It's been said ~
"Good Artists Copy ~ Great Artists Steal"
That quote has been attributed to Picasso, Steve Jobs, T.S. Eliot just to mention a few ~ Well I do not know who to believe, but I do know a lot of heavy lifting has been going on for centuries by both sorts. I have been eyeballing my own subject for years, only to have found I am about 100 years too late.
I posted a story about Sherlock Holmes's creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle last year. Use the link provided and have a look see. Remind yourself that there were some girls that had everybody in a whirl about photographs they took of fairies. Now I'm not here to step on any fairies or anyone's belief in them ~ I did however love the illustrations by Claude Shepperson that others have said were the bases of the girls fairies.
This comparison would not have been possible if someone hadn't been poking around old children's books. So, thanks to them, I have been doing some heavy lifting of my own this weekend. Again the target is Claude's wonderful ladies from 1913. Most especially the one in the middle. (See illustrations below)
I've tried to keep his lines and the flow of the figure. What sparked my imagination was how light and airy she is. My contribution was to make mine feel even lighter, almost as if she were in flight. And of course color. I really nailed it there. If I'm allowed to say so myself. This figure is earmarked for an up coming job, but if that doesn't happen, I will surly do something grand with her!
Illustration for Alfred Noyes' poem "A Spell for a Fairy" in Princess
Mary's Gift Book by Claude Shepperson. (Hodder and Stoughton, no date,
c. 1914, p. 101ff). Compare the poses of these figures with those of three
of the fairies in Photo No. 1. The figures have been rearranged and details
of dress have been altered, but the origin of the poses is unmistakable.
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| Photo No 1. July 1917 |
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