The Nisse Mother Clock

A HILL-HAG LOOKS OUT from where she crouches underneath a tree whose roots entangle her white hair. 

Amongst the roots also hide Nisse - small red-capped Norwegian gnomes, and outside beyond the hill, dusk is coming in. I can hear crows. 

The hill-hag who is older than the hill, or perhaps, even, is the hill, crouches there patiently. Her large hands tending a brew which bubbles inside a double horse-headed cauldron over an underground fire.

Only the Nisser know what aeons of ingredients the hill-hag sprinkles into the brew, but it's a time-turning concoction, and the magic is more ancient than I can say.

This is the latest Once Upon O'Clock to come from my busy paintbrushes. It was made for Alette Thorsnes in Norway who asked for a clock wound up in Norwegian folklore, old wise women, trees and Nisser, and this is what I conjured.

I was particularly pleased with this gnarled northern scene, and so decided to turn it into prints, which I don't normally do with the clocks, as I don't think they always work without their hands and numbers.

You can buy small prints of this Nisse Mother and larger archival giclée prints here, which will be joined by some other new giclée prints over the coming days, so keep your eyes open.

My clock order list is shortening slowly, but I'm still not taking on any new clock orders until all those outstanding are done, and I'll let you know here when that day comes, though at the rate I paint, by then my hair might not look dissimilar to hers...