Mythical Creatures And Facts
Not only am I an artist, but a real history buff! I love studying mythical creatures, and comparing the mythology with the historical characters. Fantasy art has some basis in fact - did you know that?
Fantasy And Fact!
Yep! - Just like in the new show "Grimm" - well, not quite, but there is history behind each and every tale.
That's the funny thing about my interest in Fantasy Art, it started with my interest in history. I studied ancient civilizations and art in University. I just couldn't get a grip on what I wanted to do, so I studied my passions.
Afterwards I wondered what the heck to do with all that "knowledge".
My other love was drawing and painting.
For a long time I wondered what was up with all that?
Mythology
Anyway, here I am years (quite a few) later and I finally see how it all fits together. The mythology and the facts!
The fairy tales and the real historical figures.
The stories are endless and fascinating.
This site really is all of my passions put together.
I guess that is why I wrote all the stuff you will find listed here. I just couldn't help myself.
So, don't ever let anyone tell you that your interest in fantasy art is in anyway frivolous!
It is not.
Our Evolution!
This is the stuff of our evolution. This is the stuff that humans have believed, denied, fretted about, had nightmares about, written about, and yes, even made art out of since the beginning of time.
We are still doing it with a revived interest in television shows and movies!
Three Eras of Human History!
The Classical Era or Antiquity
The Middle Ages or Medieval Times - from the fall of the Roman Empire, about the 5th century to the early modern era - 16th century
Modern Era from then to now.
Here Is Everything From Fairies to Vikings!
Fairys
Do you know, that there is one subject that has been discussed over and over, throughout time, in almost every culture? Do you know that that subject has a huge amount of folklore, fairytales, and historical record, and yet everybody denies that they believe any of it?
Yep... you guessed it - that subject is Fairies!. Yes, now I have spelled it correctly, but that is the other reason I have written a page about these little mystical creatures. No one knows where this stuff has come from, in fact we don't even agree how to spell it.
Read More...Dragon History
This subject is truly fascinating, cause throughout history there have been stories told by generations, and yet most of us don't believe there were ever any real dragons.
So where did the stories come from, and why does every culture have beliefs about them, and why do we keep digging up bones of giant lizard-like creatures?
What am I getting at? Well, yes we call them dinosaurs, and yes, the powers that be say we weren't around to see the dinosaurs - okay!
But as a fantasy artist I can just imagine the possibilities, read this section for some proof that dragons are worthy of our study, and drawing...
European Dragons
The European dragons that battled in the skies, and swooped down on towns causing all kinds of trouble. That dragon dance was not something to be trifled with.
The stories go on and on about the kinds of mischief Real Dragons caused them. These creatures were not to be messed with.
Even knights had a hard time slaying them.
In fact if you read about them at the above link you will be surprised about who was actually more successful at killing them.
There were lots of knights that were pretty good at slaying dragons too!
Oriental Dragons
The orient had them too!
Think about it. The oriental traditions or the people in the far east are one of the oldest cultures in recorded history.
Much of our mathematics and philosophy come from these areas. These people really knew a lot of stuff!
They also had Real Dragons. Much has been written and told verbally about their dragons. So check it out!
Greek Dragons!
Don't forget the Greeks. They had a very serious dragon mythology and again lots of our math and science come from ancient Greece. Guess what they had Real Dragons too!
In order to study Dragon History even archaeologists have looked for clues in ancient folklore. They found seven clay tablets in Mesopotamia with ancient writing mentioning Dragons.
These writings were about huge battles at the beginning of time over what creatures would rule and how to create the earth.
Dragon History actually illustrates for the people of the time, a version of the "big-bang" theory, where everything was chaos even before the Gods who brought order.
Remember these were tribal people with very little knowledge of the world. Read More...
Egyptian Dragons
The Egyptian stories of dragons, involved the underworld. Fire, water, air and deep under the earth. Dragons have represented chaos, and lack of any kind of order.
The Egyptians had the mathematical ability to build the Pyramids and yet believed in Dragons.
Their facts about dragons are similar to other cultures and yet different. They had a god that was a dragon warrior.
Good and evil battling it out in the skies and in the seas, and who would win? Find out.
Norse Dragons
One of the first group of people who had Real Dragons were the Vikings.
In history they also refer to them as the Norsemen.
No doubt you have seen pictures of Viking ships.
Did you know that they built them to look like that in order to scare off the Real Dragons that were in the sea.
They wouldn't dare go out into the dark ocean without that protection. Those sea dragons scared the heck out of vikings.
Let's also note that it took a lot to scare your average Viking.
Warriors and Pirates - Battling Heros
So why would I throw the pirate stuff in with the warriors? Well, being a hero or being an evil warrior, or even a pirate kind of depends on your perspective.
Read these bits of history and then decide what you think!
Pirate History
What is a Pirate? You might be surprised by the history of pirates, and how any warrior might have been given the name "Pirate" - depending on who he or she was working for - read more...
Viking Warriors
Here's a perfect example of a group of warriors who believed that going on raids was a noble thing to do. It pleased their Gods, and yet throughout time they have been labelled as "pirates" - and even worse.
Where did vikings come from?
Read this page on Viking Warriors and you will learn about these frightening characters that are already widely accepted as excellent subjects for art.
Women Pirates
When investigating a pirate's legend you have to decide what is fantasy and what is truth. Much of pirate mythology might not be true, but some of what is more true than you might think is the image of a lady pirate. Pirate women were more than just the typical pirate wench.
So to really get into the Pirate History of women pirates check out the link.
Famous Pirates
This sheet of pirate info will fascinate you - these are the typical caribean pirate. I love what we imagine from the movies. You will find famous pirates and info about their exploits.
Amazon Warrior Women
Legends from many cultures talk about a group of women, who had their own culture and would not allow men. There is even some evidence that such groups of women might have existed. Read More...
Mermaids
There are stories of these beautiful creatures actually calling upon the powers of the Sea Gods in order to save a sailor, by calming the seas.
Selkies
Selkies were a particular form of mermaid.
Sea Gods
Sea Gods were always warring with each other, and if you got out of favor with them, then wham they would hit you with a heck of a storm. No wonder people were afraid of them...
Merfolk
I would like to invite you to another page about Merfolk.
Lady of Gollerus
I have found a long and fascinating tale about Mermaids.
This is the story that is the basis of a lot of knowledge about them and Selkies, and was written by Yeats.
Unicorns
While they were beautiful creatures, the tales show them as both pure, and ferocious - read more...
Medieval Unicorns
Fascinating page about the unicorn in medieval times,read more...
Ancient-Unicorn
For more history of the unicorn read about the really old unicorn legends.
Far East Unicorn
They were usually depicted as a large white horse with a single horn on its forehead. It has also been described as having the hind legs of an antelope, the tail of a lion, and the beard of a goat.
Many eastern cultures, claim that some of the unicorn mythology about these beautiful creatures may have been created from distorted reports of rhinoceroses.
Pegasus
The image has changed from a goat-like creature, or an antelope, and we see him today as a marvelous equine (or horse) sometimes they were portrayed as unicorns with wings like Pegasus, and shining white with his purity.
This is a kind of flying fantasy horse.
Wow - did I write all that? I sure am gabby.
Well, the point of all that writing was to create a section about the facts and myths behind all the fantasy art. I hope I did that.
I want you to feel good about your interest in Fantasy Art!
Thanks Barb C
