THERE BE DRAGONS

"Dragons have long been antagonists in our stories, from weird worms and sly serpents to winged wyverns and fire-breathing beasts, these enchanting creatures appear in our fairy tales as both fearsome and wise. Revered across many countries and cultures, dragons feature in some of the world’s most famed legends, including the tales of Saint George and King Arthur, originating in England and Wales, as well as the Ancient Greek myths of Hercules and Perseus."

 ***Quote from Pook Press: Dragon Fairy Tales – Fiery Stories, Myths, and Legends

Your challenge this week to pick one quote form the list of quotes below about Dragons and create your art around that quote!

If the sky could dream, it would dream of dragons. (Llora Andrews)

A life fueled by passion is a life riding on the back of a dragon. (Suzy Kassem)

If you banish the dragons you banish the heroes. (Andrew Soloman)

If you dance with dragons, you must expect to be burned. (George R. R. Martin)

Meddle not in the affairs of dragons, for you art crunchy and good with ketchup. (anonymous)

If you can't take the heat, don't tickle the dragon. (Scott Fahlman)

Every treasure is guarded by dragons. That's how you can tell its value. (Saul)

She hurried at his words, beset with fears, for there were sleeping dragons all around. (John Keats)

I always wanted to ride a dragon myself, so I decided to do this for a year in my imagination. (Corneli Funke)

Perhaps all the dragons of our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us once beautiful and brave. (Raine Maria Kilke)

Take it from a guy. if you're in love with somebody, you will swim any stream, you will climb the mountain, you will slay the dragon, you are going to get her somehow, some way. (Phil McGraw)

He who fights too long against dragons becomes a dragon himself; and if you gaze too long into the abyss, the abyss will gaze into you. (Friedrich Nietzsche)

For night's swift dragons cut the cloud full , And yonder shined Aurora's harbinger, At whose approach ghosts wandering here and there, Trooping hone to church-yards...For fear lest day should their shames, They will fully exile themselves from light, And for aye, black brow'd night. (William Shakespeare) 

I posted a page of images for you to use if you wish in your Dragon artwork! Have fun this week creating your own dragons! Don't get burned!

Here are my Dragon Creations!

I am sorry the Challenges have been late these past couple of weeks. My Father passed away 3 weeks ago and so it has been hard. I have lost both my parents in the span of one year. If it were not for my art and be able to create art with my wonderfully, imaginative, artist friends I would have felt vey lost! I thank you for always motivating me and inspiring me with everything you create!

Thank you for joining in on the challenge!

DARK GOTHIC POEM ART CHALLENGE

For this Challenge, I thought I would try something different! I wrote a dark, gothic poem for you to use to create your dark art instead of offering an image! Create your dark art around the words of the poem and let your dark imagination do the rest!

 WALK THROUGH THE NIGHT

As if in a distant dream, 

I went for a silent walk in the dead of night. 

The sky above is starless and vacant of light.

A veil of darkness enshrouds me like a heavy, black cloak, draped around me, giving me the feeling of invisibility.

Walking, yet unseen.

The tree limbs, long vacant of their leaves, reach out their limbs, like knurled, tangled fingers, bare like bones of bark.  

 In the distance, there is the undisturbed quiet of the cemetery.

 The departed lying in the cold of shadows lingering, in a city of ruins.

I wonder, Am I a ghost, myself?

The statues standing guard, unmovable, unyieldins, and yet, I feel their eyes, empty and vacant, watching me as I slowly pass by.

 Their stare of stone lingers as if to say, 

"Beware, Oh, Thee, a Child of Woe!" 

Their silent message in the knowing that life is only ours for a brief moment. 

Their witness of time spent in wistful decay.

I wander aimlessly through the transparent mist, the forlorn cries of the night creatures echo, calling out to the dark.

The sound of my footsteps on the sidewalk, echo as well, as if to say, "I hear, I am alive, I am listening!" 

Even in the cold of darkness, life abounds, different from the life of days.

 A world all of its own, sharing always the oblique for eternity.

I should return to the warmth of my home, lock the door, retreat to my bed.

Hesitant but willing, instead, I walk on.  

Overcome by the feeling of separateness, as often asleep, I do not quite belong to this oblique world of night.

And yet, now, I feel that I am no stranger to its call, beckoning me further, to penetrate the gray, predatory gloom.

There is a sudden chill in the air as the low whistle of the wind hastens toward me, whips around me with no hesitation, sending crisp leaves flying, the feeling of ghost-like hands gently reaching for my face.

A shudder passes through me, thinking of the paradox of life itself. 

There cannot be day without night. 

How the light and dark of my days measure out to the empty span of time, stretching always before me.

Even so, it is the black of night, all of mankind has for centuries feared. 

The light and dark of my days measure out to the empty span of time, stretching always before me, as the unknown future beckons, an open door. only well-imagined fears 

What lies beyond its threshold? 

Only what the mind of well-imagined fear can know.

 That solid fear, strong, sending ripples through the thickened blood of my veins, my heart pounding out the answer to my questioning soul.  

