Sometimes a dream will inspire an illustration. But for me, more often than not, my artwork starts as a waking idea that is pursued, sometimes sparked by another painting, something seen, or the suggestion of a client.

That said, the most powerful images often key into the emotions, taping into the subconscious where dreams happen. An illustration that can convey fear, love, or loneliness takes on added impact to the viewer.

One fear that combines with the dream state is sleepwalking. We’ve all heard tales of people driving cars, getting into fights, or even committing murder while in dream state – a waking nightmare, if you would. And some mental disorders leave the brain in a dream state while the victim is awake, creating hallucinations and often disastrous results.

From time to time I like to just create an illustration with no real market to sell it to (though often a buyer will eventually appear). This is one of those pictures. It builds on the idea of the sleepwalker; the character awakens to find herself precariously (even impossibly) balanced on a stone handrail, high above city streets, in grave danger of toppling to her death.

I was tempted to paint her with a horrified face, but instead opted for a neutral expression, hoping to convey that moment before awareness sets in that she’s stranded in reality, not dreaming – but not yet quite aware of the danger she’s in.

I laid out the scene in Vue to get the proper perspective and lighting, then almost completely repainted everything for realistic textures, sky, and so forth in Photo-Paint.

And, yes, all the rights are available for purchase :)

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Duncan Long is a freelance magazine and book cover illustrator for HarperCollins, PS Publishing, Pocket Books, Solomon Press, American Media, Fort Ross, Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, and many other publishers. See more of Duncan’s book cover illustrations at: DuncanLong.com