Like many Poison Path plants, wolfsbane has quite a wonderful mythology. It's associated with the goddess Hekate and supposedly sprang to life from the foam from the mouth of Hades' three-headed dog, Cerberus. I enjoy the complex, hood-like shape of Aconites and have long wanted to paint them. I decided to start with wolfsbane, as it feels especially magical to me. Classical Golden Age still lifes often include bones and insects to indicate how ephemeral life is. I chose to extend the wolf motif and created a (very very large) wolf spider and a wolf skull (no wolves were harmed in the painting of this skull!). I used the Flemish technique of multiple paint layers to construct the painting. This is my third still life in the traditional style, and I think I am getting the hang of it. 

The original oil painting is 9 x 12"/23 x 30cm on panel and is ready to frame. The giclee print is 9 x 12"/23 x 30cm on archival paper and is ready to frame.