We are going to start putting up a classic here each month.  That is a perhaps a bold statement with the hectic couple of months of pre-Christmas trading fast approaching but let’s see what happens.  Anyway, this picture really deserves a lot more attention than it currently gets.  The real problem is that no photograph can actually do it justice at all.  When we traded at Merton Abbey Mills in South London all those years ago the Limited Edition of this painting, despite being fairly pricey, still outsold a lot of cheaper prints because it would just stop people dead in their tracks.  It is just a stunning work of art admired by art-lovers and artists alike all over the world.  It is called ‘Blind Narcissus’ and is by the extremely talented and well-known artist Jeff Jones.

Blind Narcissus by Jeff Jones

Painted in the 70’s the original painting is 90″ x 48″ painted in oils on stretched linen. The Limited Edition print was published in 1979 so it is 30 years old this year!   Image size of the Limited edition print is still a massive 850 x 425mm and is signed and numbered by the artist over 1000.  It is printed on acid-free board.  Often considered as a beautiful centrepiece for any large room or at the end of a hallway.  There is also a collectible poster version of it as the Big O poster published by Dragon’s Dream and distributed through Big O Publishing.  If you want to see more on the print or poster or see more art by Jeff Jones then just click on the image.  One of the things that strikes people about this painting is its enigmatic quality.  The posture of the woman is unusual in itself but seems somehow not that contrived.  The way her dress seems to merge into the ground gives a vaguely ghostly air to the whole painting.  The painting technique itself is reminiscent of the best of the pre-raphaelites.  We really couldn’t think of a better classic to kick off our new theme with.

Cinderella by Alexandra Dawe in initial stages

It isn’t often you get a chance to see how a piece of artwork looked before it was finished unless you are the artist or live with the artist.  This was how Alexandra Dawe’s pencil sketch of Cinderella looked on 17th November 2008.  It took some weeks to complete due to other projects and looking after her young daughter.

In her usual self-deprecatory manner, which is rather refreshing for such a talented artist, Alexandra Dawe said the following about the creation of Cinderella: -

“Cinderella took a few weeks, but I could only do half an hour or so a day as I’d not long had Megan. The pencils were 5B, 2B and 2H I think, regular lead pencils, from WH Smith I believe! I’ve had them forever. Some are very short now. I press down too hard to use mechanical pencils. I had to draw round a dinner plate to do the clock, which made me feel like I was doing a primary school project, I felt like such an amateur! No idea how “proper” grown-up artists do things like that! Doing the clockwork was fun, I might try and do clockwork on something again. I got about an inch into the floral border and then wished I hadn’t done it, that took the longest time! I loved doing the folds on her clothes, I get really into things like hair and drapery when I work in pencil. Faery tales are my favourite things to draw, I want to do many more faery tale paintings and drawings in the future. And British folk-lore, I love all the dark stories we have.

Here is what it looks like now:

Cinderella original sketch by Alexandra Dawe

I’m think you’ll agree it is a rather stunning and well-drawn piece of work.  The artist’s name has been watermarked into the image and does not, of course, appear on the original artwork.

Last night we watched 101 Dalmations after buying a remastered copy on Amazon.  Yep, that’s right, the original Walt Disney cartoon from way back in 1961.  The last time I saw this film I was just a wee little boy and Cruela was the most frightening woman a small boy could imagine.  Of course, these far too many years later it doesn’t look quite the same and it is a little odd that all the “adult” characters have English accents whilst all the little doggies talk with American children’s accents.  On the other hand, the artwork behind this animation is just superb.  You look at the incredibly short list of animators responsible by comparison to the screenfuls nowadays that need a specially written 5 minute song to playout while they are being displayed and you wonder how it could have been possible.  When you look at the loving detail and careful craftsmanship of these old Disney cartoons you also wonder if all the increased technology has been worthwhile.  The modern cartoons are very bright and glitzy with lots of special effects but it is a very different kind of artwork.  There is a charm to these old Disney cartoons that is somehow timeless.  By comparison, the modern ones seem cold and impersonal.  I don’t know how emotionally involved modern animators are in their work.  Maybe some of them do really love what they do but I am certain that the animators who worked on 101 Dalmations and the other early Disney classics poured everything they had into their work.   It is good to see that the cartoons have been so well remastered and can be preserved for future generations.  Almost 50 years on from when 101 Dalmations was first released maybe some of those animators are no longer with us but what a legacy of love to leave behind.   Maybe new is not always better …