Turning history into little pieces of art with Petra Dufkova

Witch Trials in Jersey issue sheds a light on a darker moment of the island’s history. Due to the sensitive nature of the subject, it was important for us to ensure the artwork for the issue reflected the stories of those persecuted and the societal factors of the time rather than the novelty stereotypical depiction of a ‘witch’. 

When searching for an artist to commission for the series, we were keen to collaborate with someone who could bring to life our vision to combine an ethereal and feminine nature with realism rather than the more obvious mythical narrative. Petra Dufkova is an award-winning artist whose previous art portfolio matched perfectly with the depiction we wanted to create. 

During her teenage years, Petra made the decision to turn her love of art into a career. Drawing all day long from the age of thirteen, she went onto art school. Petra comments: “It was hard work at this age, but also a big dream of mine at the same time.”

Petra’s other passion aside from art is fashion. When asked about if she hadn’t become an artist, what other career would she be interested in, Petra said: 

“Definitely fashion! Before I went into illustration I studied at the renowned fashion school ESMOD in Munich. Believe me if you need a new dress I will be able to design and sew it. The only problem is I am better at drawing.”

Her love of experimenting with colours and materials while painting and drawing as a child complementing the lessons and tips Petra would learn during her time at the Arts Academy in Czech Republic. The type of materials she likes to work with the most when creating new art is watercolours and ink, saying: “The spontaneous and original fluidity that comes out of this process is always surprising to me. There is some magic in it because you can’t precisely predict what it finally looks like.”

Petra has always loved the work of Cecilia Carlstedt, David Downton and Joanna Layla. Her own style incorporates new techniques and experimenting with assorted designs, which is something many of the clients she works with have appreciated - even with the rise of AI most prefer the hand-painted artwork Petra handcrafts herself. 

Within Witch Trials in Jersey, it was hard to narrow down the individuals to highlight, which is why each of the accused that have been included represent a particular group. One lesser spoken group were male witches, highlighted in the stamp featuring Symon Vauldin. Speaking about which illustration was her favourite, Petra said: “Clearly the male witch! I have never heard of a man being involved in the witch trials. Being accused of having the same supernatural powers as female witches, I wanted him to look sensitive, vulnerable and beautiful.”

This was the first stamp issue Petra has illustrated and noted one of the challenges she faced in creating the artwork was illustrating hugely dramatic scenes while ensuring the story of each stamp wasn’t lost once the artwork was scaled down to size. 

As with all her commissions, Petra’s process is to conduct her own research. Speaking about what it was like to learn more about stamps and Jersey, she said: “A heavy dose of research went into studying historic articles, old sketches and paintings of witches as well as how stamps are created nowadays. The nicest thing was learning how beautiful Jersey is.”

Witch Trials in Jersey is available from 31 August 2025 and includes an array of philatelic products including a prestige booklet, which goes into greater detail about the trials, individuals involved and method of the trials.