The Prettiest Flowers

The Prettiest Flowers was inspired by my love for Sondheim's musical, Into the Woods, specifically the song line, "The prettier the flower, the farther from the path."  Blinded by the idea of gettingpretty flowers for her sick Grandmother, Red doesn't notice the wolf in the darkness.  The drama is created with the play on lights and darkness. I kept the design simple.  The shadows on the previous layers play a part in the design.  The wolf is actually crouching in the shadows.  I used an X-Acto knife for the first time in making The Prettiest Flowers. Using watercolor washes in mixes of black, brown, and grey, the book pages build drama and darkness the further little Red goes into the woods. Red is tinted with red oil pastel.