Inspiration 2018

One of the things I love to do almost as much as I love drawing is to read. I get very clear visual images from a good book. One of my favourite authors has always been Charles Dickens. I have read all of his books - and he wrote a lot! One of my favourite stories is A Christmas Carol. Nearly every year I read it and I never get bored of it. Last year I drew a picture of the Ghost of Christmas Present as a badger. This year I have expanded on that image and have reimagined all three ghosts as British wildlife. The ghost of Christmas Past is a fox and the ghost of Christmas Future is a barn owl (looking a bit sinister). Scrooge is a mouse as are Bob Cratchitt and his family. Mr Fezziwig and his party are squirrels and mice.

Could you guess how much I love drawing animals?

It's quite a long process creating one of these pictures. First of all I think a lot about it - usually when I'm out walking. Then I sketch the whole thing in pencil to get the layout correct. Once I'm happy with that I go over all of that in 0.1 pen adding some detail. I use unipin fine line pens as they are waterproof and don't run when I paint over them. Next I paint the whole thing in watercolours. When that's dry - which takes ages as I use my watercolours very wet - I then go over the entire picture in 0.1 pen and 0.5 for depth and 0.05 for fine details. Then I'm done.

I love using my pens as I feel I can get a lot more detail with them and I do love drawing detail.

That's all for now as I'd better get on with some work!x

Gaia

Gaia

Sometimes the creative process for a painting takes a long time. Last year I had the idea in my head to paint a woodland goddess of some sort. So I painted a greenish background, painted the face of a beautiful redhead in the centre and sketched out various woodland animals around her. Then I had to leave it as I was busy doing commissions leading up to Christmas. Also I wasn't entirely happy with it. So my painting languished unfinished leaning against the wall in the corner of my dining room. She stayed there for months. Then my husband had radio 4 on in the car while we were driving somewhere and they were talking about Gaia and how she wasn't all lovely and summery, there was a dark side to her too - winter, storms, volcanoes etc. This got me thinking about painting Gaia showing both sides of her. Originally, in my head, the dark side looked a bit like Maleficent! I had to get that image out of my head. Then I remembered my woodland goddess that I'd started painting. Perfect. So I got her out again and immediately I could see how she would evolve into Gaia. I started painting her dark side first. I wanted to get away from the Maleficent image. So I started adding purple and blue shadows on her face and darker colours in her hair. The blues in her hair suggested a raven which then went on to suggest other "dark" animals on that side of the painting.Then I added the moon, the sun and the Earth. I now knew exactly where my painting was going. On the dark side we have the moon, a storm, a raven, fox, badger, rat, spider moth, bat and barn owl flying through a winter landscape. Ont the good side (or light side - whichever way you want to look at it - good and dark keeps making me think of Star Wars!) we have the sun, a woodpecker, roe deer, hare, buzzard, butterfly, bee, ladybird and a goldfinch and a summer scene. Both sides are pretty equally balanced with Gaia and Earth in the middle. Both sides co-exist equally and balance each other . It took a long time getting there which involved lots of just standing staring at the painting imagining the next step but I finally finished her. She is for sale over in my Etsy shop 

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/525405550/gaia-goddess-mother-earth-original? ref=shop_home_active_2

(with prints on the way) but for the moment she has pride of place on our dining room wall. I do hope you like her.

The Story of Eden

This story was inspired by a commission to do an illustration based on a beautiful doll made by the lovely Mandy at Lady Lillypot. I hope you like it.x

The Story of Eden

By Justine Pateman

Once upon a time there was a lovely woodland. In this woodland there grew mighty oaks, slender birches, holly and dog roses and many other trees and bushes. Beneath them grew violets, bluebells, primroses and many beautiful flowers. Foxes, deer, rabbits, squirrels, mice and other creatures lived happily together. Bees, dragonflies and butterflies flew from plant to plant. Owls, crows, robins, wrens, pheasants and every sort of bird lived amongst the trees.

