Ahem - said the mouse with an important air 1907

Charles Robinson brought this scene to life with ink and watercolor. I can imagine him, brush in hand, carefully building up the translucent washes of color, layer by layer. There’s something so playful about his choice of colours. He has captured a dreamlike quality. The whole composition is built out of these lovely, soft edged marks. Look at the way the mouse seems to shimmer! I wonder if Robinson ever felt like Alice in Wonderland himself, surrounded by these strange characters. I’m sure he found a way to capture his own sense of curiosity and wonder. It reminds me of Arthur Rackham’s illustrations, but Robinson brings his own sensibility to this image. It shows how artists, through their own work, are in constant conversation, inspiring each other. And here we are, pulled into this world, still finding new ways to see and imagine.