Strange feelings assail me as I settle down to introduce this latest entry of "Gems By Lamplight". It has been seventeen months, almost to the day, since entry #18 : even by my rather low standards, this is undeniably a slowdown, which can be attributed to many reasons, but makes me look with something like nostalgia at the good old days of 2015-2016 (the digital age seems to accelerate everything, including the lapse of time before one is reasonably entitled to feel nostalgia), when I was most active on DA. In the same vein, perusing the older entries of "Gems By Lamplight", I am a bit saddened by the number of deviants I have featured in th

The time is ripe for a new entry of "Gems By Lamplight" (this is all a matter of critical mass, really). This review of personal favourites kicks off strongly with DavidSchermann (https://www.deviantart.com/davidschermann)'s fascinating fall from grace, GabrielWigren (https://www.deviantart.com/gabrielwigren)'s wonderful rocky coast -- a reminder of summers past and a herald of summers yet to come -- and LePtitSuisse1912 (https://www.deviantart.com/leptitsuisse1912)'s deceptively simple picture of harmonious permanence. Next, TomTC (https://www.deviantart.com/tomtc) brings us a vibrant evocation of the exhilaration at the start of a journey, while UdoChristmann (https://www.deviantart.com/udochristmann) brilliantly captures the particular atmosphere of a small French town. Vladimir-Kireev (https://www.deviantart.com/vladimir-kireev) is living proof that "they don't make them like that an

And so it happened that, as the days were slowly getting longer and warmer, the 17th entry of "Gems By Lamplight" came into being... If this new dawn is heralded by videodude1961 (https://www.deviantart.com/videodude1961)'s quietly hopeful capture of industry in the great outdoors, a darkening of the soul soon follows with MarkTurtoo (https://www.deviantart.com/markturtoo)'s fascinating picture of a lone fire in a forest, while Vitskog (https://www.deviantart.com/vitskog)'s trip down memory lane is suffused with bittersweet beauty. The new Star Wars films may have cost a dragon's treasure to make, but it has been worth it, if only for winter-herdiscontent (https://www.deviantart.com/winter-herdiscontent)'s marvellously moving art. Next, Enyril (https://www.deviantart.com/enyril) skilfully portrays mournful anguish under an uncaring sky, i (https://www.deviantart.com/i)