Fairy Tales - Pink Saturday

A few years ago I was wandering through one of our town's marvelous antique shops.  I have a small collection of old fairytale books, so when I saw this one, I picked it up to leaf through its pages. 

To my great astonishment I knew every story.  I could trace every single illustration by heart.  As I held the book, I began to remember the beloved fairytale book I'd had as a child.  I had literally worn it's pages into nothingness. 

The wonderful thing about this book is I can see from the illustrations how my own style as an artist was forged.  I loved each and every one of those pictures and their beauty imprinted itself upon my mind, even before I could read the stories themselves.  It was as though I journeyed back in time for a moment and saw my world through a child's eyes once more.

Happy Pink Saturday!

Victoria Plum Greets You

This is the cover to a writing tablet I loved as a young person. I liked it so much I saved it in a box of my favorite cards and postcards. I'm so glad I did--who would have known then, that I would be able to share these wonderful cards and vintage items online with all of you!

Have a marvelous week!

Pinocchio Put-Together Book

This book is fascinating! It was a gift to my son from his Grandmother. I read it to him when he was small and he was totally absorbed by the story. It became one of his favorites.

This version of Pinocchio was called a "put together book," because it came with sheets of stickers, which were then cut out and carefully affixed to the large illustrations within.

Rip Van Winkle

I have always loved the story of Rip Van Winkle. About eight years ago I wandered into an antique shop to look around. I found this illustrated copy of Rip Van Winkle. Because it was water damaged I bought it for practically nothing. Last week I was looking through my collection of fairytale books and re-discovered this old treasure. Though the book is water damaged, the pictures were mostly spared and are breathtaking.

N. C. Wyeth, the artist, used rich complimentary colors which just fill my eyes. When I opened the book I could not stop looking at them. The artist's style and use of color is inspiring. I will be sharing more of these drawings in the days ahead.