In this new Artist Master Class you will look at the work of Illustrator Edmund Dulac (1882-1953). Dulac was French born but settled in Britain in 1904 where he soon found work as an illustrator. His first commission was to create illustrations for the complete works of the Bronte Sisters.
The work he produced for the first book, 'Jane Eyre' was so well received he soon found success and this lead him to becoming one of the most revered and best loved illustrators of the time.
Dulac is just one of an incredible group of illustrators who were producing high quality work for some of the top publishing houses at the turn of the 19th Century. Other well known illustrators such as Arthur Rackham, Kay Nielsen, Harry Clarke, Aubrey Beardsley (to name but a few) also worked in this period which ran from the 1880's to the 1930's. Now referred to as the 'Golden Age of Illustration', this was a time when there were great advances in the colour printing process. This meant that full coloured prints became cheaper and quicker to produce and lead to a new genre of the printed 'gift' book. It also enabled artists to become more in control of how their works looked once they were reproduced. These books were very high quality, with full colour images tipped in by hand. They became very sought after as collectors would follow their most beloved artists. Today they are perhaps even more sought after, with some early editions of the classic fairy tales reaching £1000+. You can read more about the evolution of the printing process here:
In our painting we will be looking at one of Dulac's illustrations from Hans Christian Anderson's 'The Snow Queen'. This beautiful illustration depicts Gerda and the reindeer Bea.
'The reindeer did not dare to stop. It ran on till it came to the bush with the red berries. There it put Gerda down, and kissed her on the mouth, while big shining tears trickled down its face.'
Dulac is able to convey the sombre nature of this passage with his mastery of colour and use of line. The muted hues accentuate the cold, dark nights we associate with winter and demonstrate his skill for interpreting the words of Andersen to create a believable atmosphere.
In our version of the painting we will recreate a cropped section, looking more closely at the two characters.
At first glance, the less experienced watercolourists may feel daunted with the thought of tackling this painting ~ however don't let this put you off! There are lots and lots of basic watercolour techniques which we will use to recreate the image so it is worth trying your hand.
I always believe you will learn much more by tackling a subject which looks as though it will be a challenge and when teaching in class, I often find that the majority of students rise to the occasion and produce some of their best work when given a more complex task.
Throughout this project I will guide you through the process of selecting and mixing colour. I will then demonstrate the layering technique from light to dark looking closely at the changes in tonal values as you build your layers and create the illusion of form.
Once the main areas of our painting are complete, we will add detail using a fine line pen. This will help to refine our shapes and bring definition to our painting. This a popular technique employed by illustrators and it will help you to capture Dulac's beautiful style.
Please don't be alarmed that I have labeled this project as a level 3 for time as the more time you can give to it ~ the better the final result will be. It is quite natural to want to produce a finished painting in an hour or two and I know it can be disappointing and just plain 'hard work' to spend lots of time on a painting. However, spending more time looking and carefully painting is often more beneficial. Allowing yourself the time to refine your skills before rushing to the next thing ~ be it the hoovering, the gardening or even on to the next painting will actually help to improve your skills quicker! Slowing down gives you more control over your brush, your colour choices and your techniques, all of which, will help you to improve your painting long term. Remember ~ many professional artists and illustrators with many years of honing their skills will spend a lot more time than two hours on a painting so you are not alone!
To find out more about this project and what you will learn, take a look at this short video:
I know you're going to do a really great job of this one!
And if you have fallen in love with the style of Edmund Dulac there are many books out there which are filled with dozens of his beautiful illustrations.
One of my favourites is from 'The Real Princess' (The Princess and the Pea) seen here on the left, plus many of the illustrations from 'The Mermaid' (The Little Mermaid) . The original illustration 30.8 x 25.2 cm (pictured below) fetched over £50,000 at an auction at Christie's in 2010!
With his exquisite drawing, detail and use of colour, it is easy to see why his illustrations are highly sought after today. Even though they were originally produced for children they are loved by adults too!
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