For anyone who might have read EllenB's comment about my last post, I wanted to show the images she was referring to.
I first hurriedly checked to see that I hadn't ripped-off Dulac too closely. As you can see, I was indeed inspired by the very Dulac picture that had also inspired Ellen.
My picture, which comes from "Oscar Wilde: Stories for Children" is on the left.
My normal working practice in creating a picture like this involves surrounding my desk with all sorts of reference photos and illustrations that might be helpful.
Sometimes I use the reference in a very particular way, as with the saucepan and broom, but more often I'm hoping that looking at really great work will obliquely inspire me to achieve better things.
I love the large, delicately washed areas in Dulac and Rackham's work, and this is one of a very few pictures I have done where I have achieved a similar effect. When I have an expanse of wall behind a figure I usually can't resist the urge to put in a shadow or a picture.
The design of the window in my picture jars with me a little. It looks like it came from the 1970s, even though it was borrowed from a cottage in a Breugel painting.
I was particularly pleased with this picture because the figure and the still life on the table were entirely invented without any photo reference.
Dulac's image of Cinderella is exquisite of course, but, because of the way he has drawn that log coming out from under her skirt, it always looks to me as if Cinderella is a sort of devil girl with a cloven hoof. I hope I haven't ruined it for you now.
