I met Judy Mastrangelo several years ago when my sons and nephews and nieces were still young. I loved her gorgeous illustrations of fairies and creatures and gave a few of her beautiful books as gifts. I am delighted to introduce you to Judy’s art and her book, The Star.
Tell us a bit about your art journey. Did you always want to be an artist? Did you study art at college or are you self taught?
Yes, I always knew, even as a child, that I wanted to be an artist. I loved to draw and paint, which I did constantly. I especially loved drawing in nature, and even climbed a blossoming crabapple tree to draw a picture of its beautiful flowers. I would take walks in the woods, and in gardens, drawing trees, houses, and flowers. I even drew pictures of people I saw while I traveled on buses and trains, since I often carried my sketch book with me. (I even met my dear husband that way, when I saw him on a trolley car, and I drew his picture.)
I often took art lessons, from my youngest years, and in college, which I enjoyed very much. In these classes it was wonderful to be able to draw life classes from models. It helped me learn human anatomy. I also always love to learn from the great masters, such as one of my favorites, Leonardo DaVinci. I often copied his drawings, which also helped me learn anatomy. He would dissect in order to understand how the human body was put together. I could never do that myself, so I learned from his drawings. I’m always studying the artwork of great artists, in books, on the internet, and I especially love going to museums and seeing the actual original paintings. These masters were, and always be my best and most inspiring teachers.
You create fantasy designs of fairies and other mythical and literary figures. What draws you to this type of art creation?
Most of my life I’ve been drawing and painting in all genres, from Realism, to Impressionism and Abstractionism. I paint a wide variety of subjects, but various forms of Fantasy have always been the closest to my heart. This includes Fairy Tales, Myths, and New Age Art.
All of Nature is alive to me, and I try to show this in my paintings. I love the Greek and Roman Myths in which they personify Spirits of Nature, and so I enjoy painting Deities of Trees, Water, Earth, Air, Gods and Goddesses, etc. I especially love fantasy literature, and enjoy watching these stories made into film. The world of Fairies and Elves has always fascinated me, ever since I was a child, and even to this day. I love painting them in their innocence and joy, since it makes me happy. Painting their world is like a prayer to me, and transports me to other worlds and dimensions.
I daydream about my paintings for a while before putting them on canvas. This preliminary technique of «Mind Painting» helps me to develop an imaginative Work of Art.
Please share 6 of your favourite artworks and tell us a bit about them.
RAINBOW SPIRIT This goddess is one of my series of four “Spirit” paintings, representing “Air”. She wears the Chakras, and rises out of the earth toward the heavens, symbolizing transcendence.
THE RELUCTANT DRAGON This illustrates the story by Kenneth Grahame, about a young man who befriends a kind dragon who would rather write poetry than fight. I love to depict fairy tale scenes like this, with dragons and castles, etc.
BOTTOM AND TITANIA This is a painting I illustrated from William Shakespeare’s play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”. It was first published in a book published by Unicorn Publishing company. It’s now in my FAIRY TALE FAIRIES, which is part of my 4 book series “Portal to the Land of Fae”.
FAIRY AND THE VELVETEEN RABBIT is an illustration from “The Velveteen Rabbit” (or How Toys Become Real) written by Margery Williams. This portrays the lovely fairy who comes out of a flower, and transforms a discards toy rabbit into a real rabbit. It’s a delightful story.
UNICORN PARADISE shows a fantasy world from my imagination that came to me as a “Mind Painting”. It depicts an embellished unicorn with his little animal friends, who live in a fantastic land of rainbow castles.
MAN IN THE MOON SLEEPING This is a painting from my book ”THE STAR” which illustrates the entire poem TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR written by Jane Taylor. I interpret this poem with a little girl who dreams that she visits a little star and meets the Man in the Moon, and other star children and animals who live in the night sky.
Find Judy Mastrangelo’s art here: https://judymastrangelo.com/art/
Who is your current favourite artist. Please share one of their artworks and why you like it.
