Tag: Artwork

Introducing the Remarkable Dragons of Canada

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What if I told you that dragons walked amongst us?

Some might call it crazy, or fanciful – a child’s tale even – but as any true believer will whisper over tankards of ale, dragons are predators, superior above all others; masters at blending into their surroundings.

2018: the year of the …dragon?

My goal for 2018 is to provide you with artwork and stories about [mostly] dragons… Dragons [and creatures] scattered across the whole of Canada; some found in the Canadian wilds, and yet others artfully posing as humans.

Shape-shifting dragons you say? Aye, the noble metallic dragons can do that! To compliment these stories, I intend to delve into the local cuisine of each area, so that you too, may dine like a dragon ;)

The Canadian Angle

For this lofty goal, I was inspired by the number of provinces and territories in my home country aligning closely with content from Wizards of the Coast’s 5th edition SRD. I intend to release thirteen different archetypes as they relate to our provinces and territories.

I’ve always wanted to blog about food, and the trifecta of passions seem perfect <3

Dragons: a Tentative Release Schedule

In order to squeeze a baker’s dozen into the year, I will be releasing focused content in approximate 4 week intervals. My goal is to have a finished drawing (or more) for every block. Sneak peaks will be released to Patreon first, then posted here. Finished product will become available for sale at Etsy. Throughout the four weeks, I intend to post inspired recipes for your enjoyment :)

Currently planned out:

  • Jan 1st – 28th / Nova Scotia / The Copper Dragon of Nova Scotia
    • Wine braised pork loin with cranberry and blueberry sauce
  • Jan 29th – Feb 18th / Newfoundland / Gold Dragons
  • and more to come…

Feel free to keep an eye on or bookmark this page! I will be updating it as recipes and entries come out. Drop a note and let me know if you’d like to see a monthly digest including recipes and freebies sent to your inbox! :D

Between Love and Fear

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I have been happily back to drawing!

Slightly rusty and nervous at drawing people… dragons, I am better at ;)

So what’s the title about?

I love to draw… in fact I adore working in pencil! (and own several sketch books that attest to that fact…)

Yet I often feel clumsy after I set the graphite down. Reverting to a coward, I find myself unwilling to sacrifice hours of effort to my recycling bin.

But to stop there, as I am wont to do, cheats myself of growth.
~~~

I was gifted this beautiful light table, so methinks I’ll be able to duplicate work and practice until perfection? That is part of my plans/goals, which I will get into shortly.

I started drawing recently and you may have missed the post about my red dragon, because it would seem I still don’t know my way around WordPress and made it disappear, an error since rectified. ::blushes::

I am pleased that I’ve made considerable progress since then, and have split my efforts between two projects.

First, there is the accordion book above (also called a leporello or a concertina book), which I plan on finishing in pencil.

My second project involves a series of drawings I promised in my last update.

Drrragons! And poor lighting!

Further inspired by my leporello, I’ve chosen a few scenes to elaborate with and those I will draw in colour. Including my red dragon, I will have at least 5 new works, which is… small, but important. I wondered if I should finally open my Patreon account, but it needs artwork to draw people in, and I don’t even have a banner. Maybe that can be another concurrent project ::laughs::

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Yesterday, we went to see Little Shop of Horrors performed at the Rainbow Stage.

Dragonet laughed and enjoyed the performance, while ‘Phee had to be assured that none of the actors had really been eaten. Are we done with the theatre for now? Not necessarily, but ‘Phee and I had difficulties with the outdoor seating, so I might opt for an indoor performance and plush seats next time. ::laughs again::

They are enjoying the freedom of the public wading pool nearby, so I think summer holidays are officially off to a good start!

And with that, I shall bid you adieu for now <3

New Artwork Posted: 4×6″ Red Dragon

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So, I did a thing ^_^

 

I began this little dragon a few weeks ago when helping out at FanQuest, and then tucked him out of sight. It wasn’t until two days ago that I rediscovered the little fellow, and here are the fruits of my labour ::smiles::

I received a lovely 4×6″ sample booklet at a vendor show recently, and I think a series of drawings should be in order. Once the series is completed, I will list the whole collection for sale. Maybe I can use this for the basis of opening my Patreon account, what say you?

~~~~~

First day of Summer Holidays was spent taking the girls to the theatre. They enjoyed. ^_^

For Canada Day, we went out to The Camp. I was able to take some lovely photos, and the girls were invited to be in a parade through the campground, so everyone had a lovely time.

And S’mores. Can you believe for this reason or that, I don’t remember eating a S’more before? I can’t even tell you why, other than my parents never packed them when camping. My life is complete now. ::laughs::

Just a small update this time. Back to drawing ;)

It’s Hard to Turn Over a New Leaf

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…when electric cars don’t have gas engines ;)

Signed my life away for a 2017 Nissan Leaf. According to the dealership, this is probably the first 2017 model sold in Canada. Pretty cool factoid, if you ask me!

The weather has become ridiculously warm. At 2°C for the past couple of days, the snow has been melting and to add insult to injury, it rained for the latter part of the day. Rather than complain, I reminded the girls it made for perfect snowball weather, with heavy, sticky snow. Snowballs also meant snowmen, and ‘Phee decided snowdragons were more impressive creations within the realm of possibility ::grins::

I’ve been feeling kind of scattered lately.

I cranked out more earrings for Strange Things Emporium. I think she said she has a venue this weekend, so fingers crossed for both of us! I should have kept a few pairs to photograph for Etsy, but I rushed them to the store while I had time to. Malachite with silver, steampunk gears… carnelian that looks like dripping  blood. All kinds of stuff.

They also need traditional painters/artists, so I spoke to the fellow running that part of the store. I’m hopeful. I just need to focus and draw.

But I’m also knitting… just seems the easiest thing to pick up and manage at the moment. I am also… obsessive sometimes. I started a project and I want to see it done, so while I might have a larger chunk of time to draw, now my mind is on knitting. There are dragons in the background too, hehe. They need to come to the forefront, as I probably have another craft sale lined up in March.

Lastly, I’ve been wrestling with taming my crafting space. There’s no way to work on some of these things (save the knitting) because I have no space to work! I bought a million shelves on clearance from Chapters, (hey, I’m surprised too!) They are floating shelves, so trying to find the right sort of things to put on them have been a challenge in the art room. They made a great spice rack in the kitchen, and cleaned up the clutter in both bathrooms very nicely! I just… have a lot of large things :P

 

Maybe some photos next update. I have lots and lots of goodies arriving in the mail ::smiles::

What Once Was Old…

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…be made new again.

Eight years ago in university, I created a sculpture of a dragon descending to survey its territory. This became a source of pride and embarrassment, as much as it survived as a source of consternation. A lot of time was devoted to its creation, but what do you do with a two and a half foot display? Continue reading “What Once Was Old…” →