dragon

Medium: Watercolor
Dimensions: 12" x 16"
Date: February 2001

I've always loved dragons and have seen them come into the human consciousness more over the past years. Most of my dragons are Asian influenced and have between 3 to 5 toes on each foot. This is a beautiful piece that I played with, adding a lot of salt and granulation fluid for texture and dancing with the colors and spattering them around.

About Dragons:
Dragons are the angels of the Orient. Everything that touches them is blessed - dragons are beautiful, wise & benevolent. Unlike the dragons of the West, the Eastern Dragons are adored & worshipped. Many shrines and temples have been created in honor of dragons, for it is they who control the movement of rivers, oceans, lakes & rain. Most of these temples & shrines are near the water, because that is where most Eastern Dragons live.

In Feng Shui and Asian philosophies, all the the twists and curves in streams and rivers are water dragons' bodily twists and curves. There are also elemental dragons: earth/mountain dragons, water dragons, sky dragons, metal dragons, and fire dragons.

In my perception, the dragon symbolizes power and motion. Not power over another or power that is not rightfully someone's, but the power one feels while one is dancing and letting go, or the power when one is actually working on their dream, or the power of feeling at-one with the world.