This woodland was idyllic and all because it was watched over by a beautiful fairy named Eden. She tended the trees and plants and cared for the birds and the animals. Everything living there lived in safety and happiness.

One day, the morning was shattered by a huge rumbling. Eden woke with a start. The birds flew off their roosts in fright and the animals cowered. What Eden saw, shocked her.

All around the woods were monstrous machines – diggers and bulldozers. And men with chainsaws. They had come to cut the woodland down. In a panic, Eden fluttered around the men and machines trying to push them away, but she was so small they didn’t even notice her.

She looked at her woods with tears in her eyes. It was so beautiful and home to so many different creatures. She couldn’t bear to see it destroyed. It would break her heart.

Just then the old rook called down to her. He told her of a place he’d seen on his flights. It filled Eden’s heart with hope. She looked closely at the men and saw one young man who had a good heart.

She flew to him and whispered in his ear. He heard her words as thoughts in his head.

“Stop!” he shouted.

Everyone looked at him.

As Eden whispered in his ear, he repeated her words. He pointed far away across the meadows to an abandoned factory. “We should be knocking that down and building there,” he told them. “There’s lots of room to build and it would save the woodland.”

All the men looked to where the young man was pointing. “What a good idea,” they thought. So they got in their machines and drove away from the wood.

Eden breathed a sigh of relief. Her beautiful woodland was saved. Over the following weeks, Eden watched from the safety of the trees as the abandoned factory was knocked down and houses were built in its place.

One day, the young man returned to the woods. He put up a sign outside. It said that the woodland was protected for wildlife. Then he came into the woods and looked around. He saw the tall stately trees and the pretty flowers. He heard the bees buzzing and the birds singing. He saw how beautiful it was.

Just then, something marvellous happened. In front of him appeared a beautiful fairy. Eden had wished a wish for herself and wished herself to human size. She appeared before the young man who was stunned by her beauty. She told him that she was the fairy of the woods and thanked him for saving her home. The young man promised to protect the woodland for the rest of his life.

And he did.

The Tale of the White Stag

The Tale of the White Stag

By Justine Pateman

 

Once upon a time, in a large forest, there lived the Stag King. He was the biggest, handsomest, strongest and wisest stag in the whole forest. On his wedding day he married the prettiest, kindest, gentlest doe in the forest. After the wedding they held a great ball. The King and his new Queen were dressed magnificently. All the forest creatures, birds and fairies had been invited and were celebrating.

All except one.

Barn Owl woke up in the evening and looked down from her tree. She was surprised to see the party going on in the meadow below as she hadn’t been invited. She felt angry at being left out. She spread her wings and swooped down, looming out of the darkness like a ghost.

The dancers stopped dancing and cowered in fear. The musicians put down their instruments and hid. Barn Owl landed in the midst of the wedding festivities, her eyes flashing in anger.

“How dare you insult me! How dare you shun me!” she shouted. “I curse you! I curse your first born child! He shall be insulted and shunned like me! He shall be a ghost!”

And she took off and flew away to hunt.

The poor Queen was so upset, but the King comforted her and told her not to worry.

In time the curse of the Barn Owl was forgotten as everyone went about their daily lives. One day, about a year later, the Queen gave birth to a healthy baby boy. This longed-for fawn was beautiful in every way but one – he was pure white.

Word quickly spread through the forest of this ghost baby and everyone was shocked. The Barn Owl’s curse had come true.

As the White Fawn was growing up, he would go out to play with the other animals, but they didn’t want to play with him as he looked so different. Some would laugh at him while others ran away.

All shunned him.

Gradually, he became an outcast.

By the time he became a stag with big velvety antlers, he was used to being alone. So he took himself off to a quiet place in the forest. There he lived peacefully and away from other animals – away from their laughter and their stares.

