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The Art of Faery

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From the gothic fantasies of Amy Brown to Myrea Pettit’s gentle, playful creatures, this breathtaking collection of superbly reproduced paintings celebrates the finest in fairy art. Each illustrator has chosen his or her favorite pieces, and all the artists reveal their inspiration, preferred techniques, and working methods. Every medium is represented in images by Jasmine Becket, Linda Biggs, James Browne, Ryu Takeuchi, Paulina Stuckey, Linda Ravenscroft, and others.

112 pages, Hardcover

First published October 28, 2003

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About the author

David Riché

6 books5 followers
David Riché worked in marketing fashion, cosmetics, and consumer electronics. Upon retirement, he became interested in fairies and launched the website Fairies World. He collaborated with various illustrators to produce books of fairy art, including "The Art of Faery" with Brian Froud and "The World of Faery" with Alan Lee.

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5 stars
692 (57%)
4 stars
256 (21%)
3 stars
154 (12%)
2 stars
49 (4%)
1 star
45 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
Profile Image for Andrew.
2,611 reviews
January 17, 2022
This is a strange title - starting with I guess the fact that it is listed as part of the Papertiger catalogue and yet when my copy arrived there is a different publisher shown (In 1997, Paper Tiger was "rescued" by Collins & Brown, before becoming an imprint of Anova Books - so I guess that is where the connection lies).
so what you have here is a collection of various artists - I would have bought the book for the work by Brian Froud alone - of varying fame and disciplines. All of whom showcase their works along with a short bio and description of their styles and focuses. To be honest a common theme for a number of art collections.
However one of the things that stood out from this book was that even though we are looking at work some of which was created within the year or so of publication there are a number from decades before (such as the 1940s) however even though styles can be identified it is not so easy to date they, as I realised when I felt one group looked in style similar to those printed in the 40s in children's literature (oh how I was wrong).
So the this is as I say an interesting book which had the ability to throw off a lot of my preconceptions and ideas.
Profile Image for Karen.
21 reviews14 followers
August 30, 2012
This book was a gift, perhaps not one I would have chosen for my collection, but has given me a glimpse at some undiscovered talent. The twenty-one gifted artists showcased in this gorgeous book make one starry-eyed with wonder. Lushly illustrated, it beautifully displays the work of true masters Brian Froud and David Delamare as well as contemporary visionaries of the realms of Fae particularly Paulina Stuckey, Jasmine Becket-Griffith and Maxine Gadd. Truly a perfect book for any admirers of fantasy art, or anybody with a sense of whimsy and wonder. If you want to escape the mundane world for a few hours, this book is your ticket to ride.

As an added note, this book featured the work of former fantasy artist Jessica Galbreth before her transformation to Christianity moved her to throw her paintings into a dumpster as a way of purging what she calls spiritual darkness.
19 reviews
July 1, 2016
A great book covering faery artists with different styles. I like that it included copies of their best art along with descriptions of their favorite art supplies. I think it appeals to both art lovers and artists.
Profile Image for Hilary.
17 reviews
February 27, 2008
If you're a faery fan you will LOVE this book. So much beautiful art.
Profile Image for W.
566 reviews5 followers
January 5, 2012
I love art books and collections, especially of fantasy art, but this collection has some really terrible, amateurish art.
Profile Image for Eva.
19 reviews
March 8, 2016
I really liked this book and it's information as well as the illustrations.
2 reviews
March 29, 2017
I love anything faery related, and this book contains a rich compilation of beautiful artwork by various artists including my favourite, Amy Brown!

Perfect for fans of faerie.
Profile Image for J.
4,104 reviews25 followers
October 9, 2023
***Some nudity is shown***

First of all this book is under the wrong title as it isn't specifically a book about the art of faery but rather the lesser known artists of faery thus the title was rather misleading. And even then the book isn't a full discourse of faery artists since of the fact that the main one I know of Cicely Mary Barker while being mentioned as an influence by only one or two artists didn't make it into the book even with her most well-known flower fairies nor was Brian Froud included or even the fantasy artist Nene Thomas although I am guessing her exclusion is since she is more fantasy than faery but I could be mistaken with the author's reasoning on this topic.

The rest of the artists that have been included in the book are listed in alphabetical order by the last name so you can easily just skip around if you are interested in just one or two names. Otherwise the book is set-up so each artist has their own section with their name being the title name. This is then followed by a quote from the artist and a one- or two-page bio providing the reader with information such as place name and date of birth for some, schooling information if they have some, career path choices, influences, choice of favored medium as well as why and what they are known for just to name a few. All this is then neatly wrapped up with the website in which you can find their work if you are interested.

Each entry is then provided with a few examples of that artist's known works. These are provided with the name of the composition, the size it is, the medium that was used to make it and the year that it was made. And in the majority of cases this is then followed by a small paragraph caption that provides more information about the piece that is being showcased while in other cases only just the top information is provided for the small sample.

I cannot explain exactly how it was chosen on how many pages were to be dedicated to each artist since there is no consistency. John Arthur has four pages, one of the names I know Jasmine Becket- Griffith who is more on the higher known end of things only has two pages, Amy Brown has eight along with Hazel Brown, James Brown and David Delamare. Why this inconsistency? At this point who knows but for those who do have more than two pages there is usually an extra quote thrown in for good measure.

The pieces themselves range in all different ways given the various styles of the artists. Some seem rather simple or more modern than some may prefer while other artists seem to have a wider range of styles within their characters, their provided mediums and how they portray their faery. And there are some that are also breathtaking beautiful while seeming to take after the more classical paintings of characters that have now fallen by the wayside. And as mentioned in my warning there are some artists who provided their faery characters with some nudity although it is mostly restricted to noticeable top displays rather than the bottom.

As an art book I guess it could be an okay opener for those who want to get to know more about faery artists of the now while being provided with information on how to find them and sample some of their art before doing so. But unfortunately as a portfolio based on faery art for itself it is a harass at least for me.
Profile Image for Thomas Walton.
75 reviews3 followers
June 21, 2010
I enjoyed this book very much. It has a simple foremat of giving the artist's birth place/date, where/how they grew up, education, influences, and their technique/medium of their work. 22 different artists with several examples of thier work. I am amiss as to why my favorite fantasy artist, Nene Thomas was not among the artists.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews