When Colour Casts the First Spell
In dark fairytales, meaning rarely arrives through dialogue. It appears instead through atmosphere—the glow of an enchanted object, the depth of a shadowed forest, the strange radiance around a figure who feels both human and mythic. In my surreal portraiture, colour becomes this first spell. Instead of illustrating a narrative, I use chromatic tension to build an emotional world. The palette becomes the storyteller, shaping the portrait’s mood long before the viewer interprets the symbols. Acid greens, soft blacks, and luminous pinks turn the dark fairytale into something intimate and contemporary, a ritual that unfolds through tone and light.
Acid Green as the Colour of Instinct and Disruption
In fairytales, green often symbolizes the threshold—the place where rules bend, instincts sharpen, and magic becomes possible. My acid green is a heightened version of that motif. It vibrates unnaturally, signalling that the world inside the portrait operates by emotional logic rather than realism. When acid green outlines petals, streaks through botanical shapes, or glows behind the figure, it creates a sensation of intuitive alertness. It feels alive, almost reactive, like a warning or a promise. This green becomes emotional magic, bringing the fairytale’s sense of risk and awakening into the modern surreal palette.
Soft Black as the Realm of Shadows and Protection
Dark fairytales thrive on shadows—not as symbols of fear, but as spaces of transformation. Soft black embodies this mood in my work. It is not a flat, heavy darkness; it carries texture, breath, and quiet warmth. This black wraps around the figure like a protective cloak, creating an emotional boundary that feels both intimate and mysterious. Within the portrait, soft black becomes the place where secrets settle, where memories are held, where the unseen shapes the visible. It mirrors the fairytale motif of stepping into the unknown, offering a darkness that invites, rather than threatens.
Luminous Pink as Emotional Electricity
Pink in a dark fairytale is rarely innocent. When it glows with intensity—leaning toward fuchsia—it becomes the colour of heightened emotion, intuitive power, or inner fire. My luminous pink performs this exact function. It pulses inside petals, radiates from behind mirrored faces, or streaks across the composition like a distant flare. It does not soften the mood; it charges it. This pink signals longing, revelation, or a feeling rising to the surface. It transforms the portrait into a field of emotional electricity, giving the feminine presence at its centre a mythic resonance.
When Colours Behave Like Spells
In classical fairytales, spells often work through simple sensory cues: a shimmering object, a forbidden glow, a shadow that moves differently from its source. In my artwork, colour becomes the spell. Acid green disrupts the familiar. Soft black deepens the emotional space. Luminous pink intensifies the intuitive pulse. Together, they create a chromatic ritual that pulls the viewer into a symbolic world. The palette does not illustrate magic; it enacts it, turning the portrait into a place where emotion becomes an enchantment.
Botanical Forms as Carriers of Colour Magic
The botanicals in my work are never neutral. Their petals, stems, and mirrored structures serve as vessels for the palette’s emotional energy. Acid green gives them a sense of sentience, as though they’re reacting to the figure’s internal world. Soft black creates the shadows in which they root themselves, anchoring the composition in psychological depth. Luminous pink turns them into radiant symbols—emotional beacons that guide the viewer’s eye. These botanicals behave like fairytale artifacts, holding colour the way mythic objects hold power.
Faces as Luminous Fairytale Figures
The feminine faces in my portraits—calm, stylised, layered—carry the palette as part of their emotional identity. Their stillness interacts with the colours around them, creating a tension that feels mythic. Acid green heightens their intuitive presence. Soft black frames them in a protective quiet. Luminous pink becomes their emotional voice. The face becomes a fairytale figure not through costume or setting, but through the palette that articulates its psychological landscape.
A Contemporary Spellwork of Emotion
By blending dark fairytale symbolism with surreal colourwork, the portrait becomes a modern incantation. The palette shapes mood, tension, memory, and desire. It creates a narrative that does not need words—one carried through shifts in saturation, glimmers of neon, and subtle gradients of shadow. This chromatic spellwork transforms the familiar into something mythic, allowing the viewer to feel the portrait before they interpret it.
Colour as the Myth Itself
Ultimately, the dark fairytale in my surreal artwork is not a story being retold—it is a mood woven through colour. Acid green brings instinct, soft black brings depth, and luminous pink brings energy. Together, they form an emotional language that turns the portrait into a living spell. It is through colour that the myth breathes, evolves, and reveals itself, offering a contemporary version of enchantment rooted in emotion rather than narrative.
