A watercolor-penciled Illustration, summarizing the first big paragraph of one of my favorite Hans Christian Andersen's stories -- The Nightingale. It took place in China, one of the first sentences said --"The emperor’s palace was the most beautiful in the world. It was built entirely of porcelain" . I immediately thought of the blue-white Chinese porcelains, so I decided to drew it in that style.
"In the garden could be seen the most singular flowers, with pretty silver bells tied to them, which tinkled so that every one who passed could not help noticing the flowers. Indeed, everything in the emperor’s garden was remarkable, and it extended so far that the gardener himself did not know where it ended."
"The emperor’s palace was the most beautiful in the world. It was built entirely of porcelain, and very costly, but so delicate and brittle that whoever touched it was obliged to be careful. "
"In one of these trees lived a nightingale, who sang so beautifully that even the poor fishermen, who had so many other things to do, would stop and listen. " "Travellers from every country in the world came to the city of the emperor, which they admired very much, as well as the palace and gardens; but when they heard the nightingale, they all declared it to be the best of all."
"The books travelled all over the world, and some of them came into the hands of the emperor;"