Dreamcatchers were originally created by the Ojibwa tribe as a charm meant to protect children from bad dreams. Bad dreams would become caught in the web and would disintegrate in the light of the morning sun, while good dreams would pass through the hole in the center.(summarized from Wikipedia)

I originally intended to paint the ‘nightmares’ caught in the web, but they just didn’t seem to fit in the composition. After much experimentation and deliberation, I chose to leave them out, and up to the imagination.
I’ve wanted to paint this image for years…it comes from a time in my life when I felt very much alone and was going through some very rough times. I had trouble sleeping and was plagued by nightmares, but I had a dear old cat who, when he slept next to me, kept the bad dreams away.
This painting is for Wikkit.

Painting reference for dreamcatcher: “http://vixen21-stock.deviantart.com/”;
Light beam brush used from: “http://www.obsidiandawn.com/”;