"Sleeping Beauty - The Dreams of Briar Rose"

oil on canvas 30" x 36"

In a far away land, long ago, a grateful King and Queen’s wish was granted when they gave birth to a daughter.  They named her Aurora, after the dawn, because she filled their lives with sunshine. But to their horror, a jealous fairy named Maleficent put a terrible curse on the infant princess.  Before the sun set on her sixteenth birthday, she would prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die. While not being as powerful as Maleficent, one of the three good fairies had enough magic to change the curse from death to a sleep that could be broken by true love. The King, taking no chances, had all the spinning wheels destroyed and had the three good fairies take Princess Aurora into the countryside and raise her as a peasant girl, hiding her from the evil fairy and her powerful curse.  They called her Briar Rose and never told her of her royal lineage. Briar Rose grew into a beautiful and gracious young lady under the ever watchful eyes of the doting fairies, but her heart ached for something more than the isolated life in which she was raised. Since she was forbidden to speak to or meet any strangers, she spent her days picking berries and dreaming of that special someone, a tall and handsome prince, who would hear her longing voice and take her in his arms.  Briar Rose shared these dreams, which seemed all too real to her, with all of her forest friends. *

* Written and composed by Danny Day

Princess Series Art Gallery

Oil Paintings of Real Life Fairytale Princesses