Nine by kelogsloops on DeviantArt (original) (raw)

This painting was for an exhibition back in 2020, Fantastical Beasts. I wanted to depict the nine-tailed fox spirit, an East-Asian myth. To this day, I think it’s one of the coolest pieces I’ve done, so I’m excited about releasing it as a print

It’s believed the demon (known as kyubi in Japan or huli jng in China) is a shapeshifting entity that shifts between a charming woman and a demonic fox spirit that feeds on spirits of the living. I think of foxes as elegant animals, but the myth has this dark twist to them, so I was really drawn to this ‘two-faced’ notion. This idea of a creature exists along a fine line between something so beautiful, and yet something so evil. So, trying to portray the fine duality between its charming and its sinister nature was probably the most fun part!