#304 of 1001 · May 31, 2021

Art is an expression of the human spirit. We that well assume that artists who return over and over to a specific theme or subject do so out of love or fascination. But what if one creates art based on fear? This scenario fuels the philosophically rich story of Demi’s The Boy Who Painted Dragons. The dragons of heaven look down through a hole in the clouds and cast their gaze to earth. They notice a boy named Ping painting dragons just like them. Though he tells his friends that he loves and admires dragons, the young artist is in fact afraid of the great beasts, and he paints them in an attempt to conquer his fear. When the Heavenly Dragon visits earth and discovers what truly lies in Ping’s heart, he gifts the boy three pearls of celestial advice: “Seek your truth”, “Find your truth”, and “Dare to be true”. Ping embarks on a quest to visit the dragons of water, fire, earth, and wind, each of whom recognizes his courage and grants him a new form of wisdom. Demi’s vibrant art, created with paint, ink, and Chinese silk brocade, illuminate the emotional themes of her compelling and insightful text. #dragon #dragons #heaven #earth #paint #painting #painter #water #fire #wind #wisdom #fear #book #books #childrensbooks #picturebook #childrensbookillustration #childrensliterature #illustration #kidlit #kidsbooks #bookworm #booklover #booklovers #bibliophile #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookstagrammers #instabook #instabooks