It’s so hard to choose one favorite. Some of my favorite artists are those of the Italian Renaissance, the Pre- Raphealites (I like John W. Waterhouse the most), and the Hudson River School of Landscape Painters. Maxfield Parrish is my favorite illustrator, and I feel that Sir Joseph Noel Paton is one of the greatest Fairy Artists. In my small way, I also enjoy continuing in the tradition of Beatrix Potter with her little animal people, and Cicely M. Barker with her lovely Flower Fairies.
If I was asked to choose one, I’d say Maxfield Parrish. He combines fantasy, fairy tales, and magnificent scenery in his magnificent paintings. Here is his most famous painting called “DAYBREAK”. I can see why it’s so popular, since it combines the beauty of the young women, and glorious scenery and architecture.
What’s next for Judy Mastrangelo
I plan to continue devoting myself to my Art Work, since it brings me such peace and joy. My goal is to make others happy when they see my work. It’s very gratifying when people tell me that my artwork gives them happiness also. I will also enjoy licensing my artwork in various fields, such as art prints, clothing, wall murals, home decor, figurines, puzzles, diamond art paintings, etc, and will continue doing so. I’ve also loved illustrating and writing books, and Oracle Card Decks, which I will continue doing.
My review of The Star by Jane Taylor illustrated by Judy Mastrangelo
The Star is a delightful book for children that can also be enjoyed by adults. The book is dedicated to Jane Taylor, author of the poem commonly known as ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ and it was a wonderful walk down memory lane for me. I learned a few things from this book, including the name of the poet of this well known nursery rhyme, and that the poem is much longer than the version I knew as a girl.
The illustrations by Judy Mastrangelo are gorgeous. Bright and colourful, they are the stuff of childhood dreams. Each page is an adventure with beautiful children, grandparents, animals, and, of course, stars and night skies. The book includes a delicious recipe for chocolate chip honey cookies as well as colouring pages for children to colour themselves, simple instructions on how to draw a human face, two packs of lovely stickers, and a selection of cards featuring the illustrator’s vivid illustrations.
This book is more than a story for children, it is an entertainment package and I highly recommend it.
Purchase The Star here:
Website: https://judymastrangelo.com/books-2/imagination-books/the-star/
Or from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/Star-Updated-Judy-Mastrangelo-ebook/dp/B07Z3ZLCDC
About Judy Mastrangelo
Judy Mastrangelo has written and illustrated several books, which include themes of Poetry, Fairytales, and Fairies. She follows in the tradition of “The Art of the Golden Age of Illustration”. Some of her titles include: a series of four Fairy books: “Portal to the Land of Fae” which include Flower Fairies, Fairy Tale Fairies, Secrets of the Fairies, and Mystical Fairies. Additional books include “What Do Bunnies Do All Day?”, “Enchanted Fairy Tales”, which she illustrated and adapted, “The Star”, illustrating the poem Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and her new fairy tale “The Magic Blanket”. Besides creating books, her artwork has been used in several Inspirational Oracle Card Decks, as well as some that she has also written herself. She licenses her artwork for many products, including Art Prints and Wall Murals. Judy has taught Creative Drama and Dance as well as Painting, to Children and Adults, and has directed her own Community Theater for all ages. As part of her work, she enjoys encouraging people to develop their own Imagination and Artistic Talents.
Find all of Judy Mastrangelo’s books on Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Judy-Mastrangelo/author/B08TGNL7D9
Find Judy’s website here: https://judymastrangelo.com/
About Robbie Cheadle
South African author, photographer, and artist, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated seventeen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, written and illustrated four poetry books and written and illustrated one celebration of cake and fondant art book with recipes. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.
Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.
You can find Robbie Cheadle’s artwork, fondant and cake artwork, and all her books on her website here: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/
Social Media Links
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/robbiecheadle.bsky.social
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVyFo_OJLPqFa9ZhHnCfHUA
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15584446.Robbie_Cheadle
TSL Publications: https://tslbooks.uk/product-tag/robbie-cheadle/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Robbie-Cheadle/author/B01N9J62GQ
Unsplash profile: https://unsplash.com/@r_cheadle
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