Here there be Dragons!

One of the 1st dragons I
ever drew!

The Great Wyrm.  The Beast.  The Salamander.  There are so many names for this creature in every culture that one begins to wonder just what credence there is to the possibility of large reptilian treasure-hoarding beasts hiding in the dark places of the world?  Dragons have been on my mind with the recent news I’ve been accepted into the DragonCon art show once again this year. It’s a special year for DragonCon with its 25th year and I’ve decided I’d like to make a tribute piece involving a dragon!

Well and so…but I think the last time I drew a dragon was years ago!  People (and Elves) have always been my strong suit.  This has left me with a quandary. Just what kind of dragon do I want to do?  In visual memory, the first dragons I encountered were the mean, gruff, knight-devouring kind.  They were gruesome, terrifying green beasts with red eyes.  Then I met the bearded dragons of the east.  Kind and wise with human-like eyes.  They struck a chord with me with their link to intuition, power, and balance.

The first dragon I remember
seeing! From St. George & the Dragon
illu. by Trina Schart Hyman.

While I may not feel as connected to dragons as I do with other archetypal creatures (angels, elves, and fae folk), even I admit dragons are cool.  So why the fascination?  Is it their animal beauty and awesome power

For me, I like that ambiguity in the myth of the dragon, the thought there could be an all-powerful predator hiding in the farthest places just beyond the borders of the forests, the caves of mountains, and the deepest caverns of the oceans.  Dragons exist for every element, hot or cold, dark or light, good or evil.  The mystery of what exists in the unexplored spaces of our world compels and compels.

Or maybe I just have an unhealthy instinct to explore in places I shouldn’t! (Yup, I’m the first person to die in a horror movie.)

So share and share alike! What do you like about dragons? What are your favorites? Why do you love them?

One comment

  1. Guruubii says:

    Dragons are awesome because they’re just dinosaurs.
    Could easily be now extinct dinosaur-like animals that existed way back when, and where feared and hunted.
    If they were nearing extinction then, then they would have been a rare sight, and when seen would have bee terrifying and worthy of a knights quest.
    I think what fascinates me most is how possible it is that they existed.
    EVERY single area of the world has SOME type of dragon story/myth from even before the world got so small. that CANT be a coincidence.
    Even now we have dragons in our midst. OgoPogo, Loch ness! EXCITING

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