Be Your Own Rainbow – Year of the Snake 2025

by Goldeenin Artworkon Posted on

Just in time for Pride, I am (literally) proud to present my illustration for 2025’s Year of the Snake:

BE YOUR OWN RAINBOW

Colored pencil illustration, original on 12"x18" paper. A rainbow arches over some rocky mountains with a cloudy sky behind it, while the foreground is brightly lit by sun. Where the rainbow disappears behind a hill on the left side, it contours around, becoming more and more snakelike as it approaches the viewer, until it morphs into a purple-and-gold striped variant of a California Kingsnake. The snake is clearly giant, as shown by the tiny bicycle tracks on the road cut where it lies, lifting its head to admire the rainbow it evolved from. In the bottom right corner, perched on a decaying fence post, a female American kestrel is convinced that SHE is the real star of this picture. References: Castle Rocks and Sawtooth Ridge, Sequoia National Park, California. Art © Goldeen Ogawa 2025. Colored pencil illustration, original on 12"x18" paper. A rainbow arches over some rocky mountains with a cloudy sky behind it, while the foreground is brightly lit by sun. Where the rainbow disappears behind a hill on the left side, it contours around, becoming more and more snakelike as it approaches the viewer, until it morphs into a purple-and-gold striped variant of a California Kingsnake. The snake is clearly giant, as shown by the tiny bicycle tracks on the road cut where it lies, lifting its head to admire the rainbow it evolved from. In the bottom right corner, perched on a decaying fence post, a female American kestrel is convinced that SHE is the real star of this picture. References: Castle Rocks and Sawtooth Ridge, Sequoia National Park, California. Art © Goldeen Ogawa 2025.
12″x18″ colored pencil on paper
Print Available!

The origins of this piece began last summer with a doodle in my Sparks Gallery (doodle journal). I knew for my Year of the Snake illustration I wanted to lean harder into the snake’s benevolent, restorative aspect, and honed in on creating my interpretation of the Rainbow Serpent. This hardened into a determination of self-worth and self-assurance, even as the political landscape—and thus the strings from which our civilization are hung—were thrown into peril. In a world beset by challenges and crisis beyond our control, it is imperative that we be our own heroes, our own champions, our own rainbows.

The piece is set against the backdrop of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It views Castle Rocks and Sawtooth from Shepherd Saddle, an old favorite bike ride of mine—a current one of my Wonderful Mother, whose photos provided my reference. Our tracks from some long-ago ride, snake across the roadbed and give the viewer a hint as to the scale of the rainbow-snake. This snake itself is an elevated version of a striped (as opposed to banded) California kingsnake, so called because its diet consists of other snakes, and which is also resistant to the venom of rattlesnakes. Combined with our shared status as California natives I felt this more than qualified it for the role of legendary rainbow hero-snake.

L-R: development of BE YOUR OWN RAINBOW across six months, revisited three times in my doodle journal.
T-B: The process thumbnails in my workbook. For large pieces such as this one I typically start with a pencil thumbnail to block out the elements of the picture, then a colored thumbnail (or several) to help me understand atmosphere. At the bottom is a revised blocking thumbnail with the snake drawn in pink to help distinguish it.

Details

Have a wonderful and defiant 2025. May your rainbow light the way for others and strike fear into the hearts of your enemies. And if it doesn’t, just channel your best kingsnake and eat them!

Thanks as always to my CSA family, whose dedicated support enables me to take on heart-projects such as this one. You are all my rainbows!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider joining my Community Support Artistry program. Members get detailed work in progress updates, monthly short stories, and at the higher tier they can receive prints and books as well. They also get to see the evolution of large pieces like this one from the first spark to the finished illustration. It’s only $3 to try it for a month, and you can join via Ko-Fi, Patreon, or directly through my website. I hope to see you on my team!

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Previous Zodiac Years…

Year of the Tiger 2022
Year of the Rabbit 2023
Year of the Dragon 2024