Art Notes

“All this has happened before. And it will all happen again.” So begins the narrator, who leads us to the Darlings’ house, the place of departure for our flight of fancy. The story of Disney’s Peter Pan captures the wonders of childhood, the adventure, imagination, and magic that is Never Land. It also captures the cynicism and lack of fantasy that often marks the way to adulthood. Is it possible to stay young at heart forever? How do you hold on to your youth?

Peter Pan is often described as “The Little Boy who never grew up.” I look at him as the person that refused to let go of wonder. Yes, the world puts pressure on us, and life has its hard rules but in reality, we put limits on ourselves. Risk is a part of living. Taking chances is what brings life’s rewards. You can’t be creative with both feet on the ground. You have to be willing to spread the arms of imagination to fly. Don’t forget to bring “Any Happy Little Thought” and a little pixie dust.

Pursuing art as my career has not been easy. At times there appeared to be no way through the crocodiles and pirates of life. Many times, people told me to stop, and I felt very low. Still, holding on to hope and listening to a voice inside me, I pushed on. Things are never without challenge but looking back I am glad I have kept believing in my Never Land.

I tried to capture the pure bliss of flying on the faces of Wendy, John and William. They fly over London at night as most people are asleep, unaware of the wondrous events taking place above them. Peter Pan leads this game of Follow the Leader with Tinker Bell close behind. The destination is the second star on the right. It is night; the city sleeps while this dreamlike activity takes place high above them. As they fly with wonder across the night sky, the peril of Captain Hook’s ship is beginning to materialize in the clouds. Here’s a helping of pixie dust to remember that your Never Land exists. May it “happen again” for you.

– Eric Dowdle

Key Points

• Peter Pan Learning to Fly is the thirteenth painting in the Disney Collection by Eric Dowdle. This is a series of Limited Edition art that tells the stories of Disney characters in Eric Dowdle’s magical folk art style.
• This painting has a silhouette of Captain Hook’s pirate ship against the backdrop of the moon. The name of the pirate ship is called Jolly Roger.
• Can you spot all of the Darling children? Peter Pan leads Wendy, John and Michael across the beautiful night sky. Tinkerbell is flying with them too!
• There is an iconic London clocktower shown in the center of the painting, displaying 11:15pm. What a magical time to go flying!
• How funny! John took his umbrella on his flight across the London sky.
• On the left side of the painting, the United Kingdom flag is shown waving in the wind.
• Do you see the trail of fairy dust next to each of the children? Tinker Bell has sprinkled it on Peter Pan and the Darling children for their magical flight to Never Land.