Monday, May 30, 2011

Comparative Illustration

I just came across this illustration (The Artist) by Australian artist Norman Lindsay (1879 – 1969), thanks to Irony and Pie's comment on my mermaid post, and it reminded me of one by Michael Parkes (Below) so I thought I'd put them both up for comparative purposes.

Creating Eve, 2000


To keep up to date with the words and pictures I'm sharing now head on over to my new website, www.sarahfallon.net.  I'm talking readingwriting and all kinds of daydreamy things.

Pre-Raphaelites

The Pre-Raphaelites were a group of painters, poets and critics founded in 1848 and I’m a big fan (mostly of the painters). I hope one day I’ll be able to say they strongly influenced my own art (it would be extra good if I said this in front of a huge film crew that was interviewing me for the awesomeness awards which they created just for me).

While I wait for that to happen, here are some amazing pieces by some amazing artists.

Lamia by John William Waterhouse, 1905.

According to Greek mythology Lamia was the beautiful Queen of Libya who became a child eating demon. In some cases she is depicted with a serpent’s tail instead of legs, and while that’s not the case here you’ll notice a serpent’s skin wrapped around her arm and waist, and draped over her legs.
John William Waterhouse is by far my favourite Pre-Raphaelite painter.

Lady Lilith by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, 1868.

In some cases Lilith is referred to as the first wife of Adam but she refused to be subservient to him and left the Garden of Eden. She is also seen as a demon, seductress and all round evil woman. I, personally, quite like her.

The long loose red hair is often a symbol of a wanton, or as I like to think of it independent and powerful, women, and is often seen in depictions of Lilith as well as witches and goddesses.

Lady Godiva by John Collier, 1898.

According to legend, Lady Godiva rode naked through Coventry to get her husband to lift the oppressive taxes he had imposed.

The Lady of Shallot by William Holman Hunt, 1905.

A ballad by Lord Alfred Tennyson, The Lady of Shallot is a sad tale of a Lady somehow cursed and so remains inside her tower only experiencing the world through a reflection in a mirror.
“I am half sick of shadows,” said the Lady of Shallot.

Cymon and Iphigenia by John Everett Millais, 1848.

While Iphigenia is a figure in Greek mythology (the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra) the story of Cymon and Iphigenia comes from a novella from Boccaccio’s Decameron.
It’s pretty much a sleeping beauty story about the power of love.

Romeo and Juliet by Ford Maddox Brown, 1870.

We all know the story, star crossed lovers ends in death. Shakespeare sure does know how to tell a good yarn, but as is true of most of his stories (and most of anyone’s stories these days), he wasn’t the first to tell it. Pyramus and Thisbe is a similar tale that can be found in Ovid’s Metamorphoses way back in ancient Rome and there are probably a gazillion other versions before and after the oh so popular Shakespeare.

Ariadne by Evelyn De Morgan, 1877.

Ariadne was the Daughter of King Minos. She helped Theseus slay the Minotaur and was dumped on some island for her trouble. Luckily she was found there by the god Dionysus and they fell in love. Surprisingly he turns out to be the most faithful and devoted of the Greek gods.

Medea by Frederick Sandys, 1868.

Medea was a witch in Greek myth who betrayed her family for the hero Jason. She and Jason married and had two children but eventually Jason abandoned her. In Euripides version of events she gained her revenge by killing their two children.

Princess Sabra being led to the Dragon by Edward Burne-Jones, 1866.

Princess Sabra is the latest victim to be sacrificed to the dragon in order to acquire water from the spring it nests in. Sabra will be saved and the Dragon slain by Saint George.

Oh such pretty paintings, hope you like them.


To keep up to date with the words and pictures I'm sharing now head on over to my new website, www.sarahfallon.net.  I'm talking readingwriting and all kinds of daydreamy things.

Saturday, May 28, 2011

More Practise Pics

I thought I'd have more than this by now, but apparently I've been lazy, anyway here's three more practise pictures I did based on works by other artists.

 My Garance DorĂ© page.
Pen.

 My Virginia Frances Sterrett page.
Watercolour paint and pen.

My John William Waterhouse page (I swear this one looks better in person, I was very proud of it.)
Colour Pencil.

Please excuse the shoddy photo's, it's very overcast at the moment and I'm exhausted from a big day of dog training (though probably not as exhausted as Scooby and Fuzz).


To keep up to date with the words and pictures I'm sharing now head on over to my new website, www.sarahfallon.net.  I'm talking readingwriting and all kinds of daydreamy things.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Picture of the Week

I saw Water for Elephants (Francis Lawrence, 2011) yesterday and I know what you're thinking, does this girl do anything besides watch movies and write this blog? And the answer is... of course not, why would I.
The film was good, though I came away unsure how to feel and if you're an animal lover, like myself, you may find parts of the movie painful to watch.

Elephant, 2009.
A beautiful yet poignant illustration by Sydney born, London based artist Kareena Zerefos.

I'm feeling a bit melancholy now and I don't know if it's the movie or the picture, regardless, I like them both.


To keep up to date with the words and pictures I'm sharing now head on over to my new website, www.sarahfallon.net.  I'm talking readingwriting and all kinds of daydreamy things.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Pirates of the Caribbean and Those Mermaid Vampire Things

So I saw the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean and let me just say it certainly was on stranger tides. I enjoyed it as I enjoyed the second and third film, as pure swashbuckly goodness. It certainly afforded me a plethora of subject matter to choose for today's blog; Pirates (obviously), the Caribbean (granted), the fountain of youth (maybe later), zombies (ewww) and what was that other thing? Oh yes Mermaids, and if I'm honest I've been looking for an excuse to cover this topic since I started this dang blog so lets get rolling.

