A Wayside Chat 1917

Arthur Rackham made this pen and ink and watercolor drawing, A Wayside Chat, working with a very limited palette of neutral tones to create a dreamlike vision. I love the way the ink has bled into the paper, it must have been very wet when he was working, and there’s such delicate control of the wash. I can imagine him patiently building up the tones layer by layer, waiting for it to dry, then adding more. It would be such a meditative process, and it has a beautifully calm, quiet quality. Look at the fine detail of the trees, the tiny marks he makes to evoke all those branches. The little folk are so cute! But their funny pointed hats give them a slightly sinister air. Rackham was very influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, and he’s part of an ongoing conversation with artists like William Blake, and later Paula Rego, who were all interested in the darker side of folk tales.