The first time I ever saw a Brian Froud illustration was in my mom’s book “Faeries”, and I was pretty much captivated from the word go, or I suppose in this case, Go-blin. (My friend Mark should appreciate that awful play on words, hey I’m tired, I’m allowed to be silly once in a while, yes?) His book was filled with fantasy characters and creatures, witches and folklore and I was smitten.

I loved the glowy bits, I’m sure by now you can tell this is something that attracts me to an image. The luminescence that was created (magically I’m sure) with watercolours was quite beyond me. It’s really only something I have ever been able to depict in Oils or in Photoshop, how the heck do you do that with watercolour, someone please enlighten me!

I pored over his book until it literally fell apart, I even made detailed copies of his goblins and fairies and I’m sure his work has always been in the back of my mind when I draw. It has been quite a trip down memory lane, looking at all his illustrations for this post, and it has reminded me that I might quite like to watch The Dark Crystal or Labyrinth again. Note to self.

Check out his website or perhaps buy one of his books, perfect for lazy Sundays where you have time to admire all the hidden details.