A broken tulip

In Lexw Qwo:m forest, a sixth-grader looked dead in my eyes and told me that wolves are her favourite animal.

This painting’s dedicated to her. A few weeks ago, another sixth-grader at Deroche market told me that she painted a wolf: “with red eyes and fierce teeth.” I’ve been remembering my own creations at that age; handcrafted elves with bows and arrows that hunted wolves.

This painting isn’t terrifying enough to do justice to whatever it is that makes sixth-grade girls love wolves, but I hope it still holds some of that fierceness. It’s called “Generations” because of the second wolf that appears, yellow, in the background. If you’ve been around, you know that I write often about inherited ideas about womanhood.

The background of this canvas is a cynanotype print of ferns picked from the forest where I met the girl who asked me to paint a wolf. The whirling leaves, in every colour, add a bright folklore feeling.

This painting is 16 1/4 in by 20 in, and is on canvas board. It’s on sale for $200 (shipping not included). Email me at abrokentulipinbox@gmail.com if you’re interested!