The Trees and the Axe 1912

Arthur Rackham's "The Trees and the Axe" feels like it was made with a fine nib pen, and watercolours. It’s all about this delicate, scratchy line work that feels both precise and totally unhinged, like a really detailed nervous doodle. The colours are muted, mostly earth tones, but with these little pops of brighter hues in the figures clothes, which makes them stand out amongst the looming trees. The trees themselves are really where it’s at. Look how the ink creates this incredible sense of texture, as if you could reach out and feel the rough bark, and the paint is thin like it almost disappears into the paper. The lines tangle and twist, building up these gnarly, almost monstrous faces. I love the way the branches become like grasping fingers, reaching out into the space. It's a really effective way of creating a sense of unease. Rackham's work has that same kind of dark, whimsical quality that you see in someone like Edward Gorey, both artists have this ability to tap into the unsettling undercurrents of fairy tales.