Whenever I show this picture to artist friends they invariably respond with something like "I know who did that...it was Beatrix Potter, right?" Wrong. The artist was Jill Barklem, who deserves to be better known.
Barklem did most of her work (above) in the 1990s, I think. She's not as well known in America as in the UK. I'm guessing that her publisher didn't promote her enough, but that's just a guess.
For comparison, here's (above) a picture by Beatrix Potter. Potter emphasized line quality and a gritty watercolor texture. Barklem was more architectural.
Big, natural wood cabinets like the kind Barklem liked to draw were common in the 1990s but are scarce now. Seeing this reminds me that for a decade or so romantic English country-style was in and sentimental cottage artists like Thomas Kinkade were popular. All that disappeared, seemingly overnight. Maybe if Barklem had continued to paint, that movement would have lasted longer.
The artist's real-life desk was full of thorns and brambles. She worked in pencil from photocopies of her rough layouts then inked leafy details derived from the samples that were in front of her.
Above, an example.
She liked drawing fine detail (above) and that was her undoing. She had an eye problem that was mostly resolved by surgery but which made rendering difficult. She abandoned children's books and did doll houses and miniature sculptures instead.
Interesting, eh?
