Showing posts with label wings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wings. Show all posts

Friday, July 27, 2018

Winged Draft Horse

Cloud Stomper
Medium: digital painting
Thunder is caused by horses playing and running in the clouds.


Sunday, August 20, 2017

Teal Dragon

Ordian the Teal Dragon
Medium: digital painting
Commission for MCsaurus on Deviantart of his character Ordian:
https://mcsaurus.deviantart.com/art/Ordian-the-Teal-Dragon-282702832
https://mcsaurus.deviantart.com/art/Mattimeo-ride-on-Ordian-283034836


Friday, June 9, 2017

Pony Cas

Pony Cas Does Not Understand
Medium: digital painting, mixed media
Only those inside the fandoms will understand this painting. XD


Friday, February 10, 2017

The Fall of Lucifer

Defeated Foe
Medium: digital painting
Depicting the fall of Lucifer, this painting seeks to portray Lucifer as very real, but that  he is a defeated foe. For all his talk, he's nothing more than a created being completely under God's control. His halo, which was used in traditional Christian artwork to portray purity and innocence, is shattering, and his wings are being burned black. In the background, another angel has already made the choice to be burned and is being chased out of Heaven.

A fair amount of research went into this painting. According to Ezekial 28:14, Lucifer is, or was, a cherub (singular of cherubim, and not to be confused with the secular Putti, nude infants with wings). Fortunately for me, cherubim are one of the few angelic creatures that the Bible actually gives us a description of, however vague and confusing it may be. Ezekial 1:4-28 and Ezekial 10 describe cherubim as having four wings and four faces - human, bull, lion, and eagle (interestingly enough, avian, bovine, human, and feline features appear frequently in pagan religious artwork, leading to the theory that many pagan gods may actually have been fallen cherubim, perhaps Satan himself. Seeing as he wanted to be like God, it stands to reason that he would want people to worship him as a god.) It's not said what their bodies look like, but Ezekial does describe them as having human hands. They are described as having calf's feet, and, while his feet are in shadow, I do paint him with cloven feet. It's speculated that the satyr image of devils originated with the calf foot description. Ezekial also describes them as sometimes being accompanied by concentric wheels which are "full of eyes," and that the spirits of the cherubim are within the wheels (perhaps some sort of angelic external hard drive?), but as it's uncertain if the Ophanum, as they are called, are part of the cherubim or simply another creature that typically accompanies them. In Luke 2:18, Lucifer is described as falling from Heaven "like lightning," which I incorporated as God's judgment taking the form of lightning.



Thursday, December 8, 2016

Castiel

Castiel
Medium: digital painting

"I'm the one who gripped you tight and raised you from perdition."
 - Castiel, Angel of the LORD

For those who don't know, Castiel is a fictional angel from the television show Supernatural, and arguably the fanbase's favorite character. There's speculation about whether he's based off of the angel Cassiel (Quafsiel, Mocoton, etc.) in extra-Biblical lore, but the show's writers haven't revealed that yet, so it’s most likely that the Castiel character was inspired by Cassiel and other angels, but is not meant to be any particular angel in lore. I made his wings white with rainbow iridescence, because I don’t think of his wings as black, dark gray, or blue (that was just their shadow in season 4). I didn't want to make them just plain white, however, because Revelation and other books of the Bible describe rainbows in Heaven. It's not clear where the rainbows are coming from, but I figured iridescent wings would look fabulous either way! I also took inspiration from Mrs. Whatsit in A Wrinkle in Time. I suspect she was representative of an angel.

“Now, don’t be frightened, loves,” Mrs Whatsit said. Her plump little body began to shimmer, to quiver, to shift. The wild colors of her clothes became muted, whitened. The pudding-bag shape stretched, lengthened, merged. And suddenly before the children was a creature more beautiful than any Meg had even imagined, and the beauty lay in far more than the outward description. Outwardly Mrs Whatsit was surely no longer a Mrs Whatsit. She was a marble white body with powerful flanks, something like a horse but at the same time completely unlike a horse, for from the magnificently modeled back sprang a nobly formed torso, arms, and a head resembling a man’s, but a man with a perfection of dignity and virtue, an exaltation of joy such as Meg had never before seen. No, she thought, it’s not like a Greek centaur. Not in the least.

