Primarily self-taught, Karen Watson recently quit her day job as a VFX compositor for film and television in order to pursue her dream of being a childen’s book illustrator. Recently, Watson put on an art show called “Drawn from Words,” where all of her works were inspired by, well, words. “My goal has been to find that special story, something enchanting and magical. So, I decided to do 15 illustrations based on the classical children’s books.”
Watson asked everyone around her, both young and old, to share the childhood stories that they loved the most. “There are so many wonderful stories to choose from,” she says, “but in the end I chose some of the most popular, and well-known stories in order to create a feeling of nostalgia in the pieces.”
While most of her pieces were done in watercolor, her favorite medium, five were created using oil on canvas to show her versatility.
Don’t they take you right back to your childhood?
Alice in Wonderland
The Wind in the Willows
Hansel and Gretel
The Princess and the Pea
The Wizard of Oz
You can read about Watson’s inspiring art show experience over on her website or you can check out her book, “The Art of Karen Watson” here.