Without having any formal art training, fairy artist Amy Brown has built an extensive collection of over 800 fantasy images that are bound to withstand the test of time. Her lines are elegant, her colors are eye-catching, and her figures are statuesque with facial expressions that are comely to the viewer‘s eyes. Her mythical creatures have a Gothic look and her divas possess an otherworldly presence as her lightning coordinates the luminous glow of her figures with the cast shadows made by their features. Inspired by such fantasy artists as Brian Froud and Michael Parkes, and the urban fantasy stories of Charles De Lint, Brown’s artwork connects with people’s sense of beauty and their desire to imagine a place where animals, nature and humans live in harmony.
Born in Bellingham, Washington in 1972, Amy Brown grew up listening to the sounds of nature and watching undomesticated animals preside over the lands. She began painting in 1992, after taking a job working as a custom picture framer for the local shop Festival of Art, where she was responsible for framing art. Brown tells in her biography on her website that “Working with mats and frames gives you a better feel for color and texture.” She learned about color, design, framing techniques, layout, and various art techniques. After working in the art gallery for 4 months, her boss, Shawn, gave her a frame and told her to paint something to go inside the frame. Brown painted the first image that came into her head - a charming fairy, and that is how it all started for her. She began painting fairies on a regular basis and sold them at local shops, galleries, and street fairs.
Amy Brown began by channeling the legendary tales of Camelot and referring to such fantastical tales as The Hobbit by Tolkien to spark her imagination and mobilize the creativity in her fingers. She explains on her website, “I start with a blank piece of paper and begin drawing. I rarely do preliminary sketches unless there is a troublesome area that needs special attention or I can't decide on the layout of the overall piece. The initial drawing can take anywhere from fifteen minutes to hours, days, months, and sometimes years”
She reveals that “By the time I actually complete the painting, it has often evolved into something completely different.” She uses pencils for her drawings, then Daniel Smith Extra Fine Watercolors and Windsor and Newton brushes to paint the background colors. She prefers to work with 140lb or 300lb Arches cold press watercolor paper. She typically completes the background first and then concentrates on the characters in her drawings.
She expresses, “When I am happy with the drawing, I start to paint. I always do the background first, whether it consists of light washes of color or multiple layers of paint. Next I focus on any inanimate objects in the background, including trees, rocks, walls, water. I will use salt, wax, ink or colored pencil to help create different textures. After the entire background is finished I will work on any secondary figures. These might be goblins, pixies, or animals. I prefer to paint the central figure last. I focus on skin tones first, then follow with clothing, wings and hair.”
She examines, “Each aspect of a painting involves a gradual build up of colors. Background washes can have as many as five or six layers of paint. Clothing usually has at least 2 layers, while four or five layers are needed for hair. I use white gouache or colored pencil for accents and highlights. Sometimes I will outline the image in ink before I begin adding watercolor washes.”
In 1997, Amy Brown debuted her first website to sell her artwork. The site was re-designed shortly after requests began pouring in, which allowed Amy to sell her paintings worldwide. In 2001, Hot Topic Stores came upon Amy Brown’s art and contacted her about licensing various prints for their stores. Soon afterwards, Amy expanded her merchandise repertoire to include her prints on mugs, stationary, ceramic tiles, stickers, and other items. Hot Topic’s interest in Brown’s artwork made it possible for her paintings to be seen by mainstream audiences who found her art very attractive and began purchasing items in bulk. Amy’s artwork has been used in the background for episodes of the TV comedy “My Name is Earl” and in independent films such as “Inhabited” and the cult film “Ringers Lord of the Fans,” which is a parody of “Lord of the Rings.”
In 2002, Chimera Publishing offered to publish Amy Brown’s first art book entitled The Art of Amy Brown, which now has a volume I and a volume II in print. Volume I was released in January 2003 and the second volume came out in mid-2005. Amy Brown has also contributed her artwork to The Art of Faery, The World of Faery, and Fairy Wisdom Deck.
Like many fairy artists, Amy Brown creates her masterpieces in her home studio, but unlike most painters, Brown is able to work on several pieces at one time. Her ability to multi-task also crosses over into her skills as an avid gardener, or vice versa as she describes on her website, “I paint all of the backgrounds, then all of the skin tones, clothing, etc. It saves time by not having to mix and remix paints constantly. Since I usually have so many different ideas, I can jump from piece to piece and work on whatever strikes me at the time.”
The celestial figures in her paintings, in some way, have come to represent some aspect of her own personality as she cites, “"To a certain extent, all of my paintings reflect some inner part of myself - the more serious, darker ones come from very deep within, while the cute or funny pieces are very much from the surface. I often find myself giggling while I do those."
If her figures were 3-dimensional, you would no doubt be able to see them giggling right with her. Amy Brown is a fairy artist who has broken into mainstream markets without sacrificing the elements that spur on her creativity. She admits that she does not work on commission but values her creative license and keeps it in tact. The secrets to developing an expansive collection of prints, in Brown’s opinion, is to have an open mind and to practice as much as possible as she endorses on her website, ”Practice as much as possible and never think there isn't something new to learn or some way to improve your work.”
You can learn more about Amy Brown by visiting her website www.amybrownart.com
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