I seem to be expanding upon an unconscious theme of mythic shapeshifter portaiture. A series of similar imagery and subject matter connects this piece with By Standing Stone and Twisted Tree, Amid a Sea of Lanterns, Deerwoman, and Twilight Song of the Swan Maiden among other examples of my more recent artwork. Many of these aforementioned pieces began in a similar manner: as an idle sketch that subsequently desired more attention, which is also how this piece began.

In this case, my subject is a Batwoman with quite a lovely pallor. What sets this particular piece apart from its sisters is that this shapeshifter actually has a name apart from its archetype. While paging through a copy of the National Audobon Society Field Guide to North American Mammals for bat anatomy reference, I discovered a particular species known as Rafinesque's Big-eared Bat (Plecotus rafinesquii) and immediately knew that Rafinesque was to be her name. Despite the conclusions one might jump to after noting her delicate little fangs, she is (generally) not of the blood-sucking variety. She, along with her real namesake, typically lives on a diet of insects, especially moths, and in fact she carries a little noonday snack in a glass bauble pinned to her garment. Since dawn is approaching, she is readying to drape herself in her wings and wait for slumber until the following dusk. (I should mention that one's perspective is everything in this piece! ;-})