Amy Brown Fairies

This is an interview with the wonderful fairy artist, and a chance to find out about the drawing of Amy Brown Fairies!

This is an interview with the wonderful fairy artist, and a chance to find out about the drawing of Amy Brown Fairies!

I'll be honest - this is a big deal to me.

I owe Amy a great debt of thanks!

She took the time from her busy schedule to answer some questions about her drawing and painting just for us!

Anyone who wants to draw and paint - who might want to aspire to the heights of success that Amy Brown has achieved will find this interview inspiring.

If you are not familiar with Amy Brown Fairies, they are incredibly full of attitude and personality. She has created her own very recognizable style - and as you will read your style will come through lots of practice, sometimes "years".

She "believed" in her heart's desire, and has confirmed the quote from famous people to "go for it".

Below I will list the questions and Amy's inspiring answers!

After the interview I have given some samples of her fairies. Enjoy!

The Interview

This is an interview with the artist Amy Brown by Barbara Cederberg of Fairies-Tales-Art.com

Me -On your website you talk about that time when you are starting a drawing or painting, and you have that doubtful feeling - then you mention the most important mind set at that time....

Could you elaborate?

Amy- Being limited on painting time, I often have to pick and choose which images to paint, keeping in mind I have to pay my bills, so the final image needs to have a good chance of selling.

Therein comes the doubt at the beginning of a painting-did I pick the right image?

Sometimes I also struggle with how an image is developing and I have to be brave and push forward, trying new things.




Me- What major things have you noticed about your own work as you have progressed?

Amy- I've become better at drawing and painting. Better at paying attention to small details that make the picture.




Me- Suppose someone has the urge to draw an unusual fairy or fantasy creature?

Any advice?

Amy- Go for it and let your imagination take over.




Me- I understand you are a self-taught artist. Are there any lessons or instructions that you used?

Amy- I just looked at other artists’ works, both deceased and living, and painted hundreds upon hundreds of images.




Me- What would you recommend to someone who thinks they cannot draw?

Amy- Take some classes, see what happens. It also takes a tremendous amount of practice-often years.




Me- Can you describe how your drawing and painting style developed - and why fairies?

Amy- I’ve loved faeries since I was a child and my aunt gave me the book “Faeries”. I was heavily influenced by Brian Froud, Alan Lee and Michael Parkes when I started painting faeries.

Specializing in that field of art came by accident-or maybe it was natural.




Me- I also see that you go to some of the medieval fairs, etc., and always draw and paint fabulous clothing etc., do you do research on clothing?

Amy- I do a little research on clothing, because I’ve always been interested in it, but mostly my costumes have come from my own head.




Me- A lot of artists I have talked to like to work at night - when is your favorite time to work?

Amy- Mid-day probably. I go to bed early and get up at 5am, but don’t start painting until around lunch time.




Me- Do you draw in pencil before painting?

Amy- yes




Me- Do you use an eraser? Some artists say they never erase.... boy I sure do...

Amy- I erase like crazy.




Me- When you begin your drawings or paintings, do you do a loose gesture-drawing kind of outline, or start with sort of building blocks?

Amy- Usually, I do a rough sketch for the pose, sometimes very rough thumbnail sketches for background layouts.

When I get an idea of what I want, I transfer it to watercolor paper via my light table, then lay tracing paper over the poseand draw different outfits and hair styles until I get what I want.

Then I use the tracing paper and light table again to transfer the clothing/hair to watercolor paper.

Some of Amy's Fairies

Blue Moon Diva

Faith

Faery Bride

Barb's Editorial

I could look at Amy Brown's Fairies all day long.

There are so many things in the interview that I can relate to.

How my interest in fairies and all things associated with fairy tales got going - and looking at other's artwork was a really big part of it! It still is...

Amy's work was some of the first fairies I found on the internet. They took my breath away, and got my imagination stirring.

I also was given a book when I was a child that greatly influenced my interest in drawing and painting. It was "A Child's Garden of Verses" by Robert Louis Stevenson, and illustrated by Hilda Boswell. I still have the book - and it was given to me for my sixth birthday. The poems and the artwork just created a whole world of magic in my imagination.

What I find interesting is how even Amy tells us all - that we have to draw all the time. The more we draw the better we get.

And... anyone can learn to draw if they have the desire.

There is so much inspiration and encouragement coming from her, so make sure you visit Amy's Site very soon.

Don't forget to come back here and practice.