For centuries, the link between womanhood and the spiritual world has always been really narrow. Despite their power to give life, women seem to perfectly embody the two concepts of Eros and Thanatos, associating them with the darkest forces. Witches, priestesses and other female spiritualists are legions in our legends and the art ensued from them.
The art of Tom Bagshaw is haunted by these ancient souls. At the digital age, occult is certainly not dead, and it is even larger than life in the bewitching portraiture of the British illustrator. The magic spells of Bagshaw are double. First, he hexes the beholder with the help of his edgy heroines. You certainly cannot resist the charm of these vampiric beauties with their soft porcelain skin, often revealed by fine lingerie outfits. Their perfect look is distracting you from their supernatural essence. Indeed, magic is often subtle in the artworks of Bagshaw, lying in the details and background. But mysticism is operating in the intensity of the ladies haunting looks and graceful poise. The second magic trick of the fine artist is to push digital art closer to actual oil painting. The organic sensation of the portraits created with his Intuos tablet is so vivid, you could be easily fooled. There is definitely black magic hidden inside the illustrations of Tom Bagshaw…
But if his aesthetics are usually dark, they are not scary at all. If he often mixes Christian symbols with Paganism, he is also inspired by less controversial fantasy, from anime to erotic art. Obviously, sex is the most powerful spell of them all, and there is definitely an Eyes Wide Shut vibe in some of Bagshaw’s creations. Yet, innocence is never far, with dreams and cute little creatures, which help us explore his vast universe. The balance between shadow and light certainly illustrates the complexity of femininity, and of life itself. This is what makes the art of Tom Bagshaw so deep and attractive.
