The Traditional Through a Cracked Prism

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Creating art for those who feel a real resonance with traditional anchoring fairy tales, ~cidaq also draws in those who enjoy darker tales of mystery and films noir.  As a storyteller who can create narratives in both words and watercolors, she often comes up with short stories to accompany her art.




:icontechgnotic:
by techgnotic
Thu Nov 24, 2011, 9:59 PM




cidaq’s paintings are unique and instantly identifiable as hers —

Even though at first glance one might think them antique illustrations preserved from century-old
products advertisements or children’s books.  But one is drawn to look closer and see that a very
modern, very mischievous intelligence is obviously at play.  The media of pencil, inks and watercolors
as well as the skilled technique and composition are solidly anchored in the traditional, but the
sensibility flies unfettered through the highest heights of whimsy.


Pear Tree by cidaq Colonial Pug... by cidaq By The Window by cidaq







The Traditional Through a Cracked Prism (cont.)

It's as if the covers of the New Yorker magazine had come under the direction of Monty Python or Terry Gilliam.  
The subjects of her works, often anthro, seem to be equally informed by classic fairy tales and classic private
detective novels and films noir.  Some characters could be escapees from Alice in Wonderland, Mother Goose...
or Farewell, My Lovely. An interesting sense of childhood playfulness, but with a framing of noir shadows in the
background, pervades most the works.
























The Traditional Through a Cracked Prism (cont.)

cidaq creates art for those who feel a real resonance with traditional anchoring fairy tales, but also the darker tales of mystery and films noir. Diverse as these influences might appear at first, they are both genres that touch the dangerous edges of fearful lurkings in the dark corners of fitful sleep. Her artworks are like postcards from the deepest subconscious regions of darkness, and the higher plane where wistful winds twist and tweak fantasy scenes into fanciful delights.




Rupert's proposal by cidaq party by cidaq Scot McHaggis by cidaq













An Interview with ~cidaq





There seem to be as many literary accents in your works as visual arts references.
Who are some of the artists who have influenced you?



It is not easy to say which artist had any appreciable influence on my work. To me the influencing usually happens rather subconsciously. But there is clearly
a huge influence of illustrators from the late 19th and the early 20th century. I most admire the work of Toulouse-Lautrec, his keen sense of character and
bold lines. Arthur Rackham has to be mentioned, of course, and to some extent Carl Larsson, a Swedish painter. A more contemporary example would be the Dutch
painter Rien Poortvliet, less his bigger oil projects and more his illustrations of books like 'Daily life in Holland in the year 1566'. He had a wonderful,
and very dark, sense of humour. I can't say much about literary influence. This clearly falls under the subconscious category. I hardly ever read anything
contemporary, though, and this general fixation on the past is certainly visible in my paintings. I prefer top hats to baseball caps.












You are also a writer. What additional element does this bring to your artwork?


I always used to come up with small stories to accompany my pictures, as I guess many artists do. I always found it helpful to get a better feeling for the
subject of my painting, to lend it more soul, if you will.










You seemed to be so rooted in the traditional past, yet pulled to the most whimsical modernism.
Is this unsettlingly schizophrenic for you or does it feel quite natural?


I don't think that the whimsical is an achievement of modernism. Just look at the amazing and rather twisted imagination of a
Hieronymous Bosch. Leonardo Da Vinci did some wonderful studies of strange grimaces. To get back to the literary we could mention
E. T. A. Hoffmann, whose tales in the spirit of the Romantic Era like 'The Adventures of New Year's Eve' and 'The Sandman' explore
the misty hinterland of the human mind











As a storyteller who can create narratives in both words and watercolors, in what ways do you see your career arc progressing?



If I had any say in it, I would spend my days scribbling whatever comes to my mind, either words or pictures.
But it is very difficult to gain a foothold in this métier. I do the occasional commission, but it is far from
enough to support me. I have studied archaeology and early modern history and it is in this direction I see my
way continuing in the near future. Unless, of course, I find a publisher, who feels the absolute urge to publish
my scribbling. I have finished and am now revising a novel which combines elements of Chandlerian crime fiction,
the exoticism of Rohmer's Fu Manchu drivel and Terry Pratchett's fantasy and laconic humour. We'll see how it turns out























© 2011 - 2024 hq
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CorgiFoxi's avatar
such an interesting article and the artists work is cute and unique!