I am very late adding blog posts about my most recent paintings. But I figured better late than never! This was the last oil painting I had completed before my maternity leave ended. From the end of the summer when I painted “My Heart is a Myth” about vulnerability and shadow work I fell into a phase of desire and longing.

hunger oil painting magical realism fox moss girl christina ridgeway

I got to see/hear/read many interesting and unique explanations of what this painting meant to others. Including domestic abuse cases and tales of friendship. I always love how art can be truly open to the viewer to bring their own meaning and their own story to the imagry on the canvas.

In truth this painting envolved and changed as it went along. The original thought of her being on the forest floor, without a fox, was a feeling of being trapped somewhere and unable to escape. But as I got to the sketching phase that didn’t feel right anymore.

detail shot of the fox

Strangely, the summer before I painted this, I kept seeing foxes on the road all the time. Even though I live surrounded by nature – I don’t see foxes that often. I wanted to know about the symbolism of a fox and what it’s cultural ancient meaning was. Truth is, they have many and varied connotations. I wanted to explore the vixen aspect as I wanted to make a painting not about being trapped but about longing and desire.

detail shot of the girl face portrait

I won’t dive too deep into the specifics, I am sure everyone on this planet has wanted something so much it hurt. I appreciate all the wonderful comments and feedback on this painting. The original has already sold and now resides in a private collection in NM <3