Yes, I fear and wish for it to be a stranger.

Must I accept the irreverent reality of the gloom, the dark, as much a part of my life, this old friend?

Long have I learned, that without its presence,  could I ever appreciate the light? 

And yet, it is in the knowledge of having known the light that brings a certain feeling of peace in the solitude of this obscure night, mysterious and ancient.

All that we can know will always be, present and waiting, in the light or the dark.

It is left to us to fill the passage of time with our own doing; understand the things we cannot know and  embrace what we always knew, have known for centuries. 

Life is to be lived, a journey, how we are to travel is but our one decision.

Never faltering, it is not good to see too far down the road.

As it is with Life, from beginning to end, what is well, we make well. What is not, we leave alone.

The rest we do not think about until we are forced to recognize our own upcoming fate.

Life, our possession, is eternal. A gift.

I know, and thus so willingly, understand.

Up ahead, I see the timid, coming of Dawn, as night slowly fades into day. 

Morning pierces the sky with her fragile colors of hope, a promise for a new day.

 In the stillness of this light, I suddenly feel the timid beginnings of joy ensue,

Alive, alone, I walk on.

FIRST ANNIVERSARY CONTEST ANNOUNCEMENT AND MORE!!

 Announcing the Winner of the Vampire Art Anniversary Challenge!

The Winner is...Deann!!!!!

Deanne, please email Kim Rayko at the address here for your Shopping Voucher!!  

conjurerofdreams@gmail.com

There are more prizes!! 

Since everyone created such awesome, spooky Vampire art, Kim Rayko has a Coupon for everyone who participated to use to shop at the Conjurer of Dreams Etsy Shop! Email Kim at the above email address for your coupon!!

For our Dark Art Challenge, I will be interviewing a really spooky guest today!

Through the questions I ask our guest , you will have to guess what or who our scary guest is and then create your dark art about our guest!

Me: what do you do?

      Guest: I come out only once a year!

Me: And what is your purpose?

Guest: To Scare you!

Me: How do you do that?

           Guest: I wear a spooky mask and knock on your door!

             Me:  That does sound scary? What else do you do?

          Guest:  If you do not give me what I want                        then I will do terrible tricks on you!

Me: What kind of tricks?

           Guest: I will throw rotten eggs at your                        door and steal your pumpkins! 

       Me: What if I do not have what you want?

          Guest: Then be afraid and beware my                terrible consequences!

         Me: Well, thank you for the warning! I hope I have what you ask for!

Guest: And so do I or else!!!!

Can you guess who our creepy guest was? If you know then use our guest as the subject of your dark art for this challenge!

Here is my Guest Dark Art Creations:

A special thanks goes out to Kim Rayko, the owner of Conjurer of Dreams and Sponsor for our 1st Anniversary Vampire Contest with her amazing Vampire Images!

Conjurer of Dreams

Happy Halloween to everyone!!

Digital art created from Chez Simone Tresors Haunted House Background Paper Kit,  Pixabay, and the Vintage Halloween Pictures from Pinterest

SECOND WEEK OF THE OCTOBER 1ST ANNIVERSARY VAMPIRE CHALLENGE

Celebrating our 1st Year Anniversary!!!

 2nd Week Vampire Challenge!!

Last week we had some Super Spooky Vampire art from my Super Spooky Dark Artists!!! This week I will be posting the last 2 images from Conjurer of Dreams for you to use in your artwork for the Winning Prize of a Shopping $10 voucher at the Conjurer of Dreams Etsy Shop!!

Here are my Vampire Creations:

Good luck and have some spooky fun this week creating your own vampires!!! The Winner will be announced next week!!

A special thanks goes out to our Sponsor, Conjurer of Dreams!!!

  https://kimsconjurerofdreams.blogspot.com

CELEBRATING OCTOBER ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY

WOW!!!

1st Year Anniversary of My Soul's Dark Imagination Challenge Blog!!

Can you believe it??? 

One Whole Year of Spooky Challenges!!!  

Didn't we have fun? I know I did!!

I want to send out a very special thanks to all my artist friends who posted their spooky art and participated in the Themes and Challenges this past year!!  Speaking of spooky art, I have to brag on you guys!!!! 

All of you took each theme, used your dark imagination and unique creativity, pushed the envelope, and came up with some really fantastic art!!! Thank you for sticking it out with me through the times I was present and absent and still you came back for the challenges and made each week so special for me!! Week after week, I could not wait to see what you would create and every week you never failed to disappoint!! You made our first year great with your talent, your tenacity, and your awesome creativity!!Thank you for scaring me with spooky fun all year!!

To kick off the October month-long Celebration of My Soul's Dark Imagination 1st Year Anniversary...

I would like to announce that we have a New Sponsor...

Conjurer of Dreams!!!

Click on the link to visit Kim's Challenge Blog:

Conjurer of Dreams

And there will be Prizes!!!

  What kind of celebration would this be without prizes!! 