Syrena from Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (Rob Marshall, 2011).
Isn't she all sweet and innocent looking, just wait till you see the fangs (Pirates, Zombies and Vampire Mermaids oh my).

And here's a shot of Australia's own Gemma Ward seducing one of the random pirates on Blackbeard's crew, and may I just say she did an excellent job.

The concept art for Syrena.

And now I thinks it's time to divert from the film with Edmund Dulac's stunning illustration for The Little Mermaid.

And you can't mention The Little Mermaid without mentioning the Disney version and one of my all time favourites (Ron Clements & John Musker, 1989).

The Mermaid and the Dragon by Warwick Goble.
That Dragon looks a bit seedy.

Mermaids Rose From the Sea by Lisbeth Zwergwer.

The Mermaids Rock by Edward Hale, 1894.

 Mermaid by Pascal BlanchĂ©.
I love the fishyness of the face in this one, and the octopus hair.

Pearls for Kisses by Fred Appleyard.

The Little Mermaid's Sisters by Anne Anderson.
Oh so pretty.

From Peter Pan (P.J. Hogan, 2003).

 The Last Mermaid by Amy Sol.
Oh so soooo pretty.

From Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire (Mike Newell 2005).

Mermaids with Sea Green Hair by Arthur Rackham.


More mermaid pictures can be found in the post 'Mermaids' and 'Three Extra Mermaid Pictures Just for You' and for all these beautiful pics in the same place plus even more check out my Mermaid Pinterest board.


To keep up to date with the words and pictures I'm sharing now head on over to my new website, www.sarahfallon.net.  I'm talking readingwriting and all kinds of daydreamy things.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Tim Walker in British Vogue

I bought April's British Vogue the other day and I did it for the spreads (and I'm not talking jam and peanut butter) one in particular appealed to my kooky sensibilities, photographer Tim Walker did an awesome job.

 What's up with that umbrella, how is it even staying up there, and why? (Those are the big questions).

 I like the dollishness of this one, though it has nothing on the next one.

 Barbie gone wrong. It's amazing how unreal and, yes, all made out of plastic she looks behind that bubble.

  Patron Goddess of Clowns. Love it. This one was actually a two pager but my scanner wasn't big enough. The other page had a big parrot on it, which you can see in another shot further down.

 This ones prettier than the others with the ruffly top and pink smoke, that combined with the surrealist setting is what makes it for me.

 Another doll.

And here's that parrot, what a beauty.

This isn't the entire spread but it's my faves, hope you like them too.


To keep up to date with the words and pictures I'm sharing now head on over to my new website, www.sarahfallon.net.  I'm talking readingwriting and all kinds of daydreamy things.

Friday, May 20, 2011

Picture of the Week Plus a Little Something Extra


By Eugenio Recuenco.
Mostly because I haven't done a fashion pic in a while but also because it's so fabulously kooky. A windup toy vampire, how can you go wrong?

And here are some pages from my imitation sketchbook.

 My Catherine Campbell page.

 My Brett Manning page.

 My Warwick Goble page.
 (don't know if I want to go over the whole page in pen just yet.)

and finally my John Bauer page.

I have really enjoyed this exercise so far and plan on doing a lot more. Some of you may have noticed the pictures here differ from those I posted earlier, the short reason is 'I changed my mind' the slightly longer reason is 'I printed out lots of pics and have just been picking them as my mood takes me, often after I've glued them in I find I have no idea what to do with it and move on.'
Anyway, hopefully I'll have more to share with you at the end of next week.


To keep up to date with the words and pictures I'm sharing now head on over to my new website, www.sarahfallon.net.  I'm talking readingwriting and all kinds of daydreamy things.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Artists Artists Everywhere

I'm obsessed with reading the blogs of artists at the moment, Catherine Campbell (My Folk Lover) and Melissa Haslam (Cherry Fields) being two of my favourites.
One of the best things about read these blogs is that it introduces me to more and more artists. The last few days I have practically overdosed on artist blogs and as a result have been introduced to so many artists I just have to share, here are some of my faves.



Sachiko Kanaizumi: born in 1976 in kanagawa, japan. graduated from tama art university.

 Strangely Transparent, 2011.
Tonight, 2011.


Stella Im Hultberg is a painter living and working in Brooklyn, NYC.
Born in South Korea, raised in Seoul, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and later in California.



 Beehive.


Laura Laine is a Helsinki based illustrator.
She has studied fashion design at University of Art and Design Helsinki, but during her studies focused on fashion illustration.

 Bird King.

Birdy.

Julia Sonmi Heglund is a freelance illustrator living in the Los Angeles area.

 Shapeshifter 1.
Shapeshifter 2.

Fumi Mini Nakamura, currently active as freelance illustrator / designer in New York City area.


Dominique Wylestone is an artist living in Melbourne with a fondness and appreciation of local history, place and folklore.

And since I've totally failed to post anything by her before, here is Jane of Jane Eyre by Catherine Campbell.

That's all for now, until next time....


To keep up to date with the words and pictures I'm sharing now head on over to my new website, www.sarahfallon.net.  I'm talking readingwriting and all kinds of daydreamy things.

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