📘 The Painter Closest to My Dream World: The Mysterious Relationship Between Dreams and Paintings Revealed in Waterhouse's Art Collection - Reflections on 'John William Waterhouse: The Dream Gallery' | Dream Diary | Dream Analysis | Jungian Psychology | Depth Psychology | Unconscious | HSP | Trauma | Illustration | Art Book | Reading | Art

※ This post is a continuation of
📘 The Painter Who Was Beyond the Ophelia I Loved
: The Reason I Am Drawn to Stories Flowing from a Single Painting - Reflections on 'John Everett Millais: Victorian Innovator of Beauty'.
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Click here for the previous post▼


━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━Please take a look at that as well.

Reviewing what we've covered so far

Last time, I wrote about
John Everett Millais
, a representative painter of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

With a photographic realism and an overwhelming sense of perfection as a single painting.
I only knew his masterpiece 'Ophelia', but by carefully observing his other works,

I was able to rediscover the charm that can be called the royal road of painting.

However, as I wrote last time,
Millais' art book was actually for comparison,
and the main focus is the one I am introducing this time,
John William Waterhouse.

With this, he is the last of the more than 20 art books I ordered this time.

My search for art books comes to a pause here,
but of course, the exploration of the connection between art and dreams
does not end here.

In search of encounters with painters close to my inner world,
I intend to continue this little by little
from now on.

This time, I will also use public domain images
to post actual works,
so please read along
while looking at Waterhouse's works together.

The painter I met for my dream reproduction illustrations

Waterhouse was a painter I learned about for the first time this time.

As a reference for creating dream reproduction illustrations,
he was one of the painters I picked out
who had a style similar to my favorite dreams.

Millais, whom I introduced last time,
I had known 'Ophelia' alone
for a long time,
and it was a work I loved.

On the other hand, Waterhouse was a completely new discovery.

So at first, I ordered his art book
with a light heart,
thinking it might serve as a reference for my dream reproduction illustrations.

However, every time I turned the page,
it was a pleasant surprise to find only works that I felt I loved.

Before I knew it, among the painters I looked at this time,
he had become a painter I liked
as much as Millais, whom I had originally liked.

The airy atmosphere is very similar to my dreams

When compared with Millais,
the difference is clear.

Millais has a very high level of
perfection as a painting.
He also has a strong presence as an individual,
giving the impression of being
a complete work of art.
(Millais' works can be seen at the link at the beginning)

On the other hand, Waterhouse is a little different.

The air is soft,
and the work as a whole is fluffy.

Of course, his technique is extremely high, but
rather than the work pressing strongly upon you,
there is a space that invites you to imagine,
"What kind of story lies ahead?"

In that sense, it is also close to the impression
I get from the illustrators I introduced a little while ago.
It feels like a work with a high narrative quality.

I thought that feeling
was very close to a dream.

Dreams, too, do not have
outlines as clear as reality.

They are somewhat soft and ambiguous,
and remain in your memory along with the air and atmosphere.

In Waterhouse's works,
that unique texture
is close to the images and atmosphere seen in dreams.

Mermaids and spirits—motifs that overlap with my favorite dreams

In Waterhouse's works,
mermaids, spirits, fairies,
beautiful women, watersides, lakes, mythology—
many such themes are depicted.

These are symbols that have appeared
in the dreams I have actually seen,
and I often introduce them
as my favorite dreams on my note.

Of course, this does not mean
that the dreams I saw were Waterhouse-style.

However, when I think back on my dreams and consider which painter has the closest atmosphere,
Waterhouse is the one that fits best
so far.

Alternatively, because I create illustrations and videos to record my dreams as images,
when I look back at them,
there is something that connects my dreams
with Waterhouse's body of work.

While looking at Waterhouse's art book,
there were many moments where it clicked,
"That's why I think they're good."

In other words, I start to feel that the worldview connected to my inner world
is being output
by a top-class painter
named Waterhouse.

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You can see the record and reproduction video of the mermaid dream I actually had here ▼
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Is there a connection between dreams and art books or art?

▶ I have a strong tendency for recent information to be reflected in my dreams

At first glance, dreams and art books or art
seem to have absolutely no connection.

However, over the past six months or more,
having continued to look at various art pieces,
that thought has changed a little.

