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Fairy Grotto Dairy
04-25
Welcome to My Collection
This collection is where my imagination wandered into hidden nooks of magic. I spent hours researching folklore and the flowers that hold meaning for our lil fairy friends.
These enchanting blooms live forever in my watercolour collections, sometimes gilded with gold ink, and even painted with coffee to make the pages feel like an illuminated manuscript lost behind an old bookcase.
New Watercolour Subjects
As you’ll notice, I don’t usually paint people. I started as a strictly botanical artist. But the magic of this collection pulled me toward fairies and human-like folk. I asked my beloved partner to pose so I could sketch them, and then painted them in an Art Nouveau style, experimenting with making them glow from within. I fell in love with merging flowers and magical beings, and I don’t think I’ll ever look back. Hence my Secret Garden and Night Garden Collections!
Mixed Media Experiments
I’m a watercolour artist through and through, but I absolutely loved painting with coffee in this collection. It gives the pages an ancient, worn feel, like a fairy tale lost in time. I can’t wait to experiment more with painting borders and scenes that merge together, like trees growing around a hidden magical world.
You can probably see how this garden’s influences weave into my later collections. I know the process from botanical artist to full whimsical scenes will be a long, windy road, and I hope you enjoy the walk with me.
British Flower Lore in my Art
Throughout this watercolour collection I painted many flowers all with special folklore and Celtic mythology:
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Harebells: Also known as "witch's thimbles" or "fairy bells," these delicate flowers were believed to summon fairies when their bell-shaped blooms were rung. In Norse mythology, they were sacred to the goddess Freya, associated with love and beauty. I painted these in my piece, The Gate Keeper.
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Lily of the Valley: Often referred to as "fairy cups," these dainty blooms were believed to form ladders for fairies to reach reeds from which they wove their cradles. Their sweet scent and bell-like flowers made them a favourite among the fairy folk. I painted the sweet fairy Umbra among these sweet but deadly blooms.
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Hawthorn Trees: Known as the "fairy tree," hawthorns were considered to guard the entrance to the fairy realm. In Celtic mythology, they symbolised love and protection. It was believed that disturbing a hawthorn tree could incur the wrath of its supernatural guardians. I painted a Hawthorn tree with winding bark in one of my A5 pieces, for the third piece in this fairy themed collection.
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Ferns: Associated with the fairy realm, ferns were believed to have protective properties. In some cultures, fern fronds were used in spells for rain-making and to boost the magical properties of other plants. These are a favourite of my mothers so I had to paint them curling amongst the coffee border.
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Roses: Symbolising love and beauty, roses have deep roots in fairy lore. In various tales, red roses represent passionate love, while white roses signify purity and innocence. Their thorns, however, remind us of the dangers that can accompany love. I painted Roses as a Pocket Print and dog rose in the border of The Gatekeeper watercolour painting.
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Clover: Often associated with good fortune, four-leaf clovers were believed to grant wishes and bring luck. They were also used in divination and to see through magical illusions, making them a favourite among the fairy folk (and myself!!). Clover is my second Pocket Print of this collection, I loved painting the name using the tiniest tip of my brush.
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Daisies: Representing purity and innocence, daisies were believed to protect children from fairy mischief. In Victorian times, they symbolised loyalty and the ability to keep secrets, often used in the game of "he loves me, he loves me not." I absolutely LOVE daisies, they are my favourite flower (hence the name Bellis!) so I enjoyed painted Lumen sitting on her lil flower.
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Butterfly Paintings
I adore painting butterflies, and in this collection, fairy wings are inspired by their delicate patterns. I even painted a guardian butterfly to watch over the fairy portal, tying fantasy with the real world in a little moment of whimsy.
Lumen and Umbra Fairies
Fairies of light and shade perch delicately on daisies and lily of the valley. These sisters have such a hold on me that we named our rescue puppies after them! The watercolours are inspired by illuminated manuscripts and the elegance of Alphonse Mucha. I aimed to emulate his respect and grace in the way he paints women, bringing the same flowing, ethereal beauty to my fairies’ hair and dresses.
I hope you stay a while in my little fairy tale and lose yourself in the magic of flowers, fairies, and shimmering daydreams.
Love,
Laura
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