Reality and fantasy

So many beginning artists believe that fantasy work is all in your head. Its quite the opposite in fact, with reality front and centre.  The concept comes from within, but the creation is based on real objects and people.  The skill is in composition, and morphing real  into the unreal, which is still based on reality, if that makes sense.  For instance, a rabbit would never wear a jacket in reality, so my research is based on two images:  the first of a rabbit, the second of someone in that particular pose wearing a jacket.  Merging the two becomes simple once the idea is in place of putting an animal into a human pose.  Little touches of whimsy are added on as the piece progresses and my mind wanders.

My art group has been tossing around ideas for a new project that may or may not get off the ground - a Newfoundlandized version the classic story, Alice in Wonderland.  This is the thumbnail sketch of the Mad Hatter's tea party, or my version, in its infancy.  Of course in Newfoundland the best party always seems to gravitate to the kitchen, so of course, that is where the tea party would have to take place. I've been compiling little sketches here and there over a few weeks to see what ideas gel and how much complexity to put into something.  Even if they never make it into full paintings, the process gives a lot of food for thought and a lot of good practice on drawing and composition skills.

The beauty of creating something out of nothing is that it allows your mind to pull up memories, then flesh them out with solid research for forms. While very time consuming in terms of researching and drawing, the results prove quite interesting.