Dragon in progress...

Dragon sketch in progress... hopefully paint him tomorrow. :)
One of the old, wise ones...

Lynx Fae - The Knower of Secrets

About the Lynx Fae....
If you can find her, she'll be in the North, hidden in snowy forests, looking down from the highest hills.
If you can hear her, she moves as softly as the newly fallen snow.
She is only seen when she allows it, as hers is the gift of the hidden.
Her smile belongs to those who know the heart's deepest secrets.
She is the Keeper of Secrets, the Lady of Silent Knowing.

The Lynx and her are one; one mind, one magic, alert and attuned to the environment, their ears pricking to the slightest sound, the subtlest shift.
Theirs is the magic of Knowing what others do not.
If you ask, they will weave sparkling webs of your dreams, allow you to see truths from falsehoods, help you see the unseen...

Their wisdom is the cold winter, which strips life back to the core.
Their lesson is deep inner knowing.
And so they smile, their secret smile, and turn into the woodlands, she looks over her shoulder back towards you, but before you manage to say a word, she is gone.

The Morrigan

The Morrigan - Phantom Queen - Lady of the Crows - Faery Queen

I hope you (and She) like this little painting I did of a very important Goddess to me. I've tried many times to capture her in paint, and none of them have really worked... I'm not sure if this has totally worked, but it was a powerful experience painting Her, and I feel it has something!
Love to hear your thoughts and stories, as ever...
L xx

Morrigan Sketch...

Evening (or err... morning!) Well I spent about an hour on a sketch that went in the bin, so here is my second attempt tonight at my Morrigan sketch. You'll have to use your imagination a bit with this one. hopefully it will really come alive when I bring in sme colour. So, tomorrow I have my Lynx and Morrigan to paint! :)

Lynx Fae Sketch

Evening all, today we have the sketch of a lynxy lady. I am a huge animal lover and Cat slave :). Of all the big Cats, Lynx and Snow Leopards hold such beauty, elegance and mystery for me.
The Lady of the Lynx is the Knower of Secrets. Together they discover and share hidden wisdom. She knows the power of silence and the strength of invisibility.
I hope to paint this tomorrow.
Night!

Between the Worlds...

Silver, yellow, navy blue,
The gate is open -
Follow through,
Wild and tempting,
Revelry calls,
Abandon reason,
Love and fall,
Into enchantments -
Midnight blue,
This shimmering dryad
Beckons you...

Today's Mischief & Mayhem... to be continued...

Hello! Today's possibly familiar looking fae, is in need of colour and completion, but as the moon wanes, my energies to stay up til 3 and paint, as well as attempting to be human in the day time are failing! So, we have a half finished sketch at 1.30am instead... until tomorrow. :)

Even Faeries get the blues...

It's true. Sometimes the bad news of the world gets to the brightest soul. You should see this fae on a good day... she is the lightning spark of the party.
But not today, sometimes what she sees around the human world weighs heavily on her heart.
But instead of hiding her heart away, she wears it on her sleeve; she'll cry, she'll sob, drink a cup of steaming tea and give you a hug. She'll notice a spark of kindness in your eyes, and she'll start to smile again. Just be gentle... and be kind.

Spectral Emphatic

Exciting news! Wonderful poet Anna Mckerrow's new book 'Spectral Emphatic' is out now! A Gothic and elegantly twisted collection of deeply moving poems. Here is the opening poem or manifesto from the book:

MANIFESTO

THE GROUP WILL STRETCH SPECTRAL FINGERS INTO THE WRITER’S CONSCIOUSNESS AND POSSESS HER.

THE GROUP WILL MATERIALISE AS OCCASIONAL PHANTASMS.

THE GROUP SHALL SLIP IN AND OUT OF CONSCIOUSNESS.

MEMBERS OF THE GROUP SHALL TEETER AT THE EDGE OF THINGS.

WE WILL EMBRACE THE GHOSTLY AND LIMINAL.

THE GROUP SHALL BE LIKE EELS IN MURKY PONDS: SYMBOLS IN THE WRITER’S DREAMS.

INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS OF THE GROUP SHOULD BE AWARE OF THEMSELVES AS RESIDUAL FORMS CONTAINING UNSPENT PSYCHIC FORCE.

WE WILL INVESTIGATE THE WORLD WITH MAGIC PERSEVERENCE.

WE WILL ENCOURAGE THE WRITER TO EMBRACE THE SENTIMENTS OF HER GOTHIC AND SYMBOLIST FOREBEARS.

