Josephine Wall: paintings from the magical world

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The paintings of the artist Josephine Wall amaze even the most developed imagination, they have so much brightness and attention to detail, and at the same time harmony and depth. Creatures from myths and legends come to life on her canvases, and the phenomena of nature itself appear as a miracle. From this article you will learn many interesting facts about the life and work of the British artist, whose creative world is so magical and attractive to the eye. You will also see Josephine Wall's paintings (with titles) that are the most loved by the public from around the world.

Biography of the artist

She was born in 1947 in the small town of Farnham in the south of England. The girl fell in love with drawing early, even before school. Parents supported and encouraged this hobby in every possible way, including donating professional drawing supplies and paying for private painting lessons. She eventually enrolled at Bournemouth College where she trained as a designer.

While still a student, Josephine Wall exhibited her landscape work in the galleries of Bournemouth. The artist sold her first painting at the age of 16, and when she was 21, her artcanvases were already exhibited in London. Their plot was uncomplicated. Dragonflies and butterflies - that's what Josephine Wall painted at that time. The paintings, however, riveted the attention of the audience, the style of their writing was so unusual and original.

Wings of Love is shown below.

The English artist currently lives with her family in Dorset. A successful career harmoniously combined with a happy personal life, like paint on her canvases. Josephine Wall is a committed conservationist and a member of the Society for the Art of the Imagination, which annually organizes exhibitions of her work.

Creative path

The artist's talent manifested itself in numerous experiments: various types of design, the creation of stained-glass windows and sculptures, painting pottery, clothes and shoes. At the same time, she did not stop painting, and her popularity gradually went beyond the borders of the UK.

Where does Josephine Wall get her inspiration from? Her paintings are sometimes compared with the work of the English fantasy illustrator Arthur Rackham and the works of the surrealists. But at the same time, her style is characterized by a bright individuality, recognizability. The plots of the paintings are based on myths, legends, tales, as well as natural scenes seen by the artist.

Titania and Oberon is shown below.

Distinctive features of her work are softness, tenderness and light that seems to pour from within. Josephine Wall paints with acrylics, choosing tones and color combinations that are pleasing to the eye, among which her favorite is a mixture of ultramarine and burnt umber.

Famous paintings

The artist's work is popular throughout the UK, many European countries, the USA, Japan and Russia. The most famous works include "Dryad and the Dragon", "Chameleon", "Sleeping Gold", "Adrift", "Tiger Butterfly", "Through the Eyes of a Child" and many others.

Magical creatures, enchanted people, bizarre natural forms - this is the world that Josephine Wall creates on her canvas. Her paintings are often issued as postcards, wall calendars and other printed products.

Author's comments

On the official website of the artist, you can see that she conditionally divides her work into cycles: "Fairies", "Goddesses", "Air and Water", "Surrealism", etc. Each work is accompanied by a brief commentary by the artist about its content.

For example, this is how the painting "Winter Dreaming" is described: "Here is a young girl who dreams of the days of the past, dating back to the Victorian era - one of my favorite historical periods. Looking at the painting, one can imagine one's own story and "read" the depicted scenes in any order.”

Zodiac Signs Cycle

The series of works dedicated to the symbols of the zodiac circle is one of the most famous masterpieces of the English artist. Each of the works of this cycle can be considered both as part of a single whole, and asindependent creation. They are characterized by a richness of color, pleasant colors, original composition and careful, loving drawing of details. However, this is exactly what distinguishes all the paintings of Josephine Wall. “Signs of the Zodiac”, for all the triviality of this plot, turned out to be a very unusual cycle and fit well into the creative world of the artist. Her characteristic, airy and soft brushwork is easily recognizable in these works.

Below is the picture "Leo" from the cycle "Signs of the Zodiac".

English fantasy artist Josephine Wall, whose paintings are the subject of this article, has a rare gift - to revive invented worlds on canvas. Moreover, he does it in such a way that the viewer has a feeling of belonging and involvement in the fairy tale. Her paintings can be viewed endlessly, there are so many interesting details in them that the eye can not immediately grasp, and the mind cannot realize. After trying her hand at various art forms, Josephine Wall eventually settled on painting, a choice that brought her international recognition.