Ye Old Fire Dragon

I decided a week about fire as inspiration would be incomplete without at least one dragon. I have been ever fascinated with the idea of dragons ever since reading the book The Flight of Dragons by Peter Dickinson when I was maybe 12. He actually supports the possibility of dragons existing through scientific theory (not all that realistically supported, but good enough for my young mind!) and some really ornate illustrations (by the sometimes dark but always fascinating Wayne Anderson). Dragons still pop up in my work on occasion because they are creatures that have a vast range of possible manifestations, details, colors, lines, and textures that you can use to represent them, not to mention the lore and fascination with them that spans every continent.

And how can one resist visually exploring the stylings of Ryan MacLeod’s whimsical and intricately detailed dragons, like the Fire Dragon he did this year?

Ryan’s dragons and their surroundings are so very detailed. Do you see all the little mice hanging around the lounging dragon? Or the jeweled details on the books, the nails in the floor and even the grain of the floor planks? Take a close up look by clicking on the picture here to get to the original page. Then peruse the rest of his gallery, especially pieces like “Magical Mischief in the Absence of Merlin” with a skeleton table stand, dozen of little labeled bottles and every bit of trim on the furniture accented with magical motifs. Such fun!

Thanks to Christa McKibben for re-introducing me to Ryan’s work recently.