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Description
This image depicts another Japanese fairytale titled the "White Fox." If I remember correctly the story revolved around a mysterious fox that in one version of the story wore a magical amulet around its neck. It had been pursued relentessly by a group of hunters before it finally collapsed in exhaustion. A young man soon found the poor Fox, and understanding it's predicament, then proceeded to hide it away so the hunters would give up their search, as shown in my illustration.

The story then told how the fox, who was indeed no ordinary fox, transformed herself into a beautiful maiden, one that sought out the man who saved her, married him, and later bore him a young son.

The story's ending was bitter sweet however, at least judging by one variation of the tale. In truth, the fox had disguised herself as a maiden that the man already loved. However she had been captured and taken to a faraway land and he believed that she was lost to him forever. The fox originally had only wanted to repay him for his good deed, and her change was only meant to be for a short time. However she eventually fell in love with the man herself. Even so, the magic was fated to end.... Before that time, however the fox found the real woman in which she resembled, and before the spell dissolved completely, she was able to reunite them. She then wrote the man a letter explaining the situation to him, and she begged both the man and woman to care for her child for she would never be able to revert to human form again.....

I found the legend to be rather compelling, and I was immediately inspired to paint a piece or two. As always the image was drawn in pencil on cold press water color paper and then painted with opaque water color paints.

Description
This image depicts another Japanese fairytale titled the "White Fox." If I remember correctly the story revolved around a mysterious fox that in one version of the story wore a magical amulet around its neck. It had been pursued relentessly by a group of hunters before it finally collapsed in exhaustion. A young man soon found the poor Fox, and understanding it's predicament, then proceeded to hide it away so the hunters would give up their search, as shown in my illustration.

The story then told how the fox, who was indeed no ordinary fox, transformed herself into a beautiful maiden, one that sought out the man who saved her, married him, and later bore him a young son.

The story's ending was bitter sweet however, at least judging by one variation of the tale. In truth, the fox had disguised herself as a maiden that the man already loved. However she had been captured and taken to a faraway land and he believed that she was lost to him forever. The fox originally had only wanted to repay him for his good deed, and her change was only meant to be for a short time. However she eventually fell in love with the man herself. Even so, the magic was fated to end.... Before that time, however the fox found the real woman in which she resembled, and before the spell dissolved completely, she was able to reunite them. She then wrote the man a letter explaining the situation to him, and she begged both the man and woman to care for her child for she would never be able to revert to human form again.....

I found the legend to be rather compelling, and I was immediately inspired to paint a piece or two. As always the image was drawn in pencil on cold press water color paper and then painted with opaque water color paints.