Friday, December 4, 2009

Illustration Friday - Crunchy and Mixed Media Monday - "Bedtime Stories" one of my first picture books...Little Red...

Hi Everyone...Hope you had a wonderful weekend....This week's theme on MMM is "Bedtime Stories" and one of my first books as a child was "Little Red Riding Hood"....I still have this book and it is all drawn on and sketched in...perhaps the very first start towards my love of picture books and my love of drawing....The funny thing is this book is pretty scary


The version most widely known today is based on the story by the Brothers Grimm. It is about a girl who wears a red hooded cape and cloak and hence is called ...little red riding hood..... The girl walks through the woods to deliver food to her sick grandmother. The big bad wolf wants to eat the girl but is afraid to do so in public. So he approaches the girl, and she naively tells him where she is going. He suggests the girl pick some flowers, which she does. In the meantime, he goes to the grandmother's house and gains entry by pretending to be the girl. He swallows the grandmother whole, and waits for the girl, disguised as the grandmother. (pretty scary for a picture book)

When the girl arrives, she notices he looks very strange to be her grandma. In most retellings, this eventually culminates with Little Red Riding Hood saying, "My, what big teeth you have!"
To which the wolf replies, "The better to eat you with," and swallows her whole, too.

A hunter, however, comes to the rescue and cuts the wolf open. Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother emerge unharmed. They fill the wolf's body with heavy stones, which drown him when he falls into a well. Other versions of the story have had the grandmother shut in the closet instead of eaten, and some have Little Red Riding Hood saved by the hunter as the wolf advances on her rather than after she is eaten.

I guess since the hunter comes to the rescue and saves the Grandmother and the Girl it is a happy ending...except of course for the poor wolf....

I guess we will see many renditions of this story...it will always be a great memory for me...and an inspiration for what I do now...Draw picture books and write picture book stories...

I even added the wolf in the sky ...this is from a wildlife painting I created years ago...I thought it would make an interesting sky for my illustrations in front....

I have added this to this week's Illustration Friday prompt....there is nothing like a yummy and CRUNCHY candy apple....yummmmmmmm

Have a wonderful day!!!

Hugs
Diana

29 comments:

Sandy said...

Oh wow what a great story and so wonderful digital art. I love them. Really unique.

Nicola said...

Wow this is fantastic Diana!!! Everything is just brilliant! I really like the use of your other painting of the wolves as the sky in the background that is a great touch and your little red riding hood is gorgeous. I think this fairy tale is one of my favourites from when I was a kid and it's not until you are older that you realise just how scary this really is heheheh

Unknown said...

Thank you!!! and so true...it only gets scary when you read it as an adult...lol....

Alexandra MacVean said...

Diana, what a great piece of artwork. And the wolves in the background for the sky are perfect! I so admire you and your art.

Have a great week! :)

Diane said...

Diana, this is a stunning illustration! Love it! Diane

johanna said...

wonderful! love that wolves in the background! great piece, diana!

Hanne said...

This is fantastic! So many beautiful details and fantastic use of colors.

Have a wonderful day!
Hanne

Anonymous said...

Great piece! The funny fact is that the brothers Grimm collected European folk tales and fairy tales but these where mostley so horrible and too scarry for kids that they changed the stories somewhat so the would be suitable for children.
-M

Manon said...

I just saw the wolves in the background!! Terrific work Diana! This story also brings back great memories for me.
Do you sleep? I see that you're posting late..... i was probably sleeping a few hours already....lol!

Have a fun day Diana!!

xo

Yvonne said...

WOW, what a fabulous piece, Diana!! Love the wolf!

WrightStuff said...

This story always scared me witless as a child - there seemed to be so many tales of monstrous wolves! I heard it told on kids TV recently in a new version where no one got hurt - not even the wolf. Much better I think!

Limarea said...

This is really lovely, very sweet :)

Faye said...

Diana, I am constantly amazed by your creativity! This is such a beautiful illustration and entry for bedtime stories. I loved the different endings to the Red Riding Hood story, most of which were new to me. I didn't notice the beautiful wolves in the sky till I read your story. What a fabulous painting.

Martina said...

What an amazing piece of digital art, so beautiful, perfect!

indybev said...

Isn't it amazing how very scary most of the old nursery rhymes used to be? Yet we all grew up with them and none the worse for wear!

mary.anne.gruen@gmail.com said...

Wow! I didn't see the wolves in the sky at first glance. They really give the picture a whole other dimension! Really really great!

Diane said...

Absolutely stunning, Diana! The wolves in the background really top it all off. Have a great week!
Hugs, Diane

marianne said...

I still love these bestime stories and fairytales!

Lovely little red riding Hood!

Anne (cornucopia) said...

Wow, Diana! This is incredible! Great artwork. And Little Red Riding Hood looks like she can take on those wolves and win. :-)

Tammie Lee said...

i love the wolves in the sky, fantastic. This is such a lovely piece. It is amazing how so many of our childrens stories are violent and scary and yet we love them. Your expression of this is wonderful.

Bella Sinclair said...

OOooh, I LOVE this, Diana! I was so focused on beautiful Red and her fabulously textured clothes that I didn't even notice the wolves until you pointed them out. Oh my GOSH, how COOOOOOL they look!

Sometimes, when I read classic fairy tales that have been sugarcoated and politically corrected up the yingyang, it takes all the fun out.

xoxo

Kristin said...

Oh Diana! This is amazing! I too love the wolves in the background - almost scary, but the painting in the front is so sweet and so beautiful! A great balance: I love it! Kristin :)

Amy said...

WOW-love the wolf sky!!! The red is vibrant..just like Little Red herself. Great painting of the story!

Ces Adorio said...

WHOOOAAA! Look at the wolves! Diana this is superb! Oh you are so creative. I want that crunchy candy coated apple she is eating. Oooh my dentist would just love to see me and lecture me. Hahahahah! Oh I love the wolves and how you put them there. Very creepy cool.

MrBibleHead said...

Wow! this just blew me away Diana! Love the idea (very crunchy!) and your story too, But your illustration tops everything! That wolf sky is totally cool! Little red ROCKS!

Debra Kay said...

I love this Diana. Wolves are one of my favorites, red is a favorite color, and I love apples!

NANCY LEFKO said...

wonderful...you always have such treats here at your blog !!!

INDIGENE said...

I remember this being a pretty grim fairy tale, along with Hansel & Gretal, Snow White, etc. I loved them! I think these versions are mild considering what's on the tube nowadays! Wonderful colorful work!

Guto de Oliveira said...

very cool design ... the style is very expressive ... I loved

 
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