Hey friends – here we are with the final piece in this collection! I had had many ideas for this piece… it is on the smaller size and it could’ve been another still life, the wolf man by the cliffs of Vilske Kleva, him together with the heroine on the cliffs…many different scenarios. But! Through discussions with friends I realized I was way off base.

The heroine needed her comeuppance. I have written an entire write up about the collection, so you can see how her story progressed to this point. Check it out here if you are interested!

girl with wolf skin star cloak in forest oil painting Absolution by Christina Ridgeway

One has to see the entire collection to understand where this painting comes from. Throughout this series she has had this entangled relationship with the wolfman, often times to her disadvantage. I wanted to show in the final piece that she achieved her victory. And what better way of doing that than parading the wolfman as a cloak through the forest haha wink

Close up of girl and wolf cloak Absolution oil painting by Christina Ridgeway

It may seem brutal, to kill her once lover. However, this is all symbolism. It is about more than one person or one situation. This entire collection has been about temptation and inner demons. So it is both external and internal forces she gains mastery over. There is no shame here, she isn’t burying these experiences in the ground… she wears them proudly. A mark of who she is and where she has come from.

detail of flowers and stars in absolution oil painting by christina ridgeway

It is why I painted Gentian flowers in her hand, to represent victory. This is her mastery over control from others and from her own self destructive patterns.

I am happy I got to end this collection on this note. It seems fitting and correct!

This piece is available through Galleri Melefors, if you’re interested in giving her a home feel free to contact them or me directly!

Thanks for following this journey with me!