Faerie Reel

India ink and dip pen on Bristol paper, 9" x 12", March 2014.

Reference courtesy Cassy-Blue cassy-blue.deviantart.com/art/…
My entry for Cassy's Sci-Fi & Fantasy contest www.deviantart.com/journal/Sci…

The lovely reference photo immediately made me think of a faerie, but I wanted to do something different than just adding butterfly wings. Hence the stars. And I tried for an Arthur Rackham feel to this, instead of my usual Mucha influence.

I'd originally thought to do this in watercolor (of course) but, much to my frustration, the image just wouldn't come together. I loved the line drawing so much I finally decided just to do it in pen and ink. And then came the stippling. With a dip pen. Why yes, I am crazy! Honestly, though I enjoyed it. There's something Zen-like about stippling. I'm pleased with how this turned out, though perhaps someday I'll pull it off in watercolor.


See the companion piece "Faerie Reel II" here fav.me/dbdo4yg