- Published on
The Wildling
“The Wildling” - oil on Yupo, 14 x 23 inches. This item is sold unmounted and unframed. (Click on the image to purchase)
Ebba’s very existence was a matter often debated among children, especially around the campfire or at a sleepover after dark.
There wasn’t a single human who could say they had actually seen Ebba. Sure, pies and potatoes went missing. The henhouse sometimes had no eggs in the morning. Random bits of beads and feathers were left in their place - as payment, perhaps? Oh, there was more than one youngster who was double-dog-dared to stay up all night in the yard in hopes of catching a glimpse of the elusive wildling. Inevitably, sleep overtook each one who tried. But someone, something covered the sleeping youth with straw, moss and leaves.
It was enough to give them goosebumps, but no explanations.
About the art: once more I find myself playing with flat color and bold contrast, trying to push the limits of darks and lights and marry them with muted flat tones. The Yupo allows many washes and layers of color in silky smoothness, but also lets me scratch and carve back into the paint easily to create texture.
Somehow I image myself as Ebba when we're hiking in the wilderness - sprouting horns, ears lengthening and softening, hair becoming (more) scraggly and stringy. It is an oft repeated theme in my work - wildlings, wild child, re-wilding. Methinks it is a rebellion against becoming overly civilized. :)
It's the July Reader Giveaway! Leave a comment (or more than one - each comment counts as an entry!) on any of this month's blog posts. At the end of the month, one (or more) lucky winners will be selected at random to receive a free piece of art. Huzzah!
What a painting. I’m mesmerized. I really have to dig up that Yupo I bought a while back and try it with oils.
I’m sure your hikes in the PNW with there rugged, beautiful mountainous and craggy views force the you to the surface. It waits in all of us. I think nature is the gateway to allow our real selves to come out and play for a bit. Sunlight, fresh air and mountain water can strip away the polished veneered versions of ourselves we normally show the outside world. It would be a better world if we all reverted to magical creatures once in a while.
And yes - the hikes and the regular immersion in the wilderness do bring up with wildling inside of me. Your words are exquisite: "strip away the polished veneered versions of ourselves". That's exactly what happens! Even the photos of myself that I post now are largely of me sweaty, hair undone, no make-up but filled with wild joy! It is so freeing.
"It was enough to give them goosebumps, but no explanations."
… OOOOOH yeah!
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Hey, wait a sec. You usually start your blog posts with quoted material that is attributed to its author. Are YOU the author here, getting the hair to raise up on our arms?
No matter what, wow.
YOU are the artist here and I LOVE the wildling in you that surfaces through your paintbrush.