WE WILL DRIFT IN THE TIDEWINDS.

THE GROUP WILL RESPOND TO OTHER ARTISTS WHOSE WORK CONTAINS LIMINALITY AND THREAT, MENACE OR OTHERWORLDLINESS.

By Anna McKerrow - Spectral Emphatic http://www.knivesforksandspoonspress.co.uk

BTW that cover illustration? It's by me. :)
xxx

Dragon Kiss...

I hope you will forgive me for not doing a full picture today. As you can imagine the March of the Midnight Faeries, keeping me up til 3am is not always errr... practical!
So today is a little sketch for an idea I have. I may expand on it over the next few days.
Anyway... this would make the perfect Valentines card for that special Dragon or Elf in your life... ;) Night! x

Incoming Dragon!

Incoming Dragon! Swooping down from the clouds, this Dragon is definitely on a mission. I love Dragons. I've only recently started to draw them...
I'm yet again way too tired to write anything of any use! I hope you like her... off to bed and hopefully will be able to make more sense tomorrow. As ever your thoughts and words are appreciated. From the Dragon and I... Goodnight! xx

Butterfly Whisper... Fae Take Over :)

The Fae muse take over continues... and long may she reign!

Something has been going on over the course of this blog, something which feels I don't need to sleep, or do practical normal things. Something, however that I'm loving so much. The muse is here, and she is rocking my world.

I planned something more simple today, after yesterday's Fae fox. But I'm happy to say 'Butterflies Whisper' isn't too simple. I was definitely in need of a more gentle energy. I tried to draw a sleeping fae (it's a hint, to remind the powers that be, that I, unlike Bon Jovi, enjoy a lil sleep once in a while!) but that didn't work, and so here we have her... delicate, gentle, at one with her surroundings and listening to the rhythmic whisper of the butterflies... I hope you like her.

Words from the Fae Fox (post below)

As I start to write about this fae, the things I was supposed to write yesterday (if she hadn't kept me up painting her til 3am), a very loud Crow is cawing outside my window, and I feel this lady here has quite a tale to tell.

My friend and fabulous authoress Debbie Gallagher said about this painting, ' Wild and a little bit Wicked is she...' and I agree wholeheartedly. Crow, Fox and Foliage are her magic. Life and decay... the natural cycles without remorse or regret - revelry and extremes, a wicked glint in her eye, a cold January breeze, and a sense of wonder at her splendour; the huntress, the diva. Good or bad?

She sighs heavily, ' you humans and your need to categorize everything...'good and bad.' In your world those words are subjective; people do evil in the name of 'good' and feel guilt for what other people tell them is 'bad'.

I am a wild thing, wild and free. I am unconstrained. Life blood sap rising and quietening. I do what I like and I like what I do – mostly anyhow, she smiles...fresh dew laughter.

What's so terribly bad about a little wickedness anyway?

The Fae Fox

This sketch appeared on my page this evening with a fox at her side. I'm not sure what to write about her at the moment, as I'm exhausted, and will hopefully be able to write and draw more coherently tomorrow! Perhaps a more simple sketch tomorrow... ;) As I can't write, I'll leave the words to you guys....

Iris of the Woods...

Iris of the Woods, in the deep blue night. Holds out her moon white hand, and leads you through the shadows to where the faeries play at midnight.
Still as a statue she looks back to the places she has been. Lost in a reverie; a graveyard dream.
Then, in the flicker of an eye, she flashes you a blood red smile, and dances into the thickening mist.
You look to the place where she used to stand, but all you see is cobwebs, and a key in your hand...

The Child of the Shimmering Veil... Full Moon Madness...

The Child of the Shimmering Veil, walks the long silver, violet twilight between the worlds.
She comes from the 'Veil of the Shimmering Glimmers', which lies hidden beneath mists of faerie magic.

She shares secrets with those who can sense her starlit beauty; weaving mysteries of the forests, the stars and the deep oceans into the fabric of your dreams.

On the full moon she appears to those who remember how to wish, how to listen and how to believe...
<3

Faun Fae Speaks to the Snake...

Before we leave Capricorn, I thought a Capricorn-esque faun was on the agenda!
So here we have her! A belly dancing faun fae in communion with a lovely snake.... and an egg.:)

Hmmmm as ever I love your thoughts and ideas...
Happy Full Moon )O(

Lunar Day 14... The Dancing Priestess...