One night he awoke with a strange smell in his nose. He looked up and there was an orange glow in the sky that quickly became hidden by dense smoke. The forest was on fire. Immediately, he jumped up to flee. He followed the stream that ran past his home as he knew it lead out of the forest, but as he ran, he heard screams and a huge commotion. He followed the noise to see what was going on.

The fire was raging and the forest was thick with smoke. All the other animals were scared and confused. They couldn’t see which way to go. They huddled together in fright as the smoke grew thicker around them.

Suddenly the White Stag appeared. He glowed palely in the dense smoke seeming like a ghost or an angel.

“Follow me,” he said. “I know the way out.”

The terrified animals followed him. His whiteness shone and they were comforted. They followed him through the smoke and away from the fire. Soon they were out of the forest and in fresh, clean air.

“You saved us all,” they said. “Thank you so much.”

Eventually, the fire died down. Luckily, only part of the forest was destroyed, so the animals returned and re-built their homes. From then on, no one shunned the White Stag. They talked to him and soon realised how gentle and wise he was and quickly became friends with him.

When the old King, his father, died, the White Stag became King of the Forest and all the animals were happy as he was a good King. Soon he met a pretty doe who suited him perfectly.

On their wedding day, all the creatures, birds and fairies were invited, including Barn Owl. And they all lived happily ever after.

 

The Frog Prince

Here's another little story for you.x

The Frog Prince

by Justine Pateman

Once there lived a frog Prince. He was a handsome prince who always dressed finely. He spent his days sitting proudly on a lily pad above his watery realm. But he never looked down. His eyes were always staring at the sky hoping for a glimpse of his beloved Damsel.

Damsel was a beautiful fairy. Her eyes were vivid blue and her sapphire wings sparkled in the sunshine as she flitted above the pond.

The Frog Prince loved her more than anything.

But she didn’t love him.

She didn’t even notice him. She was too busy parading her beauty in the hope of catching the eye of the Dragonfly King.

Day after day the Frog Prince mooned over Damsel. And day after day Damsel danced before the Dragonfly King.

One day when the sun became too hot and Damsel felt tired, she flitted down and landed on a lily pad for a rest.

“Now is my chance,” thought the Frog Prince as he watched Damsel flutter her wings prettily. He leapt over to the same lily pad. Damsel turned to him and smiled (she always smiled as it showed off her pretty dimples).

The Frog Prince cleared his throat with a croak and declared his love for her.

Damsel laughed. It has to be admitted that it was a very pretty laugh. “How can I love you she asked amazed. You are a frog and live in the cold water. I am a fairy and I fly high in the sky. We could never be together.” And with that she flew up into the blue sky leaving the Frog Prince on the lily pad with her laughter ringing in his ears.

“I’ll show her,” he thought and he leapt as high as he could. His long legs sent him bounding higher than he had ever been before, but it was not high enough. He fell tumbling down to the pond and landed with a huge splash.

It sent ducks quacking with laughter. But Damsel didn’t even notice. She was too busy dancing for the Dragonfly King. The Frog Prince was humiliated. He swam to a little hole on the edge of the pond and hid himself in shame.

On the other side of the pond there lived a pretty little frog lady. Day after day she used to see the Frog Prince on his lily pad as he watched Damsel and she could see that he was wasting his time and she felt sad as she loved the Frog Prince and wanted him to be happy. She saw the Frog Prince make his huge leap and she saw him fall. Hearing the ducks laugh at him made her so sad.

She waited until he was asleep and then swam over to his hole and left a tasty meal outside. The Frog Prince was surprised when he woke up and saw the meal but he ate it anyway. He stayed in his hole as he was afraid of being laughed at again.

The next day he awoke to find a tasty dish laid outside his hole again. This happened the next day and the next. Eventually the Frog Prince determined to find out who was leaving food for him. So he stayed awake in his hole all night and just around midnight he saw the frog lady swim quietly across the pond and leave the dish in front of his hole. He was amazed at her kindness. He had always ignored her as he was too busy watching Damsel, but yet here she was helping him.

