"Indigo Dawn Gazer" by Kate Sky High Frana

In the soft blue glow of pre-dawn, she sits under the stark winter trees by the river, feeling the night's chill on her dew-spattered scales.   For just a few moments, the world is in a state of tranquil serenity--the day has yet to awaken the life that will rise with the sun, and the memories of yesterday are still only vague dreams trickling through unconsciousness like a lazy river.  Sitting up, she fans open her pale blue wings to shake off the fringe of frost and faces toward the east, where a parade of magenta and soft lavender precedes the fanfare victory march of the conquering sun into the still-darkened sky.  When the dawn finally arrives, she will be there to greet it.

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This is the very first oil painting I ever made, back during my sophomore year in high school at age 15.  It was based off of a photograph by German photographer Herbert Kehrer called "River at Dawn," but with a little bit of input of my own (namely, the dragon).  The picture here gets a bit faded to the left because I went a little crazy with the varnish (never again!  >_< ) when I was finished, and now it's nearly impossible to get a decent photograph of it.  Now that I just got a new camera, I'll probably try it again and re-upload sometime soon...ish.  O_~