Fantasy Fairies and Art

We have all grown up on tales of fantasy fairies, Peter Pan being one that most of us equate fairies with due to a very famous fairy known as Tinker Bell. In these stories we have we have met fairies of all shapes and sizes, some are and some are good. Fairies occupy the prime place in a child’s imagination as well as many adults. They pray to them, love them and adore them.

But who are fairies?

The traditional definition of “fairy” is a mythological creature with supernatural powers. Fairies otherwise known as faeries are also called the fallen angels and were believed to have sided with Lucifer and fled from heaven. God stopped them in mid flight and condemned to stay where they were. As a result, we have fairies of water, air, earth and skies amongst others.

Fairies generally look like humans in appearance with magical powers. Normally their power resided in their magic wand. Fairies are known to caste spells, help in need and also cause a lot of mischief. Fairies can be a nuisance or a pleasure at times.

Here’s a bit of fairy, faerie folklore .

It is said that if a faerie or elf strikes a person (faerie stroke or elf stroke) they will carry them off while their body or shell remains in place; from this we get the word Stroke for the medical condition.

According to folklore, Queen Titania and her consort Prince Oberon ruled the fairies. There are many types of fairies such as the tooth fairy who leaves a coin in place of a missing tooth, the green fairy who resides in the grass or the tree fairy that lives in the trees.

Many a times fairies are thought to be tiny winged creatures that possess extra ordinary magical power. Fairies are also feared by many people. Most people think that worshiping a fairy is akin to practicing witchcraft.

The 21st Century brought us some fabulous artists that work in the realm of the fairies.

The top most name amongst them is John Arthur. John started painting fantasy fairies when he was a child and over the years his work has been used as covers for magazines, books and more, with limited edition prints sold worldwide. He has also published three picture books for children and is currently working on the fourth. His portfolio is very impressive with a client list that includes Disney, Warner Brothers and Suzuki amongst others.

Adorning the National Library of Canada are the beautiful fairy works of Charles Van Sanddwyk from Vancouver. His paintings are also held in many private collections. Charles is also the author and illustrator of a number of books, such as “How to See Fairies”, “The Parade to Paradise” and “Sketches from the Dream Island of Birds”.

Other well-known fairy artists of the 21st century are James Browne, Linda Ravenscroft, Brigid Ashwood and Paulina Stucky. And yes, I'm drawing fairies too :-)