Category>Traditional Art>Drawings>Fantasy
Edit: uploaded a better scan, as I wasn't happy with the first one. Sorry for the repetition for those of you who have me on your devwatch.

Deep breath... I really don’t know where to start with this piece...

Every now and again in life, you will come across someone who really understands you, who sees the world in the same way you do. You may only meet them briefly, you may know them all your life, but they inspire something in you, sparks something that leaves a flame burning for a long time after.

I knew such a man once. He won me over with the first sentence he spoke, and I came to respect him more than I have anyone else in my life. He opened my eyes to the gift I have and taught me to look at the world through the eyes of an artist. I think he alone saw the potential that lurked beneath a young girl’s scribblings, though I wasn’t ready to appreciate it then, he helped mould me into what I am now. In return, I worked ceaselessly to make him proud, and would have gone to the ends of the earth to see that smile on his face that said I’d met his expectations.

He passed away suddenly nearly five years ago, and I had not seen him for two years when it happened. I read of his death in the paper, and since that moment of utter disbelief, every time I have picked up a pencil or laid down a stroke with a paintbrush his memory burns brighter. The fire he lit has become a raging inferno, but it is tempered with regret. I regret never thanking him, even though I perhaps never realised what he had given me until death stole him from me. Now I think of him constantly nd miss him more than the crudeness of words can express. I feel his presence is strongest when I look at the stars, as I like to think when they twinkle that little bit brighter, that is his way of telling me he knows. I don’t think I’ll ever meet such a man again. To his dragon, I was but a simple fairy. And still am.

So this piece is a reflection of all that... the desire to put to paper that which keeps the fire of inspiration burning in me. So if heaven was a well of wishes, my first would be a simple thank you.

Thanks Mr D, wherever you are...
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My thanks also to ~serp-stock for providing just the right reference shot for the body.
Karisma Pencils on black A3 card