An artist with an eye for the eccentric has created a monster fire-breathing dragon on her Gwynedd smallholding.
Karen Jones has issued an open invitation to House of the Dragon (HOTD) producers to visit her creation and see for themselves a real-life Welsh dragon.
Using boulders already in place, Karen, 61, brought the serpent to life with a few pots of masonry paint and some judiciously placed seaweed. Until now, only her Airbnb guests at Songbird Lodge near Eryri (Snowdonia) have been able to explore the unlikely artwork.
“They think it’s great fun,” she said. “They like to sit on its head and drink a glass or two of wine!”
The mother-of-three keeps just two ponies on her 12.9-acre smallholding at Cilfechydd Barn on the outskirts of Waunfawr. Taking advantage of a natural formation on her land, she used a larger-than-usual paintbrush to bring her dragon to life last October, shortly after her brother’s death.
Karen said that, if stretched out, it would measure a massive 150 metres. “I could see the dragon shape naturally in the rocks,” she told North Wales Live.
“I didn’t have to do much, really. I scrubbed off all the lichen and moss, then painted the rocks grey and white, with some reds. I added yellow for the eyes and seaweed for the antennae – all dragons have antennae.
“I told myself, I’m now the Mother of Dragons! I did it for dramatic effect: I needed the power of the dragon in my soul as my mother was badly ill at the time."
Karen continued: “Not long after, Gwynedd Council planted 300 saplings on a hillside behind the dragon. As they’re sheathed and supported by sticks, it looks like a graveyard. It’s a brilliant backdrop for my dragon. Being in a valley, the dragon now looks to be lying in its lair.”
Invited to see the serpent, and absorb the “power of the dragon”, were some local children on a school trip. Gathering around, they burst into a rendition of Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, the Welsh national anthem, to reaffirm their collective identity.
Impressed, Karen believes her dragon might inspire HOTD film crews to greater artistic heights before they wind down their various shoots across north west Wales. Sets have been created in Gwynedd, Anglesey and Conwy but, unlike Karen’s, dragons in the finished product will be CGI-generated.
She’s emailed HBO, the series producer, but has yet to have a reply. Posts on HOTD fan sites have yet to produce a dragon’s bite. So, instead, she’s issuing an open appeal.
“I’ve been trying to get the producers here so that, perhaps, they could use my dragon as some kind of advert for the series,” said Karen. “I thought it might look good with all the film crews, or actors, standing on the dragon. It’s certainly long enough for all of them!”
A self-taught artist, Karen was inspired by a friend who lost her battle with cancer to develop a new form of glass art. Her caricatures and landscapes were painted with enamel and were showcased in local galleries.
After developing “enamel toxicity”, she now paints in oils and runs her own on-site gallery.
