carpathian brownies

Shishok — a variety of the house spirit in Slavic mythology, generally a harmless supernatural being, endearing yet somewhat feral, closely bound to the village dwelling, more precisely to the barn or other traditional outbuildings, which sets him apart from the domovoi. A spirit and guardian of the homestead. In childhood I once attended a children’s play entitled ShishOk, and was so deeply moved by its tender atmosphere that I later felt compelled to pour my impressions onto paper — by means of watercolor. In those distant years there was not even talk of computers, let alone artificial intelligence. Thus the image is entirely traditional. Despite the tender age of the author at the time of its creation, I still consider it relevant today, all the more since house spirits are timeless phenomena. I now present it to the public as the beginning of a series devoted to ethnic mysticism.
the second one is the illustration for the Gregory Oster book "Petka the microbe" (Петька - микроб)