‘We come spinning out of nothingness, scattering stars...the stars form a circle and in the centre we dance’ - Rumi, 13^th Century

As an avid belly dancer, and a priestess, the spiritual/physical link between dance and the divine is an important one to me. I wrote an article for the Magical Times Magazine last year called 'Belly Dance and The Goddess - Rediscovering Sacred Dance'... here is a link to the article on my website: http://www.lauradaligan-psychic.com/page11.htm
xx
L

Drift away Sunday

Sleepy head
Time for bed
Under dancing stars
And laughing moon

My dreams will fly
Through worlds unknown
While safe I lie
In my cosy home

Drifting head
Time for bed
Sunday sleep
A promise to keep

Winter... Lunar Day 12

An experiment with a little drawing and a photo I took over Yule time. :)
x

Faery Cordelia...

Faery Cordelia... telling me how it is! Wait a minute... hasn't she stolen my pocket watch?
'No' she says 'I haven't stolen it, I'm borrowing it, and if you want it back you'll have to catch up with me!'
:)

Medusa

I love Medusa. She has had a seriously bad rap. Over the past year, I have come to love snakes too.. .and they also have been portrayed as evil monsters.
I was brought up to fear Medusa, every story showed her as a fearful, vengeful, serpentine monster.

However she was once (and always is in my eyes) a beautiful woman, whose hair was the envy of all who saw her. Some stories say that Poseidon ravished her, others say Athena was envious and angry at her beauty and gumption.
(What is this story of envious women? Really, these stories accusing women of grand and cruel jealousies are all written, well, not by women, and do they ring true? Is it all like an ancient edition of Heat Magazine? Anyway...)

So Athena turned her beautiful tresses into Snakes, and cursed her with ugliness, so that all who she gazed upon would turn into stone.

But if we look deeper into the story, Medusa existed way before the Greek pantheon was born, and was worshiped pre-ancient Greece by the Libyan Amazons as a Serpent Goddess. She was associated with the destroyer aspect of the Triple Goddess in North Africa and Crete, named Anath (also known as Athene).

The name Medusa, is also linked to 'Maat', the Ancient Egyptian Goddess of truth and balance. The actual name 'Medusa' means 'soveriegn female wisdom', and she appears to have been known as a symbol of female mysteries.

The fact that she was used as a protective shield, and is seen on many coins, pays tribute to the idea that she is more than just a pretty girl gone bad...
Anyway... this is not a great sketch, but a doodle that got me thinking!
XX
L

Seidr - The Gate is Open

This is the forthcoming book from author and all round wonderful witch Katie Gerrard. Her previous book 'Odin's Gateways' is an informative and very accessible guide to the Runes, and this new book 'Seidr - The Gate is Open' looks at Seidr, Norse Witchcraft and Trance Prophesy.
The cover art for both books is by moi, and they are available from the following online shops, as well as all good esoteric bookshops:
www.thebirchtree.com
www.amazon.co.uk/Odins-Gateways-Practical-Through-Casting/dp/1905297319
www.avaloniabooks.co.uk



xxx

Lunar Day 9 - Loose Muse

Hello all :) Well today I had the pleasure of being able to talk about my art and poetry at the Loose Muse event at the Poetry Cafe, with friend and poet Anna Mckerrow. Anna read from her wonderful, mesmerizing last book Taropoetics, and then I did a lil talk about my art, my journey and being an illustrator. I found that even though I can usually talk the hind legs off a donkey, I find it really hard to talk about my art and what it means to me as it is such a big, soulful part of me. It was a wonderful experience, and I think I have some ideas if I'm asked again to talk about what I do.
So getting back rather late, sans blog entry I sketched todays picture. I gave myself the theme of a loose muse, and waited to see how they would present themselves. This spring like image was not what I expected after what seems like months of winter, but maybe it's exactly what I need, a sense of burgeoning life and energy.
Just a little sketch... but again possibly something I could work more with.
XX

Lunar Day 8 - First Quarter Moon... Random Art :)

Today consists of 3 offerings... mainly because er I didn't like any of them that much, so I thought I'd throw all 3 in. There is logic there. Laura Logic.
So I have a started sketch of Star (top), well there were several started pictures of Star, she just didn't much fancy the idea of sitting still for me :).

Then there were the random collaboration of faeries (middle) that appeared on the page... which are an interesting bunch, if not particularly well drawn... I think sketching the faeries that want to turn up on the page, with no forwards planning from me is going to be a recurring theme...


