Magical Mama

This scene of kitchen magic takes place in a fantasy Mediterranean land where old women work helpful magic with common household materials like sugar, flour, glass, and water. The original title for this piece was "Mother Marisa and the Fountain." I later simply called it "Magical Mama." The original location for this little fountain square was in Vence, France. I copied it from one of my countless books of Mediterranean architecture. I wanted to depict an old woman who was not a wicked witch nor a Pagan herbalist. In most of fantasy and comic book art, positive images of older women are taboo. Look for them and you will see. In Fantasy Art Land, women are either hot, barely clad, and young...or non-existent. In literature, they appear more often, such as the wonderful older women of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books. Interestingly, I had trouble selling this picture, and finally sold it to an older woman.

"Magical Mama" is acrylic on illustration board, 9" x 12", May-June 1989.