Hey there, dear readers! I’m sorry I’ve missed a few weeks, but this beautiful dragon is here to revive my site with the Breath of Life.  🙂  To make it up to you, I’ve got a super-sized post of more amazing dragons by one of my absolute favorites, Israeli professional artist Taly Reznik, posting as TrollGirl.  This one was created for a “dragon breath” contest, and Taly writes, “I decided to make it a breath of life instead of fatal fire. I’m such a rebel… The result is a cosmic dragon, creating swirling galaxies with his breath.”

Another contest entry, next is A Place of My Own, and Taly writes:

I spent my entire life creating. It was like growing a garden, patiently, working for many hours a day, sometimes at the expense of other life expriences.  … I’m glad I invested into something nifty, and grew my garden to be insanely colorful and fun.  It now attracts interesting mythical wildlife which I can paint.

Then we have the beautiful Eventide, an image of fellow deviantartist Sieskja‘s characters Arjente and Njell done as an art trade.  Taly writes,
“It’s much more pressuring to perform well when painting for a colleague of impressive skill…  [and] painting white characters is difficult… so naturally they ended up being every color but white.”  I really just love everything about this piece — the design of the dragon, the girl, the dreamcatcher tied in the tail, the background moon and night sky and crystals — it’s just fantastic!

Up next is a commision piece for fellow deviantartist Pimpernel called Of Kindness and Berries.  If you’ve been around my site at all, you’ll know I’m very particular about my unicorns, so I was really happy to see that Taly drew this one with the “correct” kind of tail!  It’s another instant favorite for me, of course.

Then for more swirls of springtime color from this self-proclaimed “Watercolorist from Hell,” next is Dreamweaver.  Taly writes, “As his lantern is lit, shadow shapes spring into being to become our dreams… Scraps of watercolor paper shouldn’t be wasted!”

And then we’re back to a starry night with Potion of Midnight Sky, that Taly just calls “Bloooo.”  Lol!  I love the split wings, and I am always trying to picture what the tiny dragons in my story look like compared to the bigger ones — maybe something like this?  🙂

And finally, to wrap up this extra-long post, here’s How to Save a Life.  Another contest entry, this time for a piece interpreting a song, Taly writes:

While the theme is fantasy, the situation is real enough.  Sometimes we need someone to be near us when those we trusted fail us.

“Where did I go wrong, I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life”

I feel like this is the perfect piece to end this week’s post because here in the U.S., May is National Mental Health Awareness Month.  Established back in 1949 by Mental Health America and presidential proclomation, the Wiki continues:

Its purpose is to raise awareness and educate the public about mental illnesses … the realities of living with these conditions … and strategies for attaining mental health and wellness.  It also aims to draw attention to suicide, which can be precipitated by some mental illnesses.  Additionally, Mental Health Awareness Month strives to reduce the stigma (negative attitudes and misconceptions) that surrounds mental illnesses.

Each year Mental Health America has a theme for the month, and you can find resources and a “toolkit” at their website with more information.  This year, they write:

In 2019 we are expanding upon last year’s theme of #4Mind4Body and taking it to the next level, as we explore the topics of animal companionship (including pets and support animals), spirituality, humor, work-life balance, and recreation and social connections as ways to boost mental health and general wellness.

I hope everyone’s having a great start to May, and since it’s my own birthday month, you can bet you’ll be seeing a supersized birthstones post next week!  Thanks so much for reading, take care, and stay creative!

Image credits:
All images in this post are by Taly Reznik, posting as TrollGirl.
Breath of Life, A Place of My Own, Eventide, Of Kindness and Berries, Dreamweaver, Potion of Midnight Sky, How to Save a Life