Beauty & the Beast at The Book Show
In between book tours and summer barbeques, I’ve managed to squeeze in a couple of new pen & ink images of two beloved characters from La Belle et la Bête (better known as Beauty & the Beast) for an upcoming exhibit in Paris, France.
The Daniel Maghen gallery specializes in graphic novel artists from abroad. The talent represented in the gallery’s collection is mind blowing, so I was thrilled when I was asked to contribute an image for their upcoming “Book Show” exhibit in which a gaggle of artists render an image from a favorite book.
Seeing that the exhibition was in France, my mind drifted off to my favorite French fairy tales, especially the work of Charles Perrault. I’ve been enamored by the original Beauty & the Beast story since I first read it, so I used the exhibition as an excuse to create my own interpretation of the main characters, Belle and Beast.
Though the original artwork will not be for sale (Ang wants to hang them in our personal collection), I may yet create prints of them down the road…hmmmm.
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These look really great! My favorite details are the huge moth on Belle’s head and the Beast’s exaggerated ruffle.
Gabe
If you look closely, you’ll see that Beast’s ruffle is in the shape of roses. 18th century hats often had lavish plumage on them, which I planned on rendering; however, I thought the Luna moth would be more unexpected and mysterious.
What an outstanding show that will be- wow! Your pieces are fantastic, that sketch of Belle is breathtaking! p.s. I am reading The Search for WondLa right now and am loving every bit of it.