Oil painting - White fox shrine

In Japanese folklore, the white fox is the companion of the god Inari (稲荷神). This god is in charge of agriculture and harvest. Therefore his companion or messenger, the white fox, is a positive and welcome figure. The reason is that fox hunts the mice and rats which are bad for crops.

The concept for this sketch is that a divine white fox simply rests at the bottom of a giant tree, inside the shrine territory. It could live here or it could just stop by. The red eyeliner and mark on forehead are to distinguish the fox from regular foxes.