ghoulnextdoor

Birthday, Dorothea Tanning, 1942

The Art of Fantasy: A visual sourcebook of all that is unreal has gone to the printer! I *think* it's safe to begin sharing a few small peeks?

What was your first brush with the fantastical? For me, and undoubtedly for many, it was a naughty little rabbit in a blue jacket stealing Mr. McGregor’s veggies. For others, it may have been a maddening and enigmatic cat teasing a girl lost in Wonderland and who disappeared, leaving only a grin. Or, for an unfortunate few, it may have been lions, tigers, bears, and OMFG, ARE THOSE FLYING MONKEYS? A terrifying squadron of soaring simians swooping down from the sky to snatch up unsuspecting little dogs and haunting nightmares for many years to come!

Excuses, Schmexcuses, Femke Hiemstra, 2022

Shining Apples, Carisa Swenson, 2015

Though our grown-up appetites for fantasy creatures may have evolved beyond those of adorably floppy-eared childhood friends and expanded to include all manner of beasts with wings and horns, tails, and scales, we can’t deny that friendly or scary, naughty or nice, these creatures sparked our imaginations, populated our dreams and built the foundation for future stories and adventures. These small creatures were the gateway – or the guardians at the gate – to the magical critters and beasties that populate the fantasy media we consume as adults.

Today I am sharing a few of my favorite spreads from the Creatures Great and Small chapter of my forthcoming book. In these pages, you will find some old favorites, some older works that you may not have seen before, and loads of fantastical art from brilliant contemporary artists, too!

Straight on Till Morning, Maggie Vandewalle, 2018

Scowl, Annie Stegg Gerard, 2020

The marvelous menagerie seen in this gallery today includes work from Maggie Vandewalle, Annie Stegg Gerard, Femke Hiemstra, Carisa Swenson, Brett Manning--and of course, Dorothea Tanning (and I am not the layout designer, but I love that they put artists with rhyming last names in the same spread, how fun!)

Faerie Music, Brett Manning, 2021

Thank you to these wonderful artists for permitting me to include their magical creatures in my little art book, and I do hope that -if you are not already familiar with them--you will peruse their accounts and websites and come to adore their creations as much as I do!

And I cannot wait to share more such fantastical art and artists in the upcoming days! In the meantime, you can pre-order The Art of Fantasy wherever books are sold, and I hope that you do! As you hear all the time from every author friend, preorders are incredibly helpful & so on and so forth.

So kindly do so, or perhaps consider sharing this post or tagging a like-minded friend with a penchant for art, fantasy, and all things marvelous and magical. Thank you!