Yet more dragon art...

[merimask]

Okay, so we have a new flatbed scanner now, and I'm not nuts about it but it gets the job done.  This is my newest dragon idea...to be translated into a 3-d wall sculpture at a later date.

I noticed at the Chinese Lantern Festival that all the dragons were depicted with pearls.  It seems the dragon pursuing the pearl is so ubiquitous to Chinese culture that you rarely see an artistic representation of a dragon without the pearl in there somewhere.  Even the dragon dance (involving about a dozen people and a dragon puppet on a series of poles) had the pearl in there as well...the dance was led by a guy carrying the "pearl" on a long pole.  I was struck by the pearl, because it was covered with designs and brightly colored.  So my dragon's pearl will be black with bright gold clouds all over it, all made of separate pieces.  I noticed at the festival that the dragons were really brightly colored too, so I though this one would look cool in blues and reds.  All basic primary colors; red, blue, and yellow.  I think it'll be neat when I'm done.  :-)

And in other news I just fired off a terse letter to, well...let's just say it's a huge company called  "Circus Of The Sun" and they're up in Canada.  Those freaking people...they're making me old.  I've been in contact with them for over three years now and I've yet to see a dime from them.  They just called me a few weeks ago, blew sunshine up my ass about how badly they need to buy this mask design from me, and then failed to call me back the next day with a response to my proposal.  *sigh*   Why I expected anything other than unprofessional behavior from these people, I'll never know.  They've been a thorn in my side from the moment they contacted me.

Anyway my letter was bitchy and full of words like "resolution" and "expedient closure " and "copyright infringement"...etc.  They can buy it or mail the damn thing back...at this point I don't care.   I just want the whole thing to be over, already.  *fed up*

So to console myself, I think I'll spend the night drawing stuff.  :-)  That always cheers me up.

Comments

[firegazer.livejournal.com]

...have some chocolate. Or caffeine. Or both. (All right, you're an adult, have some alcohol.)

[merimask.livejournal.com]

The mood medicine has to depend upon what time of day it's administered. Chocolate for daytime crises only...unless I plan on being up all night. ;-)

[lotus-faerie.livejournal.com]

Beautiful, as always.

And I'm sorry to hear about the crappy people. *hug*

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Thank you. :-)

Yeah, those guys specialize in pissing me off. :-/ Word is I'm not alone...they treat everyone like crap.

[moko-moko.livejournal.com]

Ugh, art jerks are incredibly obnoxious to deal with, I hope they decide to grow up and settle things once and for all.

But on a happy note, YAY drawing and shiny dragon pretties! I love your drawing, the charm point has got to be the lone arm grasping the bottom of the pearl, it's so perfect X3 Make sure you post any art therapy you do and the sculpture when it's done :D

[merimask.livejournal.com]

argh! Those guys... They irritate the heck out of me. *pout*

Yay, I'm glad you like the dragon. :-) The whole time I was at that lantern festival I kept thinking about how much you and your grangfather would have enjoyed it. There was this one display, the "One Hundred Dragon Gate", that totally blew me away and was the inspiration for this dragon design. We're going back there (probably this weekend) to get more pictures...hopefully this time the freaking battery will be charged!

I like the little claw too...but I'm not totally happy with the anatomy of it. Though, if you look, some of those dragons seem to have their arms going every which way anyway so it probably doesn't matter.

[moko-moko.livejournal.com]

100 Dragon Gate just SOUNDS like it's swimming in awesome. PICTURES!

Hee, and you're right about their limbs...*in best old Chinese grandfather voice* Dontchoo know? The dragon's magic also includes it's abilities to be double AND triple jointed!

[rumdiculous.livejournal.com]

I love the swirly golden clouds. They're so perfect and pretty. This is going to be amazing when you finally make it.

What is the pearl mean?

Ooh, those people suck! If they can't act like professionals then they shouldn't be treated with an ounce of respect.

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :-) I love the way Asian art depicts nature...it's stylized but it still makes sense. I think I got the clouds just right on this one.

You know...I have no idea what the significance of the pearl is to the dragon! That's a good question. I'm going to look it up on Wikipedia and get back to you on it. Now I'm really curious too.

Those people! Grr. >:-( Ask me sometime when you feel like it to show you the e-mail I just sent...it's priceless!

[soliloquy-fair.livejournal.com]

Oh god, not THEM again. Blah. I used to like Cirque but the more you hear, the less respect you have :/

I've seen a lot of images with lose long snakey five-clawed dragons clutching a pearl in one (or all) claw.

I really liked this article on dragons, including the section on pearls. http://www.ninedragonbaguazhang.com/dragons.htm

[merimask.livejournal.com]

Thank you...that aticle is fascinating! Much better than what I found in Wikipedia. I love the association that the pearl = wisdom (I wonder if that's where the phrase "pearls of wisdom" came from?). This passage gave me an idea:
"In Daoist concepts the moon, pearls, dragons and serpents are inextricably linked. Like the snake that is reborn when it sheds its skin, the moon is reborn each month, and both are symbols of immortality. Like the dragon, the moon is always associated with water; its undeniable power over the tides is believed to extend to all liquids on earth. The dragons that lived in the sea were said to be inordinately fond of pearls and collected them and watched over them in great submarine palaces."

What lovely imagery! I'm going to put a silvery moon in there amongst the clouds on my pearl, so all the elements will be linked. Thanks again! I should make you my official research assistant. :-)