First Place Winner: Paige Sullivan of Phoenix, Arizona

“Priestess With Young Wolves”

“Wolf of the Woods”

Dear Wolves,

These are my entries for your contest.

The pastel pieces is called “Wolf of the Woods.” Many centuries ago, wolves used to build dens in cornfields in Northern Europe (before they became extinct there) and when they would emerge from the cornfields to go hunting, they would be covered in leaves so people who saw them thought they were foliate wolves- like the Green Man- and so they called them the wolves of the woods. They believed they followed the Green Man in the Wild Hunt and were very superstitious of them.

The second pieces is called “Priestess With Young Wolves.” I originally painted this in 1990 and recently added some touchups. Some of the color is magic marker, so it will fade from time and continued exposure to sunlight.

I used to sell my art for a living, and this piece never sold- not even prints- so I thought you might like it!

Enjoy,

Paige Sullivan

Runners Up: Jeremy Michael and Emily Rose of Tuart Hill,
Western Australia

“Outrospective Wolf in Gloomy-Colour” (Jeremy Michael)

“Introspective Wolf in Technicolor” (Emily Rose)

wolvesbystrangers.com is announcing a temporary hiatus in order to refresh and renew its focus and energy, launch new advertising campaigns and collect more lupine art strangers. Fear not, friends. This is not the end…

The winner of the WBS birthday contest will be revealed on May 6th.

New WBS posts will resume on June 1st. Keep that artwork coming in!

Well, here we are. We’ve made it one full year together. I’m not one for pomp or frills; I don’t enjoy fanfare for its own sake, so I won’t draw this out or make a huge production of it all. Looking back at year #1, there’s only one thing I have to say: Thank you. None of this would be possible without the hundreds of generous and thoughtful strangers who selflessly participated in WBS. This isn’t the end; hopefully it’s just the beginning. But I thought that I owed all of you something a little out of the ordinary, something a little special. Today I contribute my own piece of artwork to the pile. It’s certainly not the greatest work in this very eclectic collection, and it doesn’t hold any vast significance other than the fact that it represents my sincerest gratitude, but I hope it will suffice…

Thanks again,

“J”

Many of you may remember Amuro’s work from a post back in September (#153 to be exact). It seems that nearly everyone who discovers WBS is quite taken with the work of this talented young lady, and many fans of the project instantly call upon post #153 as one of their favorites. I, myself, was so impressed with Amuro’s work that I used one of her pieces as the “face” of the WBS Kickstarter campaign (Ultimately the campaign did not reach its goal, but that is neither here nor there). Anyway, it’s easy to see why Amuro’s work is appealing to so many people across the board: there’s an emotional content present in each painting that pours over the brim of what most of us are used to, and thus we are instantly captivated. It seems that each piece is born out of some cathartic experience, some deep joy, some sharp pain, some poignant loss, some inner struggle. Although we may not know the specific inspiration for each of her works, we are touched by the sentiment and we make them our own. We often like to hide the fact that we are emotional beings, but when we encounter something that is simply too stirring to be denied, we become more alive than ever. This, in essence, is what Amuro’s work brings out in me… and I hope it does the same for you.

(Amuro states on her deviantart page that the title of this work is “Wish I had an Angel” which was taken from a song by Nightwish.)

Congratulations to Bria for contributing the single largest illustration that WBS has received in its 14 months of existence. It has taken me quite a while to get around to posting this fantastic picture, but when I realized that the end of year #1 was just around the corner, I knew that it was time for this piece to take center stage.

Sometimes it’s the subject matter that sets a masterpiece apart, and at other times it’s something else altogether. In this instance, the defining feature of this piece is its medium. There’s something mysteriously freeing about the unencumbered nature of a pastel marker; something playful and whimsical; something classic and yet uniquely ephemeral. As I was standing over this illustration and preparing to photograph it, a strange thought occurred to me: With one simple swipe of my palm, I could smear, distort and forever erase this amazing work resting on the table before me. I could smudge the lines. I could smear the image…. with one smooth motion.

Of course, I would never do such a thing, but just knowing that this work is so delicate and fragile, so fleeting, brings to mind questions about this project’s stamina and permanence. Where will we go? Where will year #2 take us. Is this only the beginning? Do we stand on the doorstep of a great adventure? Have we even taken the first step… Or is the final destination right around the next corner? I suppose that only time will tell….

