.

Also from fuckyeahvintageillustration and drawn by Thomas Heath Robinson is this ecstatically colored book illustration.  The colors are enough to qualify it, but the loaded symbolism cinches the deal.

More Animal Companions!

Cause who doesn't love fluffy things?  This piece by Romona Ring from her Behance profile.  I love the soft color palette and emphasized red spots.  The creepy Adam and Eve figures are watched over by the foxes.

Next is also a fox, but this one is magic!  By Martin Wittfooth from his recent showcase on Juxtapose Magazine.   

Last is a snake in honor of my Slytherin association.  The photograph series is disturbingly beautiful and supposedly natural.  The poses are almost supernatural appearing.  By Mark Laita.  From a report on his current exhibition from The Art Blog.

Disney Princess Spotlight: Ariel

Ariel is my favorite princess, so I'm starting with her on what I think will be a recurring theme.  Unlike most Disney Princesses, I prefer the Disney retelling of the story.  Hans Christan Anderson was a bit to moralizing for me.  This first piece is a concept work from the movie.  I couldn't find an artist.

Next two are fanarts.  One by MrRabLo is a darker image with a single light source.  The way Ariel is gazing up into the light above can be interpreted in two distinct ways that I see.  It can be a hopeful piece speaking to the dreams and ambitions of a young person.  I can also see it is as a darker piece of a destructive obsession with hopeless dreams.

The World Above

Last is a much more light-hearted piece full of color and movement.  Athena-chan does a fabulous portrait that captures Ariel's innocence in a much more endearing manner than the bratiness in the movie.

Under the sea

Studio Ghibli Fanart Showcase

The productions of  Studio Ghibli are without a doubt modern fairy-tales, and fan-art is an individual spin on these stories.  I particularly like fan art of stories with as much depth as Miyazaki's because it gives you a glimpse of what the artist saw in the movie.  Very like individual interpretations of older stories.

A treetop reunion of a mixture of characters from different films.  They seem to be meeting up to start a new adventure.  By Qinni.

Miyazaki/Ghibli Tribute (repetitive wallpaper)

Next is a feature of Howl and Sophie, with a stronger emphasis their romance than the movie gets.  Looking at the background and Sophie's expression, I would interpret this as the artist's representation of Sophie getting swept away by Howl and his extraordinary life.   By Twitchhhhh.

walking on a dream

Last is a work inspired by my favorite movie, Spirited Away.  I love closeness of Haku and Chihiro and the unbreakable gap between the to.  I find it sad that the movie ends with a separation, but it is necessary for the story.  By Qinni again.

Let's Meet Again

Animal Companions

Animals have always played a huge role in stories, in many roles.  Animals can be antagonists, allies, symbols and more.

The watercolor enhances the mysterious air of this piece.  The owl has long been a symbol of wisdom and this one in particular is staring out at the viewer as if they are the possibly worthy questor/supplicant, coming to beg a drop of wisdom from his regal beak.  ByJLGribble.

Spirits of Winter

Giant animals are frequently used as friendly or even indifferent transportation.  Frodo and Wren could tell you a bit about riding on giant birds.  It doesn't look fun.  By koyamori.

Toy Bird

The animals are not always our friends.  Sometimes our heroes are stalked by dark unseen forces, or maybe there is just something hiding in the dark.  This could be a thing that is hiding under your bed.

By beastofoblivion.

Breaks Form

Asian Mystique

Mystery is a big element of fairy tales and there is no bigger mystery to Western Culture than Eastern culture.  Below are some examples of modern Asian and chinoiserie art that I think could easily be illustrations of Eastern Fairy Tales or themed Western ones.

The first monochromatic painting is a lovely picture of a young girl.  The title 'Harvest'  makes it clearer that she is gathering the leaf like objects that surround her.  I can easily see her as the 'good daughter' that is cruelly subjugated by those who should care for her.  I want to comfort her and tell her, she will get her just reward soon.  By pepperin.

