Its Just a Matter of Time

Jesus Blasco - Alice in Wonderland

Last week I read something I found very interesting in the 'Metro Herald' our fabulous free newspaper that keeps me sane during my daily commute.

Dr Andrew Jackson, a scientist here at Trinity College (Dublin) is researching the perception of time by small animals and insects.  The project he is leading compares 'flicker fusion frequency' - the point at which creatures begin to see separate flashes of light as a blur.  The hypothesis they are following is that the faster an animal's metabolic rate, the slower objects move for them and the longer their impression of time.

This theory can be used to explain why a fly is able to avoid being swatted so easily.  Our actions as humans appear to them like the bullets in 'The Matrix.'

Ron Embleton - Cinderella

Dr Jackson has carried this train of thought a step further after noticing that small children always appear to be in a hurry.  'It's tempting to think that for children time moves more slowly than it does for grown-ups and there is some evidence that it might', he is quoted as saying.   It certainly seems to be the case for me - as my metabolism slows down, time has speeded up to the point where I never seem to have enough to do anything!

For me this theory compliments another I have always subscribed to - that there is a direct correlation between a person's age and their perception of time.  This is based on the percentage of a period of time in relation to an individual's entire existence.  So for a child of 4 the equivalent number of years is very long time as it constitutes his/her whole lifetime.  For an adult of 54 it has a whole different meaning.

Einstein was studying the concept of time and time-travel towards the end of his life.  He saw time as a river flowing in one direction with us travelling along in a boat.  What he was contemplating in his twilight years is the possibility of us manoeuvring the boat to the bank, getting out and walking back the way we had come.  I've always been fascinated by the prospect of time-travel but as I get older I often think it is better we are not able to revisit the past.  Our memories are unreliable and often inaccurate - we are most likely much happier with our rose-tinted perceptions of the past than the actual reality.

My own journey through time:            

Aged 4

Aged 14

Aged 24

Aged 34 (with hubby John)

Aged 44 (with our son Ryan)

Aged 54 (suitably obscured by sunlight!)

Jim Croce's 'Time in a Bottle' (1973).  I've always found it especially poignant that he died the same year this song was released and in the end did not get his full allotment of time.  The photography in this particular YouTube clip is absolutely breathtaking - if you can spare the time its well worth watching!  

Ron Embleton by Candlelight - Until We Meet Again

I have previously devoted a number of blog entries to the art of Ron Embleton and the post More Ron Embleton Magic (18 June 2011) has consistently proved to be one of my most popular.

Last month I was thrilled to be able to buy the painting shown above to add to my small collection of original Ron Embleton art.  It is not a large painting, but it is one I have loved ever since I first saw it as a child.

Although I admire all of his work I think Embleton's works lit by candlelight, firelight and moonlight are his most atmospheric and technically brilliant.

This is how the painting appears in the story 'The Secret of the Trolls', originally printed in 1970 in Once Upon a Time magazine.

In one of my earliest posts Here be Dragons (20 January 2011) I mentioned that prints/posters of Ron Embleton's work are available for sale that are often vaguely titled.  This painting is another example.  It is always called 'Girl Writing a Letter'.   The 'girl' in the illustration is called Lady Ulfstan - she is busy inviting all the noble knights in the land to her castle in the hope that one will offer to marry her troublesome daughter!

These works of art are usually referred to as 'boards'.   The paintings are taped onto a square of board (ready to be sent for printing) with instructions and dimensions written underneath.  For me that is part of their appeal - they are working illustrations - part of the magical process of bringing to life these wonderful stories for children.  I have chosen to keep them exactly as they are and not frame them (although I have covered them in cellophane to protect them.)     

Last December I bought another painting from the same story (shown above).   Again I think the use of light in this painting is brilliant, divided as it is into a hot and cold area.  Like the examples I included in Ron Embleton's Comic Cooks (September 2011) the inclusion of the dog is a lovely touch.

Once again here is the illustration in the context of the story:

     

I bought these two paintings from Frans Leeflang - items he is currently selling on eBay can be found on the link provided.  Frans is one of the nicest and most professional sellers on eBay and his art collection is truly incredible.  You can see some of the works he has sold on his blog Frans' Pop Art (not only children's art).

To finish this post I'm including three other examples (by no means a definitive list) of Embleton's work that is lit by candlelight.  The first is from 'The Magic Apples (1971).  I really wanted to be a delicate sleeping princess with long golden hair when I first saw this illustration.   

 

The next two are both from Snow White (1969) and show the wonderful depiction of the wicked stepmother in that story.

This will be my last blog entry for a while.  I've thoroughly enjoyed the 'almost year' that I have been putting these posts together.  A completely unexpected pleasure and treat has been the other bloggers (and blogs) that I have got to know.  It has been a real privilege - thanks so much for popping into my blog and for the comments that have been left.  I've really enjoyed visiting in return.

Although I've only completed one post a week I've found the process surprisingly time consuming and unfortunately spare time is not something I have in abundance.  My family have also been teasing me (in a nice way) that my blog is not one with a wide enough appeal and comparatively speaking does not perform that well.  So I'm going to try to spend more time with them and less plugged into a machine!  I won't stop blogging altogether and will perhaps do a post a month instead of one every week.  Hopefully I'll also still be visiting some of the other blogs I've really come to enjoy.

So for now all that is left for me to do is to blow out the candle.  

Ron Embleton's Comic Cooks

The Land Without Sugar

In two earlier posts More Ron Embleton Magic and Wonderful Weddings I mentioned the wonderful humour Ron Embleton sometimes brought to his illustrations and that the motif of Comic Cooks was one he often used to brilliant effect.

