Before the coming of the sinful Queen 1913

Eleanor Fortescue-Brickdale painted this image, entitled 'Before the coming of the sinful Queen', with what looks like watercolour, a medium that allows for a real sense of layering and luminosity. I just love how Fortescue-Brickdale uses this watercolour to create a world within a world, a little realm inhabited by fairies who are somehow both part of the landscape and separate from it. The texture is so delicate, almost like a whisper. The way the light filters through the leaves and petals, it’s magical, right? Look closely at those foxgloves, the way she's rendered the tiny dots and freckles on the petals. It’s so precise, yet it also feels so free, like she’s just letting the paint flow and do its thing. And those fairies, perched on leaves and petals, they're like little glimpses into another dimension. This piece reminds me of Arthur Rackham, another artist who knew how to create these kinds of enchanted worlds. Art isn't just about what we see, but what we imagine.