Disney Princesses in Oils by Heather Theurer

A truly stunning Cinderella by Heather Theurer

Wow. Just... wow. It's difficult to know what to say about these, other than Heather Theurer is some sort of artistic genius (plus, they're oil paintings!). We've seen some beautiful renditions of Disney characters painted as real people but these are in a class of their own. When I saw she'd recently added a Rapunzel to her princess re-imaginings, I thought it was high time I shared them with you.

Mulan, looking like she stepped out of Memoirs of a Geisha

The Cinderella one at the head of the post looks so incredibly classic. Though it's clearly Cinderella there's barely any Disney in there at all (though, maybe the costume is close). You have to admit, even if you're not a Disney fan, that Disney's work and concept art is a great jumping-off point for artists to create some stunning works.

Rapunzel, Ms. Theurer's most recent princess, looking very Bouguereau-ish

The original Merida painting was on display at D23 and that alone would have been worth seeing! (It's HUGE! See below.)

Merida: If you Could Change Your Fate, Would You? 

I want to see more of the scenes from Brave like this please! Although initially concerned about how the Pixar movie would turn out, I ended up very much liking Brave. in fact, Merida is now a favorite character of mine. This rendition, though? I'm totally sold.

On display at D23 - look at the size of it!
(Thanks to Erika Isabel Vega for the use of her photo.)

I like a lot of Disney-inspired fine art. There is some incredible work out there! I'm even putting together a Pinterest board of a good collection of it.

Note: I really hate the term "fan-art". Art is art. I know there's a whole copyright thingo - and rightly so - but the term "fan-art" seems to suggest this form of art isn't as good as the original inspiration. If there is any example that, some art doesn't belong in that category, Ms. Theurer's work counts. That's why I call it "Disney-inspired fine art". (Please note: I'm not saying it's better than Disney's, or should replace it in any way, just that it should be recognized as being of just as highly quality an art piece as any of the work in the films.)

While, as I said, I am happily surprised and in awe of much of the Disney-inspired fine art, there's not a lot that I would want on my wall. These, however? Yes please! (And yes, I'd even settle for a giclee.)