I thought it might be fun to dedicate this week's entry to the topic, especially as previous posts depicting Ron Embleton's work have proved to be amongst the most popular in my blog.

Below are a selection of illustrations from some of the best loved stories that Ron Embleton brought to life, showing his skill at depicting both human and animal characterisation. 

The Land Without Sugar

The Magic Apples includes some of Ron Embleton's better known work.  It is also one of my favourites but I've always thought the cook in this story seems out of place.  She belongs to the wrong era altogether for a story with a Nordic theme placed in a medieval setting.  That is the beauty of fairy stories though - they can jumble up reality and still keep us entertained.

  

The Magic Apples

The Magic Apples

The King and the Potato Crisps

 The following illustrations are not of cartoon style characters but they are still humorous and perfectly pitched, conveying the essence of the stories they depict wonderfully.
 

The Secret of the Trolls

The Tinder Box

The Tin Soldier

These are the two pictures I included in the earlier posts that made me think of combining these illustrations together for this particular theme.  I'm repeating them again here: 

Beauty and the Beast

Sleeping Beauty

And to finish - not a comic cook but a beautiful princess who is elegant and competent, bringing sweetness to her kingdom for the first time.

The Land Without Sugar

More Ron Embleton Magic

Ron Embleton - Cinderella

More Ron Embleton art can be found at Ron Embleton's Comic Cooks posted 3 Sept 2011.

I decided to postpone the original post I was intending to publish this week after I noticed someone had come across my blog searching for 'Ron Embleton Cinderella.'  I don't know if the same person will pass this way again, but on the off-chance that they do I'm including these images.  I suspect that during his brilliant and productive career Ron Embleton (1930-1988) probably illustrated Cinderella more than once.  This selection may not be from the version being sought, but I think they are particularly lovely none the less.

Once again I am posting images that I have not seen on any other online site.  The Look and Learn website (as mentioned before) has a wonderfully comprehensive collection of the better known examples of Ron Embleton's work and is the best place to start any search for his art.

If anyone who finds my blog thinks I may have any illustrations they are specifically looking for please let me know and if I have them (and they are appropriate and relevant ) I will make sure to post them.  You can leave a comment or email me at sharonsouter1@gmail.com .

Ron Embleton - Cinderella

Ron Embleton - Cinderella

Ron Embleton - Cinderella

For variation I'm including some illustrations from Sleeping Beauty and The Twelve Dancing Princesses that I also count among my Embleton favourites.  I particularly love the humour in the next painting from Sleeping Beauty.  The motif of comical chefs is one Embleton used on a number of occasions.  I posted an illustration from Beauty and the Beast as part of my Wonderful Weddings selection that mirrors the antics in the foreground shown here.

Ron Embleton - Sleeping Beauty

Ron Embleton - Sleeping Beauty

Ron Embleton - Sleeping Beauty

Ron Embleton - The Twelve Dancing Princesses

Ron Embleton - The Twelve Dancing Princesses

Ron Embleton - The Twelve Dancing Princesses

Illustrations from 'Fairy Tales Around the World, retold by Edward Holmes, illustrated by Ronald Embleton 

For more Ron Embleton art click on the links for Ron Embleton and Disney ,  Here be Dragons , Homage to Embleton , Wonderful Weddings , Perfect Princesses and Handsome Heroes

                                                              A Time for Reflection

                                                        

More photographs taken at St Stephens Green, Dublin in the early morning.  On days like these its very difficult to leave the tranquility of the park and go indoors.  I now have it down to a fine art that I get to the office and swipe in at one minute to eight to make the most of my early morning wanderings.

 And finally for today - this is a rose (is it Peace?) that grows outside my front door.  We moved into a new home a couple of months ago so I am discovering the seasons in the garden as they happen.  This enormous rose (the plant also grows to over 6 foot) is incredible.  It reminds me of roses in fairy tales - the fabled bloom in Beauty and the Beast for example.  My husband picked two for me but I have left the rest where they are.  In a vase they have already lasted well over a week.

Here Be Dragons

I've noticed this picture on a couple of sites that sell posters and prints as well as in the picture library of Look and Learn.  It is another example of Embleton's work and is always titled 'Boy and Girl on Lake'.

Ron Embleton - The Last Dragons

I often wonder if anyone who sees it is curious to know what the children are looking at as the dragonflies are not included in the stand-alone version of the scene.

This illustration is from a story called 'The Last Dragons' that appeared in the 1963 Jack and Jill annual.  It is about two very unhappy dragons who become the first dragonflies.  The story even recounts that the dragonflies decide to marry so the new species will continue.  
    

As a child I was intrigued by the depiction of the fairies in this story.  They are very grown up - more sirens than simple fairies with a refined glamour reminiscent of the golden age of movie stars.  In some ways they are an early precursor of the adult illustration work Embleton did towards the end of his career.

I've included a detail of one of the fairies from this story, followed by a panel from the story I posted in my first blog entry, The Golden Ball.  Although separated by a couple of years the depiction of the fairies in both is very similar.      

Ron Embleton - The Golden Ball

More dragons can be found in Delightful Dragons posted 12 August.

The Green in Winter

Last time I included photos of the swans in St Stephen's Green taken last summer.  Just before Christmas the park was covered in snow.  The next photo shows the same lake frozen over.  The swans were left with a tiny place to swim, sheltered by a bridge.  

Another photograph of the park in winter.