This piece is based on an old live oak stump I discovered while hiking in the Nicasio area, Marin County, California. It also plays off the word crone, has been somewhat reclaimed in feminism and neo-paganism as a symbol of mature female wisdom and power. The Crone Goddess or dark mother is the last aspect of the Triple Goddess, together with the Mother and the Maiden she represents part of the circle of life. In her positive aspect she is often depicted as a Grandmother, a wise woman, or a midwife. In the Middle Ages the church feared these wise women and the esteem with which their communities held them. Many of them were killed during the Inquisition and the wise woman of old was relegated to the Wicked Witch and Hag Archetype of our fairy tales. This is a corruption of the original meanings of the word witch and hag which respectively derived from the word wit, denoting wisdom and hagio meaning holy.

Many of my newer tree based works have been inspired by reading the book “The Overstory” by Richard Powers. It blew my mind in so many countless ways - educating, fascinating and soul crunching.

Recently I’ve been concentrating on paintings of the California Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia), which is my favorite tree. It can grow to be over 100 feet tall and can live for almost 300 years. It’s gnarled and twisted growing habit contrasts beautifully against our Cali hills. Oak habitat is precious — and it continues to disappear. In the past seven decades, more than 1 million acres have been lost due to land development, wildfire, disease, harvesting for firewood, and other forms of habitat destruction. This is my way of paying homage to these magnificent trees, before they are all gone…

Size: 18” wide x 24” tall x 1.5” deep

Medium: Oil on cradled birch panel