The Owl and the Birds 1912

Arthur Rackham made this drawing of birds and an owl with ink, and it's all about the energy of the line. The way he uses the pen, it feels almost frantic, like he's trying to capture a fleeting moment. Check out the owl's face, those eyes! They are staring right at you, but the rest of the drawing is a flurry of feathers and beaks. The texture is incredible; you can almost feel the fluffiness of the chicks and the sharpness of the beaks. I love how he crams everything into the frame; there's no empty space, just a dense collection of birds. It reminds me a bit of the work of Max Ernst, who also explored the strange and surreal. But Rackham has this playful quality that is all his own. It's a reminder that art is not about perfection but about embracing the messy, chaotic beauty of life.