Over the next few days, the Frog Prince secretly watched the little frog lady as she quietly left delicious plates of food for him. He thought a lot about her and her kindness. And as he watched her he realised how pretty she was. She wasn’t dazzling and brilliant like Damsel, but she was gentle and kind and that showed in her face and made her beautiful. The Frog Prince realised that he was falling in love the little frog lady.

He forgot about Damsel. He forgot about his humiliation. He left his hole and boldly swam across to the frog lady’s home.

“You have won my heart with your kindness and gentleness,” he told her. He asked her to marry him.

“What about Damsel?” she asked.

“Damsel isn’t the one for me” he replied. “You are.”

The Frog Prince married the pretty little frog lady the next day and they lived happily ever after.

The day after, Damsel finally married the Dragonfly King and they lived happily ever after too.

 

The Tale of the Ice Maiden

I've been enjoying writing little fairy stories to go with my pictures lately. Here's one I did for the birthday of a very lovely customer.x

The Tale of the Ice Maiden

By Justine Pateman

 

Once there lived a beautiful maiden. She had sun-kissed skin, hair the colour of ripened corn and eyes as blue as the sky. Every day she would take her father’s goats up to pasture in the high meadows on the mountains. While the goats grazed the tasty grass she would sit among the flowers and sing. Her lovely voice would carry high up in the clear mountain air. One day, in early spring, when the snows were still low upon the mountain and touching the meadows, the girl came with her goats and as she sat she sang. The Snow King, who was patrolling the edges of his empire heard her melody. He followed the sound until he saw her. He fell instantly in love with her. He desperately wanted to meet her but he couldn’t go near her as she sat in the sunshine and it was too warm for him – he would melt! And she would never come near him as it was too cold. So the Snow King had to content himself with watching her from the cool shadows.

The snows stayed low on the mountain all summer as the Snow King continued to watch the maiden and listen to her beautiful singing. And so the summer wore on and day after day the beautiful maiden climbed to the high pastures with her goats and sang, and each day the Snow King fell more deeply in love. But she never knew as she never saw him. The summer ended and with autumn came cooler, shorter days. The snows crept further into the meadows but still the girl went with her goats.

One day disaster struck. One of the goats slipped while climbing on the rocks and got stuck. The girl couldn’t leave one of her father’s flock behind so she climbed down the steep rock face to rescue it. It was icy and dangerous. The Snow King tried to warn her but all she heard was the howling of the wind. He tried to melt the ice but his breath was too cold. The girl’s fingers were numb with cold. The rocks were too slippery with ice. She had nearly reached the goat. Suddenly, the goat made a giant leap and made it to safety. But his clattering hooves sent the slippery rocks sliding down, deep down into the chasm. The girl’s fingers slipped and she fell down into the depths.

The Snow King desperately tried to cushion her fall with a drift of snow. She had fallen so far and the snow wasn’t deep enough. The beautiful maiden was dying and her lovely voice would be silenced forever. With tears in his eyes the Snow king leaned over his love. Her eyes flickered open and for the first time the girl saw him. She saw a handsome man dressed in glittering icy robes. She saw his deep blue eyes full of love for her and she wasn’t afraid. Despite her pain, she smiled at his beauty and the Snow King leaned towards her and kissed her gently on the lips. His kiss was so cold it took her last breath away. But that icy kiss also froze her. Her skin turned white and her hair turned blue. Taking her hand the Snow king led her to his ice palace high up in the mountains.

The flock of goats made their way on their own down the mountain and it was in vain the girl’s father and villagers hunted for her. She was never found. But every so often, when the winter storms are raging, the lovely singing of the girl can be heard amongst the howling of the wind. The villagers, tucked up in their homes tell stories of the Snow King and the beautiful girl who became his Ice Maiden. As they tell these tales, the Snow King and his Ice Maiden bride dance and sing in the snow and the wind.