Harvest

 

 

 

The next is a simple picture of a girl in a kimono.  This one is also monochromatic, but in whites and creams instead.  The deceptive richness achieved with the limited palette appeals to the lesson of never underestimating people.  The beggar woman or the ant, they have something to offer.  By meago.

white tea

This last picture of a Korean beauty, trapped in a cage is fought with symbolism.  It rather speaks for itself.  I really appreciate the juxtaposition of clean lines and detail.  By rann-rann.

cage

Winter Wonderlands

There is something about winter.  Perhaps it is the clean illusion of the snow.  Or the unchanging, frozen landscape.  The aspect of unchanging really works for fairy tales, which even when the details change, the eternal story is always present.  This first is a wonderful delicate castle.  Almost looks as if it is a confection sitting in the snow.  By Nelleke.

Winter Wonderland

The next is less candied, but has a great element to replace it.  Fork in the road!  The eternal decision, the ultimate choice, frozen in time, to be made over and over, by every person in the world.  (That was five phrases in that one sentence. Damn.)  By KariLiimatainen.

Lost

And last a scene of winter as the protagonist.  It showcases the effect of  winter on the world.  Beautiful destruction,  Preservation and recreation.  Rejuvenation.   By littlemewhatever.

Winter

Through the looking glass...

Alice and Wonderland are always really popular.  Have been for a long time and are really big at the moment.  Real easy to find lots of great works inspired by these characters and environments.  

 I love this first one because of the expression on Alice's face.  Wonder, which is very appropriate of course.  Wonderful radial symetry, hot/cold balance and micture of simple and intricate details.  By Yuumei.

Wonderland Commission

I love the composition of this next photo.  Alice looking over the deep unknown,  one leg raised innocently.  The trend of growing Alice up and sexifiying her a bit is not new or even out of line to the original text.  This one is a bit blatant but the setting and posing are superb.  By mariannainsomnia.

Follow the White Rabbit

Last, an interpretation of the Red Queen and her cards.  The makeup is superb and the model is exquisite.  Also by mariannainsomnia.

The Queen of Hearts

Ballet

Ballet is one of the things that is fed to most western little girls along with Barbie, princesses, and, of course, Fairytales.  Ballet has this mystique and inherent beauty, with a symbolic communication that is on par with Bharata Natyam.  The graceful movements, behind the stage struggle and drama of ballet are right up fairy tale alley, never mind that many traditional performances are fairytales in their own right.

First is piece that is a taunt bowstring of drama.  The dancer is at the height of the move, when she lets go of actual control, lets gravity take over for a few moments, biding her time till it is her time again to viciously seize control of her movement, whisking into the next move.  All the while making sure that is looks as natural a graceful to the audience as possible.  By juuhachi-gou.

Ballet

Next one may not be a ballet dancer, but she could be.  The floating dress, dramatic cutians, wood floor and exposed feet are all major ballet themes.  The open window furthers the symbolism and ups the drama. By Julie-de-Waroquier.

The violence behind

 Last is a piece that was obviously going for the fairytale feel, complete with hyper saturation, an enchanted wood and protagonist on a road.  The bell like skirt is awfully tutu like, and although she is wearing heels rather than toe-shoes, visually it is very close and her standing position is reminiscent of the 5 basic positions. By Temperate-Sage.

Enchanting

 

Deviant Dimanche 7/7/13

This Sunday's theme is not Disney princesses.

Anastasia is a great princess who was not by Disney.  I love Cos-play, and dressing as a character is so much fun.  This is a great costume and the photo itself is great.  By EnytheOne.

Anastasia

Another one is the Lady Amalthea.  This woman is the princess, the questor and the freakin' magical animal.  Serious triple dip of roles.  This lovely image is by StressedJenny.

I have yet to see Red Riding Hood done as a true children's tale.  It is a bit grown up, and this Hood owns that.  Good, strong composition and a neutral palette hi lighted with her signature red.  By girltripped.

Places where fairytales come to life

I wanted to do a piece that showcased real environment that I though were perfect for consuming the sort of art I prefer.  I love a trip to a gallery, but there is an intimacy that is difficult to achieve in a public place that is often part of the point of interaction.  How can you really resonate with a book or painting if you are concerned with someone spilling there coke on you?  (The answer is pretty easily, but that doesn't mean that we don't all have ideal environments!

A colorful, warm attic nook that is probably not going to be readily invaded by noisy people randomly.  A window to let in light and out your mind.  From my ideal home.

This serene, clean bedroom looks ideal for relaxing and retreating from the rest of the world.  The blank walls are portals to others worlds, waiting to be painted with you imagination.  From Scandinavian Modern.