From the shoulders slowly a pair of wings unfolded, wings made of rainbows, of light upon water, of poetry.

Calvin fell to his knees.

“No,” Mrs Whatsit said, though her voice was not Mrs Whatsit’s voice. “Not to me, Calvin. Never to me. Stand up.”
- A Wrinkle in Time, chapter 5


I wouldn't recommend Supernatural for everyone, certainly not underage people or those trying to figure out what they believe, but it is a fun show when taken as what it's meant to be: fiction. The characters are very interesting and well-written. None of them are 100% good or 100% bad, except maybe some of the monsters, of course. The show definitely has a sense of humor! It knows how to laugh at itself.

I haven't decided what I think of the show's portrayal of angels. Its portrayal of God is, well, how about NO, but with angels, it got some things right and some things wrong. One thing I definitely appreciated is how angels are portrayed as fearsome warriors rather than the fluffy fairies that pop culture depicts them as. 2 Kings 19:35 pretty much lays it out nicely. Angels are beast.



As with all my artwork, I don't mind this being shared on Pintrest, fansites, or other like websites, but if you see this picture anywhere without my signature and website URL in the bottom right-hand corner, then it has been stolen.


Friday, June 24, 2016

Fey Dragon

Fey Dragon
Medium: digital painting

A member of the Fairy Dragon family, Fey Dragons are tiny, brightly colored little terrors. They are native to Europe and Eurasia. Individually they are fragile and weak, but they rarely travel individually. Fey Dragons travel is massive swarms of several thousand. Swarms of over a million have been reported. These sparrow-sized dragon have voracious appetites, and while they usually prefer to clean up carrion, they won't hesitate to use their swarm numbers to overwhelm live prey should carrion become scarce. They can strip a healthy adult head of cattle down to the bone in less than an hour. A swarm rarely leaves anything but the skeleton behind, and even that is typically gnawed on by tiny dragon teeth. Fey Dragons are particularly loathed by farmers because their small size allows them to fit where larger predators (and other dragons) cannot, and because they are next to impossible to fight off due to the sheer number of dragons in a swarm. If you ever see a swarm of tiny dragons headed your way, run - and don't look back.

Despite their reputation, Fey Dragons have been domesticated and bred for their bright, extravagant wing shapes and patterns. The dragon pictured here is a wild-type Fey Dragon. They are prolific breeders and will lay several clutches of eggs during the year. However, any breeder and seller of Fey Dragons will warn you never to keep more than two at a time, and don't feed them after midnight.


Monday, March 14, 2016

Angel Dragon

Angel Dragon
Medium: digital painting
Very little is known about Angel Dragons. One of the few species of spiritual or magical dragons, Angel Dragons are named after the messengers and warriors of God in Jewish and Christian theology. Like all spiritual dragons, they have no specific size. They have the ability to alter their corporeal size at will (they can cover the sky or fit in your pocket), as well as to appear to only those they wish to appear to. There is no evidence that they breed. No eggs or young Angel Dragons have ever been seen. They do not eat, at least not food that physical creatures have the ability to see.

Angel Dragons are both loved and feared. They have a fierce sense of justice and purity. Although known for their patience and benevolence, they are without a doubt the most powerful type of dragon when provoked. They will purge the unclean, and have been known to level entire cities that have become corrupted. They are merciful, however, and will single out the innocent and allow them to live. Their bright blue flames (called Holy Fire) are the hottest known fire in the world. They have the ability to light themselves on fire, but their scales and feathered wings are flame-resistant, thus they burn without burning. This, coupled with their dazzling white scales, can make them nearly impossible to look at when in full glory. Some Angels Dragons have been seen that have as many as three pairs of wings. Angel Dragons are threatened in power only by their arch-enemies, the Demon Dragons.

No Angel Dragon has ever died of old age.


Sunday, August 16, 2015

Dragon Sculpture

Golden Dragon Hatchling
Medium: Polymer clay
Golden Dragon Hatchling  (back)
Medium: Polymer clay

Sunday, August 2, 2015

Happy Kitty


Happy
Medium: digital painting
This is a realistic portrait of Happy the flying cat from the anime and manga series Fairy Tail, created by Hiro Mashima.


Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Not Deer

  Spookable Medium: digital painting "...and then it stood on its hind legs."