KITCHEN & HALLOWEEN WITCHES

The Kitchen Witch Doll ~ from www.witchipedia.com:

It is considered good luck for both the giver and the receiver of a Kitchen Witch Doll when it is given away as a gift. Her presence in the kitchen is said to bring good luck and to prevent kitchen disasters, such as burnt food and pots boiling over as well as to inspire creativity in the cook. She also protects the household from negative energies that may be directed at them by other people.

A Kitchen Witch Doll is a tradition that originated in Eastern Europe - Germany and Scandinavia, in particular. The doll is often a stereotypical crone, often overweight with a ridiculously large nose riding on a broom, though variations do exist. The broom may be replaced by a wooden spoon, a whisk or some other kitchen implement. The appearance of the witch varies as well.

My version of a Kitchen Witch is evolving from one that I painted on a rock...

...to a 6" one that I partially painted on paper:

I decided it was too small. If I want to put in lots of details and be able to print it on larger items like canvases or shirts, then the original artwork needed to be bigger. So I started again on board that is 8x10, using up most of that 10 inches.

This is a refined pencil sketch:

I thought it would be great if you could see the back of the witch. I was looking at a Santa I had painted where his bag of toys was painted on the back.  I could do that with the witch too.

Here is the Santa rock I painted where you can see his bag   of toys on the back:  (I will be repainting Santa to sell as well.)

...so I sketched my witch's back view:

...and I sketched some possible add-ons. I am planning on a Halloween Witch, A Kitchen Witch and a couple of special witches for gifts for friends:

There will be a broom behind the Halloween witch with a cute, black cat hanging from it! 

Sorta like this:

Front and back. Color being added.

My friend, Mary, suggested the red boots. Nice suggestion!!

I painted the witch's face last week and felt that I had "over-painted". I wasn't happy with her new face. So today, I fixed her lips. I thought they made her look older.  Below is the before and after. I smoothed her skin a little too. 

Here is her back with the broom added. 

Still a Work In Progress. 

More tomorrow!