» Snow White Discovers The Cottage

Years ago, a fifty cent purchase changed my life. As a seven year old boy I purchased a matinee ticket and stared in wide-eyed wonder at the magical world of Walt Disney’s classic film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” I was especially charmed with the whimsical woodland cottage that housed the seven dwarfs — it was as though my fascination with cottages suddenly was awakened! It wasn’t until I traveled to England and the rest of Europe in my early twenties that I discovered that such dwellings actually exist in the real world. For me, the charms of the old world are akin to the fairy tale magic I first discovered in the early Disney features.

With this in mind, you can imagine my delight when Disney recently opened their archives to me as I prepared for my first-ever series of images inspired by classic Disney moments. In my current work, Snow White’s world is alive with color. The Prince’s castle where Snow White will eventually discover happiness looms majestically in the distance, while a foaming waterfall and fanciful animals remind us that Snow White is at peace with all of nature. I studied the work of early American illustrators to recreate the fairy tale look of the tree trunks, forest stones and woodland pathways. Of course, I also included my iconic colorful flowers which festoon the scene with hopeful reminders of spring. I hope that Snow White Discovers the Cottage will be a fairy tale come true for Disney and Kinkade collectors everywhere.

- Thomas Kinkade