Original artwork description:

This painting addresses the cycle of life and the necessity of death for regeneration.

The fox holds a tiny dead rabbit in its mouth. A drop of blood falls from the rabbit onto the ground, where it impregnates the soil, running through the golden roots of the tree, producing life and growth. The shape of the drop of blood is echoed in the large, golden seed, which sprouts the tree. The tree, in turn supports an abundance of life in the form of colourful birds, which fill its branches and the air around.

The fox's act of killing the rabbit, though cruel, is necessary. The title of the painting, 'The Offering', likens the fox's act to a religious sacrifice; in this case the fox is simply playing his allotted part, sacrificing the rabbit to the power of nature and regeneration.

The painting is on an oak panel, prepared with gesso. The golden seed has been modelled into relief in gesso and then gilded. The foliage of the tree has been gilded before painting and the leaf pattern scratched through the paint to reveal the gold beneath. The paint was hand made, using dry pigments ground in egg yolk tempera.

The painting is signed and dated on the revers and has a d-ring attached so that it is ready to hang.

Materials used:

oak, gesso, gold leaf, pigments, egg tempera

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