And a crazy cute nook that looks super comfy.  The curtain closes, to leave you in a cocooned private space, but still has a window!  Privacy and escape! From desire to inspire.

Mermaids!

The first piece was inspired by a song so I'm including that song with he post.  The song stands on its own however, not even counting the video.  I will probably cover Florence + the Machine in their own right later.

The image that is inspired by `daekazu on DeviantArt is a soft, cool composition, rich with metallic effects and deceptively simplistic in details.  The cool background really sets the stage for that flaming hair, and drawing that color to the eyes is a brilliant idea to draw focus to them.  The subtle warth to the rocks helps balance the piece without sacrificing  the effect.  

Rabbit Heart

The next piece by phoeinxlu carries on that rich metallic and color temperature play.  Her rich accutroment make it easy to believe she is some sort royalty, because princesses are always fairytaleish!

Merunes Illusionist

 

 

 

Last one from sakimichan.  I think this one is most symbolic and literal at the same time.  The way the drawing is coming to life is like the way what we are exposed to or read becomes a part of us.  That is when it really gets to come to life and go out into the world, inside of all us us.  And strangely enough this piece also focuses heavily on a hot/cool color palette.  I didn't do that on purpose!

Come to life

 

 

Evil Queens

The bad guy is essential to a fairy tale.  All plots really need conflict, but since folk and fairy tales are almost cultural distillations of the eternal story, the antagonist is even more important.  They need to be large and in charge, or subtle and competent.  They need to be real and unreal at the same time.  None of that ridiculous exposition.  Otherwise they cannot serve as such good foils for our heroes to overcome!

This post if going to focus on the evil queen.  Spurned, trodden on, a failed heroine, or any number of back stories can be thought up, but usually never revealed.  Bad guys exist in a vacuum. 

From Wen-JR (site), comes a scarred beauty who has assumed her own power.

ROD_GRIFFIN_THRONE

This next one could be the moment of birth for an evil queen.  The moment when heroine turned away from happily ever after and resigned to having to steal others share of happiness, her own eternally denied.  Illustrated by Kay Nielsen.

Last is a delightfully wicked image of a witchy woman.  Her glee and passion very much remind me of the the antagonist as their plot comes to together.  The 'Bwahaha' moment if you will.  I like the supernatural elements that mess with the slight sexuality of the figure.  Very reminiscent of the selling you soul trope.  The illustration is by Sergius Hruby for a German Magazine.

Desecration

Darkness in Fairytales

This will be a topic that gets rehashed repeatedly, I'm sure, as will fluffy bunnies and cotton candy.

 This photo is by Li Hui.  The haunting figure is reminiscent of the tragic heroine, young, innocent and brutally treated.  The glowing figure could be a vengeful ghost or a seductive selkie.

 This fabulous bride is a group project from Niroir Noir.  The horror and destruction of what should be a joyous occasion is highlighted by the stark color palette and the chunky brushstrokes.  This one reminds me of Bluebeard's newest wife.

The next piece by Anselm Kiefer is a simple interior, but the brooding colors cast an air of foreboding on the scene.  The horizon fades on us, which is unusual for an interior space.  This manipulation of the environment creates a rather surreal environment.  To me it could easily be the Ice Queen's throne room, or the White Witch's hall,  but I'm not sure Jadis would go for the clerestory windows.

Tumblr Tuesday 7/2/13

Here a loving couple that could be any mythological pair, although the blue skin leads me toward Krishna.  The glowing auras and use of almost cartoonist depth lend to a mythological air.  Tumbled by fuckyeahvintageillustration and originally by Marcel-Lenoir.

 Also blogged by fuckyeahvintageillustration is a fabulous image of the infamaus white rabbit by Gwynedd M. Hudson.  This rabbit is a very world fellow with a fabulous coat, and oriental fan.  Impeccable taste.

Blogged by yay kid lit is a forest scene with maiden.   Nancy Ekholm Burkert is the original illustrator and really gives this one a sense of urgency with all the implied movement, while keeping it delicate and colorful.

Fairy Tale Settings

Is that not Sleeping Beauty's boudoir?  Aged opulent glory!  Ohlala!  Check out the rest of this amazing apartment. 

Ever wanted your own fairy tale castle?  Lucky you, you can buy one, price upon request.

 

And an outdoor setting from Nelleke. I love the forest photomanips she does.  She has a way with color temp.

Nocturne by *Nelleke