Kim Rayko, Owner of Conjurer of Dreams, has kindly designed an amazing Set of 4 Images for us to use for one of our October Themes... Vampires!!  

This challenge lasts for two weeks!! I will be presenting you with two Vampire Images this week and then two Vampire Images for next week to double your chances to win the prize!! After the two weeks are up, I will pick a Winner of the 2 Week Challenge to receive a $10 Voucher to go shopping at the fantastic Conjurer of Dreams Etsy Shop!!

 

Click on the link to go visit:

Conjurer of Dreams Etsy Shop

Kim has a fabulous array of AI Image Sets, Digital Junk Journal Sets, PNG Clip Art, and Digital Art Kits in her shop! All of her designs are absolutely stunning!! Go check out her shop to see what I mean when I say stunning! 

Thank you, Kim, for Sponsoring our 1st year Anniversary and for creating these amazing Vampire Images for us to use for our Challenge! 

Thank you, Kim Rayko!!

Now let's Party!!!!

Your Challenge this week is to pick from the 2 Conjurer Of Dreams Images I have posted and create some Vampire art for a chance to win!! Have fun this week creating your spooky art!! I cannot wait to see what you do with these Vampire Images!! 

I have also posted an Itinerary of the rest of the Anniversary Celebrations we will be involved in for the whole month of October!!! Look for 1st Anniversary Page where I have listed the Free Image Pages! You will want to read it so you will know what exciting things I have planned for you this month! We have a Mystery Guest for the 3rd Week Challenge and a Fun Halloween Blog Hop on the 4th Week Challenge with more prizes to win!! Look forward to some decadent, dark fun this whole month!!

Here are the two Vampire Images for you to choose from for this week's challenge!

Here is my Vampire Creation as an example and inspiration!

Good luck to all who enter their art in the Vampire Challenge this week! May your dark creativity chill me to the bone and completely take my breathe away!!

WE 'RE OFF TO SEE THE WIZARD!!

 I had a request from Michele to do a Wizard Of Oz Theme so that is what I decided to post this week for our Challenge! Any time anyone has a request for a Theme just let me know and I will post it!! Thank you, Michele, for suggesting such a fun Challenge!!

 I also found some "Great and Wonderful Oz" free images for you to use in your artwork this week which I uploaded and posted as well! 

Sorry I was late in posting but had internet issues and just now got them resolved! I live way out in the country and from time to time I have this issue! I have a new Wi-Fi carrier so maybe this will not be a problem in the future!!

Let your imagination go down "the yellow brick road" and create your own special OZ artwork this week! Cannot wait to see what you will come up with! 

HAVE FUN MY LITTLE PRETTYS!!!

Here is my Great and Powerful Oz Creations!!

Digital art created from Pinterest Images, Wikipedia, and Photoshop Elements

STEAMPUNK ALICE

Hasn't this been a fun month of Challenges!! I knew when I picked this theme, all of you would really enjoy creating Alice Art! I paired Steampunk with our Theme this week because I love all things Steampunk as well as I love Alice, and I know you do too! So, to finish out this month of All Things Alice let's create Some Steampunk Alice as well!

Here are my Steampunk Alice Creations!

Digital art created from Pixabay, Pinterest, Facebook Group Free AI Images, DreamFusionPrint Digital Kit Steampunk, Honeycomb Digital Kit Ethereal Enigma, Friday Designs Digital Kit Old Vintage Portraits, Miles Before The Moon Crow and Company Digital Kit, Conjurer of Dreams Digital Clips Steampunk, and Miriam's Digital Kit Scraps, Itkupilli's Digital Kit Woodlands, 

MAD HATTER TEA PARTY

 Is the Mad Hatter right? Are we all "Mad" here? Well, look at the artwork we create!! Isn't there a certain madness in our method? I know how obsessed I have been since I first began creating digital art, and it seems that I cannot ever not think of anything else!! Ideas are always popping in my head daily, no matter where I am or what I am doing! It seems that the whole world can inspire me with just the ordinary in my day-to-day activities of my life! How about you? Feel the same? 

That is why I love creating art with a theme like Alice In Wonderland because there is no limit to how many different ways you can use your imagination to interpret how you see Wonderland and all of its quirky characters!

The History of Hatmakers and their Madness goes back to the 19th Century when in London, Hatmakers were forced to inhale harmful chemicals used in Hat Making, so that over time, slowly their brain cells were destroyed, thus creating madness! Hence came Lewis Carroll's flamboyant character, The Mad Hatter!! And don't you think the perfect character and companion for Alice as she navigates the upside-down world of Wonderland?

Another Note of Trivia...there is a neurological disorder called Alice In Wonderland Syndrome! People who suffer from this syndrome have a distorted visual perception of objects that are either smaller or larger or appear to be closer or further away than they really are! Interesting!

Put your Mad Hatter on and create some Tea Party artwork for this week's Theme! I have posted a few more free images just for you to download for inspiration! Can't wait to see what you will create!! 

Here are my Mad Hatter Creations!!

Digital art created from Pinterest, Pixabay, and Miriam's Digital Kit Scraps