Lottie Leaves the Desert Kingdom

  Here is a new illustration made with gouache paint, black tea and pen. It is 15 by 20 inches.

  Lottie lives in a well protected kingdom secluded in the middle of a hot and sandy desert. Hundreds of years ago the kingdom's rulers fortified themselves from the outside world in order to protect themselves from a sinister threat. Great monsters were lurking thorough the vast desert and devouring unprotected kingdoms and villages. Near by villages were destroyed by the monsters and the desert kingdom decided they must seclude themselves completely from the outside world in order to protect against these monster attacks. In order to fully protect the kingdoms inhabitants, a law was enacted making it illegal to leave the walls of the kingdom. Hundreds of years went by and monster attacks were a thing of the past, but the desert kingdom remained detached from the outside world. They were a successful self-sustaining society and most people felt no need to reconnect with the rest of the world. The kingdoms folks were concerned that reconnecting with other kingdoms and villages would leave them vulnerable. But certain people in the kingdom began growing restless of the secluded life. Lottie was one of these restless people. She joined an underground club of like minded individuals. It soon became apparent that the club members liked to complain about their imprisonment in the kingdom, but they had none of the bravery or gumption needed to make a move to escape the kingdom. Lottie decided she was no longer willing to remain in the desert village. Even without help from her club members, she was going to leave the kingdom and explore new places. In the dead of night, she slipped through a crumbled portion of wall and escaped into the open aired freedom of the empty desert. The desert was quiet and lonely, but there were not monsters or other obvious threats. After miles of walking she came across a petite mushroom village. She met a rabbit and a frog. To Lottie, rabbits and frogs were mystical creatures. They only animal living in the desert kingdom are cats, who long ago chased away any smaller animal. Lottie had heard stories of rabbits and frogs and a whole vast array of other animals. But to Lottie, these animals had the same status that unicorns do to most people. After meeting the rabbit and frog, Lottie realized the world may contain way more than she had ever imagined.