Woven Celestial Dragon

6″x6″ ink and watercolor on Aquabord

6″x6″ ink and watercolor on Aquabord

2 sittings
7 layers

This artwork is a celebration of the Year of the Dragon, and has equal inspiration from Celtic knot work and oriental celestial dragon artwork. The violet dragon with metallic accents swims effortlessly through the night sky.

The base drawing is black acrylic ink applied with a dip pen. I used acrylic ink so it would not dissolve when adding the color.

I used masking fluid to protect the body of the dragon when creating the background, which is very heavily water saturated blue, dark blue, and black watercolor, with a spattering of metallic white ink. I rubbed out the spatters slightly, creating a slightly glittery sheen on the background.

The body of the dragon is several shades of violet watercolor paint. The scales and accents are violet metallic acrylic ink, and a small amount of blue metallic ink was used for the claws, accent on the hair, and dust falling away from the hands and feet. The metallic effect is impossible to fully capture with a scan or a photo, but in person it’s very shiny.This piece is for sale.

Project: Woven Celestial Dragon