For example, the day after I looked at
Brian Froud's art book, an entity reminiscent of the imps
drawn by the illustrator Froud
appeared in my dream.

In my case, since recent information
tends to be easily reflected in my dreams,
it seems the elements of the art book were
immediately incorporated into my dream.

Since then, I have started to wonder,
could the art book I am currently looking at
be influencing my dreams?

In fact, there have been many times when
movies, anime, or manga I watched before bed
that had a visual impact or were
works I particularly liked from the start
appeared in my dreams.

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Here are some records of favorite works that have
appeared in my dreams.
They range from manga and movies to music, etc.▼
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▶ It has become easier than before to remember the colors, compositions, and lines in my dreams

Furthermore, since I started looking at art books,
I have also become able to remember
the imagery of my dreams in more detail than before.

Color.
Composition.
Light.
Lines.
Atmosphere.

Dreams that would have ended with 'it was beautiful' before,
now I feel I have become able to consciously record
even 'what colors they were' and
'what the texture and composition were like'.

Because of this, when creating a reproduction illustration,
I can envision even the delicate textures,
so I have been polishing the final result
with more care.

Do dreams make me choose the art book?
Does the art book influence the dream?

It's like the question of which came first,
the chicken or the egg,
but it might be both.

AI prompts as a new 'language of art'

As I have written in my previous art book reviews,
the purpose of collecting art books this time
was for reference and study
for my dream reproduction illustrations.

When creating dream reproduction illustrations,
I use generative AI, but if I don't specify anything,
it tends to become AI-like template art
or moe-style illustrations.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with such illustrations
themselves.

I understand that such art styles are trendy
and have high demand, but
they are different from the texture of the dreams I see,
so I have no choice but to reject them as dream reproductions.

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Since I have had multiple dreams about mermaids,
I have created many reproduction illustrations and videos.
A record showing the process of getting closer to the imagery seen in dreams and the rejected illustrations▼
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▶ I sometimes included art terminology when creating prompts

Because of that, I have previously included art terms like
Art Nouveau style
or Mucha style in my
prompts.

However, lacking sufficient knowledge and art vocabulary, I often struggled, wondering
“How should I describe this texture?”

By looking at many art books this time,

• Millais style

• Waterhouse style

• delicate drawings like Itsuko Higashi's

• with the texture of the Pre-Raphaelites

• otherworldliness like Surrealism

I think it will be possible to
create new prompts
like these.

In other words, I will be able to
give specific instructions for the finished image of AI illustrations
using different words and knowledge than before.

This art book collection project was not just about appreciating the works, but also about
increasing my knowledge and vocabulary for creating illustrations that reproduce my dreams,
so I may have acquired some of that.

After the Art Book Exploration: A Measure of My Inner Worldview

The biggest harvest from this art book acquisition festival
was that my own
aesthetic sense became visible.

I don't just like pretty pictures.

Mythology.
Water.
Women.
Life.
Transformation.

And, stories.

I am drawn to such worlds.

When such a worldview is depicted in my dreams,
it is often a pleasant,
healing dream.

On the other hand, I am also interested in
unsettling and incomprehensible works
like those of Surrealism or Mannerism.

It's not so much that I like Surrealism, but rather that
when I have nightmares or experience trauma,
the strangeness and imbalance
feel close to my own dreams.

As I compared art books,
I started to think not just about which painters I like,
but also about where my own dreams
and inner world are positioned.

I would like to organize
these realizations
into illustrations and maps.

This marks the end of my
art book ordering spree for now.

But I think I will continue
to engage with various forms of art
as a result of this.

I had taken a break from visiting museums,
but I've started to feel like I want to resume.

Surely the next works I encounter
will open new doors
to the world of dreams once again.

Summary and Next Preview

Thank you for reading
until the end.

For this art book ordering spree review,
I introduced J.W. Waterhouse,
whose works are highly narrative.

The content was a little different from usual,
but did you enjoy it?
I would be happy if you could share your thoughts
with a like or comment.

Next, I would like to introduce an illustration map
of my inner worldview,
combining dreams and art books,
but since I'm just starting to draft it, the publication date is undecided.

Please come visit again
when I've updated it ♡
I hope we can meet again.

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I'm writing about daily realizations
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