Mermaids Song and La Bella Sirena

Mermaids Song

I woke one morning and decided to do a mermaid painting.  What is there about the mystical creature half human being and half fish?  She is the mighty sea goddess that protects the depths of the sea.  Sailors saw them in the waves.  Ran, as she is known in Scandinavia, Sedna, the goddess of the sea and honored by the Inuit people and Yemoja is the mother of all waters on earth in Nigeria, Central America, Haiti and Cuba, to name a few.  So, this is one of my interpertations of the mermaid. 

The use of colorful papers, sheet music and metallic pigments started the work.  As it evolved, I looked for the perfect Maiden to add into the picture half watercolor and half acrylic paints.  She is surrounded by the fish as if they are her pets.  This was a fun painting because it was easy to paint.  I had several mermaids to work with from life drawing.  This one was a cut out of watercolor paper as is the next.

 In this group of work, I did 3 mermaids and 2 of them will be in the show. 

  

La Bella Sirena

This painting is the largest one in the show.  I imagined the mermaid swimming to shore to sit  on a rock and watch the sunset.  The stars are popping out of the sky, the sun has already set.  There is a sailboat and people in the boat.  From my collection of stamps, I found a dolphin and sea turtle.  There is also a lighthouse stamp.  The waves crash on the rock and she looks to the sailboat.  A seagull fllies over.  She is more traditional, her tail more fishlike.  I imagine that she will jump into the sea and follow the boat until the sky is completely dark.  Then again, perhaps she will watch for all the stars to come out on this dark clear night and then depart to go back to her home. 

The work on this canvas was painted many layers to achieve rich color.  This was a week in progress.  The painting and contributing elements were researched even the stars, you see the big dipper and surrounding stars.  Inspiration came from trips to the ocean.  Pismo Beach is only 8 miles from the house and the color of the ocean seems to change with the light.  Sometimes I wonder if the surfers see visions as they paddle to catch the waves.