While this picture does not represent an original wolf illustration from a stranger, it is a gift from a young lady named Emily who happened to find this poster in a local thrift store. I was so pleased when I opened the package that I instantly grabbed some tape and posted it up on the wall. I guess it just goes to show that one man’s trash truly is another man’s treasure. Thanks, Emily.

When I examine this stunning illustration by Hannah, I can’t help but to be swept back in time to the genteel countryside of England during the Victorian Era. It was a time when breeding and sophistication took center stage; a time of widespread cultivation outward appearances of dignity and restraint while underneath a seething cauldron of passion and emotion was boiling; a time of great pride in both the upper and lower classes and extreme prejudice from each unto the other. And of course, it is out of all of these social phenomena that Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin was born. Seeing as how most of you are familiar with the work, I won’t waste time in rehashing the storyline here, but I do think it is interesting to connect the Victorian sophistication observed in this picture with the overarching themes of the book and then to tie the title of the book back into the nature of the wolf itself. In essence, the qualities of pride and prejudice define the wolf all too well. It is a creature of great strength and virility, and out of these qualities excude a certain dignity and honor. But in response, the world often views the creature through hostile eyes, serving up a healthy dose of judgment that creates the constant controversy over the animal. It’s the oldest battle: self-respect vs. discrimination. The battle ground is the hearts and minds of every man, woman and child? Which will reign victorious? Only time will tell….

Given the traditional yet mysterious association of wolves with sexual predation, it is not entirely surprising that this particular wolf is inquiring about little girls. After taking just a quick glance at the demented look in this creature’s eyes and examining his gaping, fang-filled maw, any individual in his right mind would surely take it upon himself to hide the members of his family that are closest to him in order to protect them from harm… especially his children. Interestingly enough, the human animal, much like the wolf, is a creature that can easily share the same aggression that we witness in this particular illustration. It’s somewhat fitting then that this picture achieves common ground with a recent viral video that touches on this subject. Take a look back at the famous interview with Antoine Dodson, and you’ll see what I mean.

From Durelle in Athens, Tennessee

In a world so obsessed with outer beauty, finding almost anything or anyone who possesses a radiance that emanates from within can sometimes feel like a challenge. Some people are beautiful and desirable on the outside while vapid underneath, and others, while disheveled or unfavorable in their appearance, may possess an astounding beauty that goes unrecognized because our vision cannot reach beyond the exterior.

What I love about this illustration from Durelle is that it seems to comment on that ongoing conflict between inner and outer beauty. While this wolf is visually appealing in a way that most others could only dream of achieving, we know that the value on the creature is not limited to its external decoration. For all its outer magnificence, if what lies underneath is not just as beautiful, then this creature is nothing more than a sham. In the case of this particular wolf, however, I like to believe that what we are seeing is the true grandeur of the animal shining through from the inside with such force that it simply cannot be contained. And I like to use that assessment as inspiration for my own life. I like to believe that true internal beauty will always win out eventually (if we feed that part of ourselves enough) and that we, like this wolf, may be so full of internal exquisiteness that it just bubbles over in a dazzling display of pure wonder. Also, I like to try to observe this in others because there is nothing more touching than feeling like you are actual seeing into a person. So the next time you meet someone, whether it’s the clerk at a grocery store or a new friend of a friend, try to see beyond the external… Look for the internal luminosity begging to shine through… You may be surprised at what you find, and it may lead you to become a new person yourself.

From Kristyn in the Czech Republic

Taken from Wikipedia: The Czechoslovakian Wolfdog (or Vlčák/Vlčiak) is a relatively new breed of dog that traces its original lineage to an experiment conducted in 1955 in Czechoslovakia. After initially breeding 48 working line German Shepherds with 4 Carpathian wolves, a plan was worked out to create a breed that would have the temperament, pack mentality, and trainability of the German Shepherd and the strength, physical build, and stamina of the Carpathian wolf. The breed was engineered to assist with border patrol in Czechoslovakia but were later also used in search and rescue, schutzhund, tracking, herding, agility, obedience, and drafting. It was officially recognized as a national breed in Czechoslovakia in 1982.