Sean Curley

Autumn

Oil on canvas, 48″ x 30″

Although fantasy art is not something I often indulge in, I was inspired to paint this picture whilst reading about the lives of three of the great faerie artists: Richard Dadd, John Atkinson Grimshaw and Brian Froud. The paintings and extraordinary life of Richard Dadd in particular inspired me to attempt painting my own faerie scene.

I have incorporated influences from all three artists. For example, Grimshaw’s ” Iris ” inspired the paintings autumnal background and my faerie’s wings, plus the toadstools, are very reminiscent of Froud. The overall composition is, hopefully, similar to some of Dadd’s, and I wanted the finished painting to convey the ” other worldliness ” feel of his work. The actual faerie is based upon a figure in a reference book for artists as it was important to me that she only contributed to the overall composition, rather than dominate it.