Wickedly Wolfie - original painting

Wolves and witches are often the villains in fairytales. They are portrayed as dark characters that trick the main characters and try to do something wickedly awful to them. We fear them and we love them - for what story do we have without them?

In real life, wolves aren’t actually dangerous to us humans and in fact neither are witches. Early humans had a deep respect for wolves but as time progressed and farming and hunting became more important than protecting the Earth’s creatures, wolves became severely endangered.

Witches have been associated with villainy since the early modern period in Europe when witch hunts were extreme and innocent women were often painted as evil and harmful.

Although imagined, fairytales are usually a reflection of culture and the beliefs of the time when they were written. The archetypal symbol of the witch can represent a threat to innocence, family and social order or portray ‘negative’ female stereotypes such as vanity and a desire for power, which was very much frowned upon for women back in those days.

However both wolf and witch stereotypes and symbolisms have progressed and evolved over the years. Witches are now often seen as wise women, healers or powerful confident magic women. We are now learning the value of protecting and saving wolves and know that they aren’t the nasty characters that many stories have painted them to be.

This painting incapsulates symbolism from several well-known tales from the books of Grimm. With the so-called villain figure in the forefront of the painting (the wolf -witch), it gently invites you to explore what response these archetypes conjure for you. The friendly wolf face beckons you to think of these stories in ways you may not have thought of them before.

Wicked has three meanings: Evil or morally wrong; Playful or mischievous; and excellent or wonderful. This wolfie definitely falls into the last 2 categories!

Painting Details:

• Acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas
• Ready to hang
• 650 x 450 mm 

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