Stories in Art: She Who Believed in Dragons

 I chose the name storyseeker on Steemit because I, like most of us, seek truth in stories. 

     

“Stories are important, the monster said. They can be more important than anything. If they carry the truth.”                                                                 

                                                                                                          - Patrick Ness, "A Monster Calls"

For me, each image I create is part of a bigger story.  

In this series about finding inspiration and pursuing meaning in art, I break down how I come about those stories and represent them in my work. 

“So, where do you get your ideas?” 

This is a question that creative people often hear, and it isn’t always easy to answer. I may start with text that triggers a visual idea, as in my Garden Secret post, but sometimes story creation is sparked directly through the act of drawing. When ideas elude me, jumping in and trusting myself can be the best move.   

She Who Believed in Dragons began with a simple request. Gallery Nucleus in Los Angeles was having a dragon-themed art show and I was invited to participate. I simply needed to draw a dragon. But the act of drawing a dragon was not enough to inspire action. I looked up dragon pictures and stories about dragons - but nothing moved me to action.   I realized then that I don’t enjoy drawing “things” as much as I am motivated by capturing moments. I like to create pictures that make the viewer wonder what happened before and what will come next. I need to draw stories to feel satisfied.  

In this case, I sought a relatable character to interact with the required dragon. I started with a girl, as I often do. I drew her face, and her face was sad. Not only sad, but lost. Did she know a dragon? Did she even believe in them anyways?  It was then that the prospect of this image felt exciting. I’d create a portrait of a girl who once believed in something. 

Perhaps she believed in magic, or love, another person, or a God - but then something happens that crushes those hopes. The dragon is shown as a symbol of that hope; its image invites viewers to step into the life of a lost girl and reflect upon what that dragon might be to themselves.  In this way, fantasy can be a used as a window to reality.   

Magic is a recurring theme in my work. The question of whether there are supernatural forces in this world is a question which cannot be answered, only explored. I wanted to capture one small moment where magic might meet reality. 

We can see that the dragon is gone. But the dragon was not real anyways...was it? It appears as if a vessel. It is hollow. Was it ever alive? Was it not what this girl once thought it was? Or is there a spirit there, freed from its casing? Are the flowers left behind the organic work of nature, a legacy left, or a symbol of new hope? 

A common thread in my work is not to end a story with a drawing, but to begin one. I don’t answer questions here, but I ask you to ask them.  

What do you see in this image? 

Do you have your own way of developing narratives in your creative work?      

Note on technique: For those interested, I created this image on scrap paper with a 4H (hard pencil). The original drawing is very small and very light and started out as doodle that I ended up finishing out. I used Photoshop to bring out the tone and contrast as it appears here. As far as details are concerned, I often add specifics to my images that allude to a bigger story without telling it outright. The pictured girl is wearing a strange hat, and is decorated with awards around her waist. She has a number on her right sleeve. She is holding a specific flower. Even if I'm not sure how these elements change the story exactly, adding them can make an image more intriguing and hint at a much larger tale.

Images © Jaime Zollars