Welcome to our web site
Our business is art that inspires the imagination. We started the company in 1999 with a focus on the fine art of illustration and this is probably what we are most known for. We have expanded our focus to include other fine artists, who are not strictly illustrators, and the best bronze sculptors working in the UK today. All our artists have two things in common; they are very talented and have art that will stimulate your mind as well as please your eye. These works are more than just art to hang on your wall, they all tell a story and provoke an emotion.
Enjoy browsing through our site and we hope that we will meet you at one of our events.
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Why collect Illustration - Are illustrations good investments?
We have all found ourselves spell bound by a tale at some time in our lives, whether as a child reading Thomas the Tank Engine, a young adult reading Macbeth, or an adult reading The Da Vinci Code. Reading is an essential skill we all have to master if we wish to succeed in what we call everyday life. But reading is much more; it lets us explore the lives of others, their trials and adventures, defeats and triumphs. We can learn as well as be entertained. Children's books are especially adept at achieving this and many can be read time and time again by anyone. A good story can be read and enjoyed at any age. Filmmakers, therefore, go to great lengths to ensure that the imagery they create reflects what we have all come to expect from a book. A great example is Peter Jackson's visionary The Lord of the Rings recreation of 'Middle Earth'. To ignore it would have been perilous. It is therefore not at all surprising that many people have turned to collecting original works by the artists that have illustrated those inspiring books. Books like Alice in Wonderland, Wind in the Willows, Peter Pan and Winnie-the-Pooh are all children's classics and are rightly much sought after along with many others. Also, books by Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac, EH Shepard, W Heath Robinson and such classic illustrators appeal to many people because of their imaginative visual storytelling.
Looking at the history of illustration, many people are lead to believe that 1900 through 1930 was the golden age of illustration. I personally feel this is an overstatement and insinuates that illustration today is somehow inferior. You only need to take a trip around a high street bookshop and see some of the illustrative excellence that is currently available. The list of great contemporary illustrators includes Quentin Blake, Ronald Searle, Christian Birmingham, Paul Kidby and Peter Malone are very popular and much loved.
Owning an original published illustration is very satisfying. Compared to some works by established artists they can be acquired at reasonable prices. An average oil painting may cost many thousands of pounds, whilst many book illustrations retail from just a few hundred pounds. It is always enjoyable to know that the art hanging on your wall is familiar to thousands of people around the world. Recently, classic illustrators have seen a sharp rise in prices. At a London auction of Beatrix Potter’s children’s illustration, a small but delightful illustration sold for over £250,000.
We focus on illustration for children’s books but the illustration of a book that has a magical element is the main focus. There are many other forms of illustration, such as; poster illustration, sports illustration, fashion illustration, graphic illustration, botanical illustration and illustration books
So what is the future of Illustrations?
The art of illustration can still be seen at work today, but it is under threat. Our modern world wants things to be delivered to a very short deadline and many publishers are not exempt. This has forced illustrators to either create fast character drawings or reach for the powerful graphics software packages that are available today. This allows them to move parts of the image around, change colours and generally modify the image to the requirements of the publisher and author in an instant. A great innovation, but all these deadlines and the need to make corrections on the fly has meant there is no physical artwork.
Is this the end to fine illustration art? By no means! There are a group of dedicated illustrators willing to produce real art and some understanding publishers allowing them the time to create these little masterpieces. The good news for the lovers of original illustrations is that their treasured paintings are soaring in value as the market wakes up to the idea that an era is coming to an end. Illustrations are sound investments that can be enjoyed by anyone who sees life as filled with wonderful adventures.
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