Isabel, A Young Witch
12x16 inches
Acrylic on panel
Original in private collection
Young witches go way back into my childhood imagination as well as horse and cats and such. I had a picture book about a young, clumsy witch named Dorrie, of the book series by Patricia Coombs. As an adult, a young witch named Tiffany Aching in ‘The Wee Free Men” by Terry Pratchett captured my imagination, and I became a die-hard Discworld fan.
My daughter Isabel was an excellent model for this painting. She is a bit of a witch herself (but she can’t help it, it runs in the family). We come from a line of strong women who once lived in the hills of Appalachia, and probably once in the hills of Scotland and the English countryside.