BOOK NOOK; Fantasy Art Books

 'From its origins in sacred texts and classical mythology, fantasy has always been a major chord in the music of the spheres, in the voice of the heavens, the sky and outer space.'

Joseph Simas

I have always loved the realms of fantasy in fiction, art and film, so when I discovered these three beautiful books at the Hunterian & Mackintosh Art Gallery in Glasgow last October, I knew I had to buy them and bring them home with me, to add to my collection of Art books.  They are all part of the same series, by the same publisher and they look just beautiful on the art and literature bookshelves in my study.

As University classes have been severely disrupted, first with tutor strikes and now with corona-virus, I've been spending time with these stunning books of art instead.  There is nothing more firing to my writer's imagination than lighting my large pewter Lothlorian candle holder, playing Omnia's Naked Harp and quietly flipping through the pages of these stunning books of art from past and present. 

Celestial Art depicts the work of contemporary artist Josephine Wall, exploring the inspirations behind her marvelous paintings.   Her work is well known in pagan circles and has been used as cover art for esoteric magazines, books and music.   Reading this book is like diving into the imagination of your former childhood.  It is full of vibrant colour, with page after page of her paintings reproduced to a very high quality.  

Although I love the art of Victoria Frances and her gothic, chiaroscuro palette, sometimes I want to escape into a world of rainbow brightness  and what Victoria Frances is to the chiaroscuro technique, Josephine Wall is just as dedicated to the full spectrum of colour.  Her art is so cheerful and happy.  It takes you to a good place and no matter how many times you look at one of her swirling paintings, you always find something new, some fey little creature or tableau detail hidden in the body of the work.  I especially love her mermaids. 

Josephine is heavily influenced by the work of early twentieth century painter, Arthur Rackham, which brings me to the next book by the same author...

This next book in the series is all about one of the original fantasy artists, Arthur Rackham and you might be very familiar with his work already as he is famous for having illustrated many classic children's books during his lifetime, most notably the 'coloured' Fairytale books.  I have the Blue Fairy book and Rackham's illustrations are exquisite.   His delicate line drawings and dainty watercolour images draw you into a enchantingly fey landscape of charm and innocence.  This is the perfect book to flip through when you want to rediscover your favourite childhood fairytales and learn more about the artist who brought them to life for generations of children the world over. 

The author of both these books writes in a fairly academic style, so it feels like you are receiving a valuable and interesting university level lecture in the workings of these artists, their preferred materials and techniques, their influences etc.  He also highlights the journey of each artist, where they began and how they developed their style into something so unique and instantly recognizable along the way. 

The Art of Anne Stokes is a book in the same series, so it's identical in size and shape but it is written by a different author, John Woodward, in a writing style that is far more commercial.  Incidentally, if you want to understand the difference between an academic and commercial register of tone - essential knowledge if you hope to be a published writer - comparing and contrasting this book with one of those mentioned above, would give you a great insight. 

Again, Anne Stokes is a favourite artist of mine.  I have loved her work since I first discovered it in a little sea-front shop at Scarborough on the Yorkshire coast, where they were selling posters, clothing and sculptures of her designs.  Her work is both light and dark, ethereal and gothic and this book tracks her various styles from stylized fairies to modern steam-punk.  While I'm not personally a fan of the steam-punk, I adore all of her unicorns and I find myself mesmerized by her depictions of  these beautiful mythological creatures.  I especially love her unicorns in snowy settings - they take me away to a magical world and calm my mind. 

Images of unicorns, fairies and dragons have always inspired my own writing and I generally have a art card on my desk as I write.  It's one of my little writer tricks to keep the creative juices flowing and inspiration running high.  Having this gorgeous collection of fantasy Art books to hand will be really useful to me in my work and also, just to relax with.  Plus they are a lovely souvenir from my holiday to Scotland and trip to Glasgow last year.  

With scented candles glowing in magical holders, soft mystical music playing in the background and sophisticated picture books like these,  I can while away the hours quite happily and you could too.  Flipping through art books takes less effort than reading a novel but the images still take you to another place, freeing your thoughts and de-stressing your mind after a long day.   

So leave behind all the doom and gloom of the current headlines and turn the concept of self-isolation into self-education with an artistic slant.  I hope this post has inspired you to think of 'picture books' in an entirely new way!

BB Marie x