Flying Ointment

Original oil painting on deep canvas, painted area 40cm x 50cm

Framed (white painted wood tray frame)

This painting was inspired by the mythical connection between magpies and witches, together with the botanical ingredients for witches’ ‘flying ointment’.

Corvids have long held a fascination for me, and magpies are no exception. They are so full of life, so intelligent, and have adapted so well to survive that they have time left over to play. Yet here in the UK they are often vilified – perhaps for their lack of deference, their cheekiness and will to survive (characteristics that only increase their appeal for me).

This led me to question how they are perceived by people in other cultures and times. I found lots of interesting facts and mythologies, but it was this one sentence from Scandinavian myth that inspired my painting: ‘in Scandinavia some witches rode magpies or turned into them’. A magpie as a shapeshifting witch? This got me thinking about the history of witches, and their ‘flying ointment’: ‘a hallucinogenic ointment said to have been used by witches in the practice of European witchcraft from at least as far back as the Early Modern period, when detailed recipes for such preparations were recorded’ (Wikipedia).

As I researched the ingredients for flying ointment, I found a wealth of fascinating and potentially deadly plants and flowers, including black henbane, deadly nightshade, henbane bell, mandragora, and jimson weed. I love these kinds of myths and historical facts, and in my mind these flowers formed a halo around the magpie, which is how my painting was born. So here she is – my witch-magpie wearing her flying ointment – radiant, powerful and mischievous.

You may also like Flying Ointment Limited Edition Giclée Print.