Oil Paintings

Alla Prima
Medium: oil paint

Daffodil
Medium: oil paint

MLP OC

Unicornarama
Medium: digital painting

I finally drew my little winged fire unicorn character in the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic style! I designed the original character to represent myself online so as not to show my face in profile pictures, etc., so it's made to represent things I like and things that represent me.

The original character is a winged unicorn/alicorn (because it wasn't meant to fit into the MLP universe), but for this drawing, I just made her a simple unicorn because I don't want to presume that I'm somehow better than everyone else, that I've reached a higher plain of understanding, etc. I chose a Unicorn rather than an Earth Pony or a Pegasus because both Earth Ponies and Pegasi are associated with physical abilities, such as great strength, stamina, speed, etc., none of which that I have. Fluttershy is an exception to that rule, but I didn't want to make myself an exception. I'm definitely a thinker, and any physical talents I have are small-scale coordination, like art, not full-body coordination. I think a Unicorn works best for that!

The colors are simply my favorite colors (pink and orange), so no real self-analyzing there. I kept the fire mane and tail from the original design even though regular MLP ponies don't have special manes and tails. It was the key part of the original deign, so I kept it. I guess if I didn't paint it as fire, it would just be regular hair, but in those colors. The fire represents how I'm passionate - sometimes too passionate - about issues I care about. There are a few things in life that I'm "on fire" for!

The cutie mark represents several things. Obviously the heart symbolizes love, because everything I believe comes from a place of love, even though some people might have difficulty seeing that, especially if they're already opposed to what I believe before we even begin. For example, I oppose animal cruelty because I love. I believe all people should consider adoption first because I love. The starburst around the heart represents purity, so in this case, pure love. I believe love (including romantic love) can be pure and should not rely on physical intimacy to sustain it. Physical intimacy is a wonderful way to express love, but I do not believe it should be a crutch for love. The sparkles represent clarity. I believe in keeping a clear mind at all times for all things. Logic and rationality are very important to me, and while everything I believe is rooted in love, I view the world through a lens of rationality. Essentially, the cutie mark symbolizes truth and love.

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.