Cicely Mary Barker

     I started researching for anthropomorphic flowers and I came across the illustrations of Cicely Mary Barker. I'm sure I've seen her work before but I've never really looked into it.

    On the official website for her series the Flower Faires it says:

Flower Fairies™ are tiny creatures (the biggest is only 20cm tall) that live in the tree tops, marshes, forest floor, wayside and gardens. Wherever and whenever a seed sprouts, a Flower Fairy baby is born. Each Flower Fairy lives and sleeps in their chosen flower, plant or tree, and as this grows the fairy grows too.

Each and every Flower Fairy is in charge of looking after their flower or plant; keeping it strong and healthy by making sure it has plenty of sunshine and water to drink, sweeping away dead leaves, and polishing flowers and stems.

    And in her work:

The Wood-Sorrel Fairy

The Scilla Fairy

The Mountain Ash Fairy

The Foxglove Fairy

    I love how she uses the shape of the flowers to design her characters and embody the personality of the flower into the pose and composition. I find it interesting how untouched nature has a natural sense of purity and innocence that translates well to portrayal as children.

    Additionally, I've started a pinterest board that I'll be spending some more time on once I've finished writing this post.

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