Brian Froud
Brian Froud is an award-winning illustrator, author, and faery authority. His books include the international best-sellers Faeries, Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book, Lady Cottington's Fairy Album, and The Faeries' Oracle. He also served as the conceptual designer on Jim Henson's films The Dark Crystal and Labyrinth. Froud lives in Devon, England.
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"I paint the spirit and soul of what I see." - Brian Froud
For over 35 years, Brian Froud has been regarded as the pre-eminent faerie artist in the world and an authority on faeries and faerie lore. His international best-selling book, FAERIES with fantasy and Tolkien illustrator Alan Lee is considered a modern classic. His landmark work with Jim Henson as conceptual designer on feature films THE DARK CRYSTAL, LABYRINTH and other Henson projects set new standards for design, puppeteering and animatronics in film and are considered landmarks in the evolution of modern day special effects and attract an international cult following . With over 8 million books sold to date, Brian's international best sellers include LADY COTTINGTON'S PRESSED FAIRY BOOK, GOOD FAERIES / BAD FAERIES and THE FAERIES' ORACLE and LADY COTTINGTON'S FAIRY ALBUM. Other works with text by Ari Berk include GOBLINS!, RUNES OF ELFLAND, LADY COTTINGTON PRESSED FAIRY LETTERS and BRIAN FROUD'S WORLD OF FAERIE. His latest books are THE HEART OF FAERIE ORACLE, authored by his wife, Wendy and HOW TO SEE FAERIES, with New York Times best-selling author, John Matthews are published by Abrams Books. He and Wendy are now working on their forthcoming book, TROLLS, to be published by Abrams in 2012.
Brian's work has been licensed by numerous licensing companies internationally. His work inspires Faerieworlds and FaerieCon, festival events that attract over 30,000 guests annually. Brian created concept designs for a sequel to THE DARK CRYSTAL, produced by the Jim Henson Company and is developing concept designs for feature film projects now in development. He and Wendy created the story concept for a graphic novel series based on THE DARK CRYSTAL to be published by Archaia Comics in 2011. His work has been featured in exhibitions throughout the world and his paintings reside in many private and public collections. Brian lives in Devon, England with his wife, internationally acclaimed doll maker Wendy Froud.
“Anytime that is ‘betwixt and between’ or transitional is the faeries’ favorite time. They inhabit transitional spaces: the bottom of the garden, existing in a space between manmade cultivation and wilderness. Look for them in the space between nurture and nature, they are to be found at all boarders and boundaries, or on the edges of water where it is neither land nor lake, neither path nor pond. They come when we are half-asleep. They come at moments when we least expect them; when our rational mind balances with the fluid irrational.”
“I feel that what you should illustrate is the space between the words. It's the betweenness, the otherness, that gives depth and dimension.”
“I've been actively engaged with mythic imagery ever since I picked up that Rackham book, but it really came into focus for me when I moved from London to the country. As I walked the extraordinary landscape of Dartmoor, I looked at the trees and the rocks and the hills and I could see the personality in those forms...then they metamorphosed under my pencil into faeries, goblins and trolls. After Alan and I published "Faeries", he moved on from the subject of faery folklore to illustrate Tolkien and other literary works...while I discovered that my own exploration of Faerieland had only just begun. In the countryside, the old stories seemed to come alive around me; the faeries were a tangible aspect of the landscape, pulses of spirit, emotion, and light. They "insisted" on taking form under my pencil, emerging on the page before me cloaked in archetypal shapes drawn from nature and myth. I'd attracted their attention, you see, and they hadn't finished with me yet.”
“I paint the spirit and soul of what I see.”