Lakebottom Baby

There’s a small lake about 30 mins from our house that I love. It has a tiny sandy beach that’s perfect for the little kids to play on and a very nice public bathroom. It’s geothermally heated and free to access if you have the state park pass. It’s home to tiny blue dragonflies, big red dragonflies, small silver minnows, snapping turtles and ringed by aquatic flowers and lily pads and surrounded by old, towering pines and trees. It’s incredibly peaceful and I can’t help but feel intensely connected to nature every time I go there.

There must be salamanders that make their home around this lake but I also imagine that perhaps there are lovely water dragons in the lake as well. Quiet, elegant creatures, swimming, playing and living in the lakebottom seaweed.

I’m really happy with how this dragon turned out. In the original sketch, she looked more like an old, fearsome alligator and I really struggled for a while to give her a feminine, elegant look. It’s also my second piece that’s less of a line drawing and more painterly. Painting this way doesn’t feel natural to me yet – I still really want to color inside lines – but I’m learning slowly…