And then the last little sketch of the mask. I like many artists, love the symbolism of masks. In this little sketch the idea was, well there was 2 ideas: 1) If you wear a 'mask' by pretending to be someone that you are not, then eventually you lose yourself and the pretense takes on a life of it's own, and 2) I had the Cure lyrics to pictures of you in my head 'I've been looking so long at these pictures of you, that I almost believe they're real'.

As ever I welcome your thoughts, comments and interpretations of things...
Til tomorrow xxx

Lunar Day 7 - Mesmerising....

Sink into dream; these enchanted depths,
The Realm of muted wisdom'
Annwyn Beneath the Waves.

Please click on image to see full size.

Apologies for the lack of words today, I am tired... the picture and this song by 'Faith and the Muse' is my offering.... :)

Lunar Day 6: The Swan - Children of Lir

Today is Swan Day... I took a walk on the Heath, and for the first time in weeks, the sky was blue, even though frost was still on the ground. I fed all my bread to my Crow family, and did some sketches of them, circling and cawing and then I met my friend Zoe; we continued our walk and met this handsome chap. To be honest he wasn't impressed that I'd fed all the bread to the Crows, but I did promise him a portrait (and possibly some cake next time I visit!) and so here he is...

Later today Ciara mentioned the Children of Lir legend on facebook, and so I googled off and read the story, with the above being the result of both encounters!

What I like and am enjoying most about this Lunar challenge, is that I'm indulging in being more 'sketchy' again. There are those that would say I'm always sketchy :) but of late I've become more polished and precise in my work. Those who knew me at art college knew that I was extremely loose and impulsive with my art, however things shift and change and our aims and styles evolve. Through this blog I'm revisiting a looser style, hopefully with some of the supreme wisdom (JOKE!) which I've gained over the years...

Any way, I hope you like!
I Love Swans...
I just Love Crows a lil bit more ;)

Earth-Star Dance

'Earth-Star Dance' was inspired by a wonderful meditation led by my friend Helena Lundvik this afternoon at the New Moon Club. Just a little colourful sketch, but one which hopefully captures something of the magical energy I experienced.

Lunar Day 4: The Visitation

A special moment. Crow saves girl.

Lunar Day 3... I Told You So!

So, the thing is, I really wasn't planing on drawing this! But since when did plans come into the faerie equation eh?

I started out sketching Gordon watching the 'The Bear Family and Me' however I was watching the Bears and the lights were all ambient and dim, so... that went out the window, I did a quick simple sketch of Hope (a beautiful, feisty bear cub), which I will put up here, but Star is sitting on it at the moment and she looks very comfy, plus it's too small to count as my picture a day.
I tried a more detail picture, but I was getting grumpy, and I knew it was a bit late in the day for an epic bear picture (which is a shame, one day soon there will be an epic bear picture!)...

So I was about to lose my grumpy rag, and as I was doodling, She appeared on the page with these words on her lips 'I told you so!'...

And so she came to life on my page (with no help from me I hope you understand...) and she certainly is... well she certainly is her faerie self! Her name is Callista, with something debonair as a surname which didn't exactly roll off the tongue...

I will be making a painting of her.. I doubt whether I'll have much choice in that one...

Lunar Day 2...

Today's simple and tiredly honest offering...

Loveletters... the perfect gift for someone strange...

Loveletters by Laura Daligan | Make Your Own Book

Lunar Day 1: New Moon Kitties

Well this is obviously a very serious piece of art to get me started... :)

The Lunar Cycle Drawing Blog!

Hapy New Year, I wish you all the best in 2011. I have the feeling this year is going to be one like no other with adventures, excitement and changes in abundance!

Today being the first new moon of the new year, I thought it would be a perfect time to set a new challenge for myself! Today is not only host to the new moon in Capricorn, we also had a partial solar eclipse this morning, making today all in all a magical day.

So, New Year New Moon, New Challenge - I shall be doing a picture a day, hopefully purely for this blog for the period from new moon to dark moon (who needs that Roman calender anyhow?!)

It all starts today with the new moon and ends on the dark moon on the 2nd February.

The idea of a drawing a day helps me to push my creativity, keeping things fluid and fresh as well as making me do something new and different each day, no matter what else is going on.

Each piece most likely wont be a finished, perfect piece of work, but hopefully something interesting will come out of it!

My boyfriend Gordon, is also a very talented photographer and film maker, and he is going to be doing a photo a day blog which you can check out here:
http://www.gordoncburns.blogspot.com/

Thanks for looking at my blog and come back again soon :) x