"All across the meadows, many poppies blossomed, and they were so hypnotic and brilliant in colour they nearly dazzled Dorothy's eyes. "Aren't they beautiful?" the girl asked her companions, as she breathed in the spicy scent of the big, bright flowers."

– The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum.

As children we all imagine climbing through the back of our wardrobes into Narnia, falling down a rabbit hole into Wonderland, or getting swept up by a hurricane and landing with a giant thump in Oz.
Dorothy and her companions have long been a source of wonder to me. It wasn’t enough to create one interpretation of this gang, I had to dive in again – this time into a giant field of poppies.

”As she walked on her eyes grew very heavy, and soon she felt she must sit down to rest and to even sleep.”
– The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, L. Frank Baum.

Like Dorothy, I also found myself stepping out of black and white and into a world of full colour! It was a completely different way of working for me - and I enjoyed it so much.
(I’ve dabbled with client work previously, but never took the leap in my own work until now.)

In a nod to the Dorothy of L. Frank Baum, her shoes are not the shimmering ruby slippers we’ve come to know and love, but heels in the original silver - courtesy Prada, complete with blue bow!
Fun Fact: Dorothy’s shoes were changed to the famous ruby slippers in order to show off the brand new technicolour film for the 1938 release.
I also chose to focus only on the Cowardly Lion and Dorothy as those familiar with the story will know that the Tin Man and Scarecrow weren’t affected by the poisonous poppies - not being 100% human/animal/vegetable/mineral - and carry the two out of the fields before they fall asleep forever.

These sleepy beauties are my first new print of 2019 - just sneaking in before the end of the year.
As mentioned previously, my print shop is changing and from now on print releases will be a little more limited and available in one size/edition only.
So with that I give you the latest offering: “Poppies” is available in an edition of 20 prints only - in a lovely large A2 size - the best way to appreciate all of those tiny poppies in detail!
To purchase a print visit the shop here: www.birdyandme.com/shop
(For a sneaky pre-Christmas 10% discount use code: XMAS19)

Scroll on for more…

The Wizard of Oz, photographed by Annie Leibovitz for Vogue US, Dec 2005

“The Deadly Poppy Field,” illustration by W. W. Denslow

Paying homage to another of my all-time favourites for this storybook series.
(See previous interpretations here and here.)

Just like 'Alice in Wonderland', 'The Wizard of Oz' was one of the very few films we owned when I was younger, and definitely one of the very first that I remember watching.

'The Wizard of Oz' also started, for me, a life-long fascination with Judy Garland (do you ever watch 'Meet Me in St .Louis' at Christmas time? It's worth it for Judy's rendition of 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas' alone.)
I dreamed of becoming Dorothy when I grew up; hot-footing it along the yellow brick road in those sparkling ruby slippers, trying to get over that rainbow.

So, when writing out the list of favourite fairytales and stories that I wanted to re-create, 'The Wizard of Oz' sat firmly in first with an emerald on top.
Of course Dotty has had a high fashion makeover, and her pals look like they could pull out the baby oil and a boom box at any given moment, but what girl could resist the idea of Dorothy in Dior?
In fact, one of the main inspirations for the piece was this perfectly appropriate gingham gown from the Christian Dior Spring/Summer '12 Haute Couture collection. SO Dorothy.

Christian Dior Couture Spring/Summer 2012, Image via Vogue UK

Just like 'Alice', 'Dorothy Wore Dior' is available in my store as a print in limited editions of 15 A2 and 40 A3 prints, respectively.

I can't even tell you how many hours (upon hours) of Oz-related films and TV shows I watched while working on this illustration....all in the name of art, of course!
If you, too, want more Oz in your life (and let's face it, who doesn't?!) be sure to check out the following:

The Wizard of Oz (1939) Film
Return to Oz (1985) Film
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1986) Animated TV Series
VOGUE's Wizard of Oz (December, 2005) Editorial, Photographed by Annie Leibovitz
Tin Man (2007) TV Series
And, of course, read the original books by L. Frank Baum.

Kiera Knightley by Annie Leibovitz, VOGUE, December 2005

POPPIES

DOROTHY WORE DIOR