dragon

Hello Everyone! Last time I talked about working on a painting. This painting began during a visit to the mountains, although I didn’t know it as such then. It all started with the tree. Then, slowly, a painting formed in my head, accompanied by the beginnings of a story. After a fair amount of prep work, I was ready to paint. After our last visit to the Sierra Mountains, I added the final touches to the picture. The beginning in 2020 and the ending in 2024 both came from the mountains.

During that visit in 2020, I noticed this tree outside the window of our cabin. I drew it in my sketchbook at the time. I was very sure a story would come to me some day, and that this tree would be a part of it. This year, out of nowhere, it appeared – a story about a dragon and the tree.

Once I finished the drawing, I scanned and printed it out so I could color it with color pencils. That gave me a basic idea of what colors I would use and how I would layer the colors.

I did a small watercolor painting before starting the larger one. This was a good way to make sure of the watercolors I would be using on the larger painting.

I love dragons, so I hand made the green book ( handmade clothbound journals in my shop ) for dragon paintings only. This was just the perfect addition to that book.

Once More Unto The Trail

The original painting did not have the background mountains. I added them after my last visit and trek to the Gaylor Lakes in Yosemite High Sierra. The surrounding mountains there inspired me to add mountains to the picture.

Let me just say this out loud – I hate using masking fluid. I avoid using it as much as I can. It can stain the paper, and applying it is not easy either. This time, however, I had no choice. I needed to keep the tree white. Some of the branches are really thin and small. There was no way I could paint around them without staining them with the surrounding colors. I had a mishap with my first prepped picture while applying the masking fluid. It damaged the paper enough that I had no choice but to retrace the drawing on a new sheet and restart.

With both the pencil colored drawing and the small watercolor painting beside me as a reference, I started painting. Since I work by layering, it took me many hours to finish this 8″ x 10″ painting. All the prep work I did really helped.

I do love dragons. I think of them as gentle and solitary creatures. Every story in my Girl and Her Cat story book has at least one dragon in it. Each dragon I draw has its own little story.

Story time

The blue dragon comes to visit this tree once a year, every year. Around that time of the year when mountains are wrapped in solitude, she flies in during the early evening hours. She sits at the shore, and spends the night there longingly looking at the white tree. Once dawn breaks, she flies away, not to be seen for another year.

Until next time,
-Soma

I am linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page. Please consider paying a visit to some of them.

Unfinished Garden Path Quilt

Let’s start with the Garden Path quilt. I had the quilt layout design done long ago. It was inspired by the gardens I had visited in the UK. Some of those gardens really look like fairies live there.

Please click on the image thumbnails to see the pictures –

Selenite Clematis, Olivine Tulip, Kyanite Iris and Garnet Primrose

These are all 12″ flower patterns that I designed with stained glass motifs in mind.

If you are wandering about the names – I love geology and the flowers started looking very much like they were made of crystal. So, I decided to name them after my favourite minerals.

Here is the full stack of finished blocks. Only five more to make. I am hoping to finish at least two more blocks within the next two week.

A Little Experiment – Painting With Fountain Pen Ink

Fountain pens and I go a long way back. In school, from third year onwards, we were to use fountain pens only. I still remember the anticipation of getting my very first fountain pen. Since then, I have only ever used fountain pens for writing. This is a quilt block I designed based on one of my pens.

For my birthday this year, my husband gave me a fountain pen and couple of bottles of beautiful inks. I was curious to see how fountain pen ink would behave as paint, so I set out to sketch a quick painting with them.

Please click on the image thumbnails to see the pictures –

The blue ink is Pilot Iroshizuku Moonlit Night, the red is Diamine Dragon Blood Ink. Love the names. He really knows me well!

I left the ink on my palette for a few days. I was afraid that once the ink dried, it may not rewet well. To my surprise, it was as good as fresh ink with a drop or two of water.

I tried sploshing a little ink on wet paper in my little book. It spread out just like watercolour.

Although these two inks are from different companies, they mixed very well and I was able to create different shades of black, grey and purple.

The Dragon Blood ink is infused with gold coloured particles which gives it a slight shimmery effect. That part is only seen in the undiluted ink.

With watercolour, I can lift and move paint easily as long as it has not dried completely. These inks, however, would not budge at all.

I started with extremely diluted paint, and slowly built up the colour intensity by layering. The inks did not lift off when I applied the next layer. It was really easy to work with them, and I needed very little ink for this 6″ x 4″ painting.

Even the diluted colours dried with a soft but vibrant effect. I found that to be very unique to these inks.

Fountain pen inks can be quite expensive. Goulet Pen Co. sells ink samples for a very reasonable price. Jet Pens also has a very good collection.

Little Book of Dragons

This moss green journal was the very first 3″ x 4″ journal I made. The early editions of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Hobbit was bound in light green cover. As soon as I made this book, I wanted to make it a book of dragons. I am glad I waited. Now the first painting is special, made with the inks I got for my birthday and inspired by the weather on my birthday at Yosemite Valley.

Dragon And The Little Boy

This little boy can befriend dragons very easily. Not to control them mind you, but to talk to them. Dragons always have such fascinating stories to tell. While everyone else thinks he has special powers of making dragons listen to him, he would tell you that he is simply being nice to them and listening to them.

Little Wild Flowers

Last Sunday, despite my deadly pollen allergies, I hazarded a little outing on a trail. Although I paid for it dearly afterwards, I found the most beautiful flowers there. These are Golden Fairy Lanterns. I found these two tucked away beside an oak tree. More on the next Wandering Camera.

I always get asked – The quilt patterns and the journals, designed and hand made by me are available in my shop.

I think we all can use a little helping of fairy tale inspiration every now and then, don’t you?