I wanted a night scene with some magic added to it, so I created this painting in acrylic on canvas. It shows the full moon over an autumn Beech forest, which I find rather fitting since I celebrate Alvablot in November.

The elf shot resembles ball lightning, shooting across into the distance through the forest. Now, trollskott and Elf shot don’t mean exactly the same thing, but both work for this painting. A trollskott, or Troll Shot, is a form of magical attack made by a witch or other person working magic. You would draw an image of your enemy on paper and then shoot at the image. Whereas an Elf Shot is a name used for sudden pain, believed to have been caused by the elves. It was also used for Neolithic arrowheads, attributed to the elves, and believed to be used by witches to cause injury. The one thing they do have in common is that they’ve been used to explain diseases and pain with no apparent cause.

I had first planned to add a man being hit by the shot but in the end, he didn’t fit into the scene.

Size: 50 x 40 x 1.5 cm