La Befana...

The folklore of La Befana, also known as the Christmas Witch, hails from parts of Italy. Flying through the air, La Befana delivers presents and candy to the good children and lumps of coal to the naughty. She's basically Santa, but an old woman riding a broom (that has the power to sweep away the problems of the previous year). Hold the milk and cookies. La Befana prefers wine and cakes.

Some depictions show her as a filthy, soot-covered hag who wears rags and a scowl. I decided to paint my version. She's usually shown dirty, because she can fly down chimneys. But, I figure, if you have a spell to slip through heating ducts, you must have a spell to keep clean. I wanted to show her as colorful and benevolent, as the stories about her. I've added this painting to my Society6 shop and have uploaded several different products with this painting on it. Take a look! There are also several other different holiday themed pieces in this collection.

"La Befana" by Andrew Thornton, 2019