The Raven King's Ball

I thought you might like to read a little story I wrote about the Raven King. Hope you enjoy it.x

The Raven King’s Ball 

by Justine Pateman

 

Once upon a time in a towering castle there lived a Raven King. He was handsome and wise. He was advised by his parliament of rooks and he was guarded by his army of crows.

But he had no queen.

One day his parliament advised him to marry. It was decided that he would hold a great ball to which every lord and lady of his kingdom and the neighbouring ones would be invited. They hoped that he would meet his future queen at the ball. The jackdaws were sent out with the invitations. Everyone for miles around was excited. Everyone was busy getting ready for the ball. The dressmakers were busy as everyone wanted new clothes. The jewellers were busy as everyone wanted new necklaces and earrings. The hairdressers were busy devising new hairstyles. Everyone wanted to look their best. The magpies chattered excitedly as they worked to get the castle ready for the ball.

Eventually the day arrived and everyone flocked to the castle to the Raven King’s Ball. The Raven King looked magnificent dressed in blue black breeches and doublet, his long feathered cloak brushing the floor as he danced elegantly. The White Stag danced proudly showing off his perfect silvery blue antlers. The Woodland King in his russet coat danced regally holding his tail high. The Jester danced making everyone laugh as he leaped and twirled. The Frog Prince bounded across the floor impressing all with his agility. All were handsome. All were dressed in their finest. All danced divinely. But the Raven King was the handsomest of all and he danced with every lady there.

He danced with Eden, the beautiful woodland fairy, her wings shimmering as she twirled. Next came paradise with her brightly coloured dress and flashing purple eyes. Then Heavenly, all robed in white and silver with her feathery angel wings. Damsel all dressed in blue, pirouetted elegantly in the King’s arms. The Raven King was polite and attentive as he danced with each fairy, but as soon as the dance was over he moved on to the next fairy.

Suddenly a murmur spread through the crowd. All eyes turned towards the doors as a late guest arrived. She was stunningly beautiful with coal black hair, creamy white skin and a flowing purple gown. Her wings shimmered with purple and silver. She was the Midnight Fairy and the Raven King fell instantly in love.

They danced all night.

When they talked, the Raven King discovered that not only was she beautiful but she was clever, gentle and kind. He knew that she would make the perfect queen. He led her to the balcony to watch the sunrise and to propose. As the first streaks of rose coloured the sky he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He was about to ask the Midnight Fairy to marry him and become his queen.

But when he opened his eyes she was gone!

All that was left was a single black feather.

There was a huge uproar as all the guests searched for the fairy but no one could find her and no one had seen her leave. The poor Raven King was devastated. He took himself to his tower and vowed never to come out until his love was found.

The days went by, and then week and still no one had found the Midnight Fairy. Until one day, one of the jays who had been searching for her stopped to rest by a stream. He was tired and fell asleep. A little later he was woken by the rustling of wings and opened his eyes to see a beautiful raven landing on the bank of the stream nearby. It was getting late and the sun was setting and as it sunk behind the trees and the afternoon turned to dusk, the feathers fell from the raven and there stood the Midnight Fairy. The jay was amazed.

In tears the fairy explained that she had been cursed to be a raven by day and a fairy by night. The jay convinced her to return with him to the Raven King’s castle. As soon as they arrived the Midnight Fairy was taken straight up to the tower where the Raven King had locked himself away after the ball. Only imagine his joy when he saw his fairy love!

She told him about the curse but he only smiled. What was wrong with being a raven he asked? He was a raven after all. It only made her the more perfect for him. The Midnight Fairy agreed to be his queen.

The next day the Raven King married his Raven Queen. By day the two ravens ruled wisely together. By night the lights of the castle shone brightly as the Raven King and the Midnight Fairy danced happily together.

And they lived happily ever after.