These tricky fairies sometimes change the board on a ball night 1913

Arthur Rackham made this pen and ink drawing called, "These tricky fairies sometimes change the board on a ball night." It's all about the details here, every little hair on the fairy's heads is drawn in. Looking closely, you can see the way he uses the pen to create shadows and texture. Rackham isn’t trying to hide anything; he makes a feature of his lines. It is as if the artist is not just showing us a scene, but also the very act of creating it. The lines are not just descriptive; they're expressive, almost like handwriting. I’m reminded of Aubrey Beardsley, who worked in a similar illustrative style, but Rackham is much less cynical, much more warm and humane. Art, like a ball night, is all about changing the rules.