Sunday 30 May 2010

Recurring mermaids

If there's a theme that's recurring frequently in my work (this week's prompt at MMM) it has to be mermaids, and what's most interesting about these sea sirens is that most times they are never what I intended to create. They just sort of appear, rather like their mythical counterparts.

Take this purple creature. I was sitting on a balcony facing the sea last week watching the sun set and searching for a little artistic inspiration. I began by loosely copying a fabric pattern from a magazine but it lacked interest. However, I had planned for this and so with a swish of water rubbed in with fingers, the watersoluble wax pastels began to lift from the page and form little pools of colour. A squish of the pages together left and a delightfully soft mix of deep sea colour that just called out to be... well... mermaid... I drew her in with coloured pencils.

Other mermaids have grown from the page unexpectedly too. One began life as an angel, but she kept getting her wings wet. Another's dress took on such a scaled effect that she slithered off the page into the water before I could catch her. And a third simply wasn't happy until I'd painted out her legs and dripped diamond and pearl drops into her beautiful mane.

Of course, one shouldn't restrict ourselves to the female of the species. Here's a rather handsome merman I made last week too!


24 comments:

  1. this is neat...a mermaid drawing, which is cool btw! and a little mini merman!

    lol

    thanks for sharing!

    ciao bella
    creative carmelina

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  2. Ooh.... the mermaid and the colors are wonderful!! The little guy..... he's a doll!!!

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  3. Love the colors and your little merman is divine too! What fun you had! I'm so happy for you both.

    Smiles

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  4. I love your colour choice with your mermaid...as well as the long, flowing hair! :)

    Happy Sunday!

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  5. What a handsome merman you have there! Can I order one??? :D

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  6. Gorgeous drawing and such a cool photo!

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  7. Wonderful mermaid piece!

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  8. Unbelievable Lisa.
    Love them.

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  9. Oh, I love the colors--looks like watercolors--both are great your mermaid AND merman :)

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  10. My favorite is the merman! He's perfect! He looks like he is having so much fun. Your mermaid is beautiful,love her hair and the splashes of color,very cool effect.Also wanted to say thank you for your sweet comments on my blog,they always make me feel so good :)

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  11. I think you should draw a little merman next.
    I can't imagine what would make a mermaid happier than that!
    Xo

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  12. oh what a fun post and so neat to have mermaids recurring in your amazing work!!!

    but the piece de resistance...is the cutest merman pic ...what a fun shot!!!

    Have a wonderful week!!!

    Hugs
    Diana

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  13. What a pretty mermaid! i'm making pendants with mermaids too!
    was that little merman in Greece with you? he's cute!!
    xoxo

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  14. What a wonderful way to create, and you are right, mermaids are lovely entities to draw.

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  15. Love your mermaid and I think you have one of the cutest little merman I have ever seen!
    Inka :)

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  16. Beautiful! And the story behind it much the same. Nicely done!

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  17. Beautiful drawing and yes a wonderful recurring theme for you. We always need to look for our totems or serendipitous symbols and play with them. This is lovely art!

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  18. Oh, how special!!! And I love your "live" mermaid too!!! What a great blog and love your work!
    HUGS,

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  19. Oh, these are just wonderful! I love your piece here - and how it came to be organically - that's the magic of art I believe. Beautiful work and murboy, Kristin xo

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  20. thank you for your lovely comment over on my blog. It really has been a pleasure to get to know you and your work via the experimental art e-course, I have LOVED every minute of it and it has brought brightness at times when things have felt a bit tough! :)

    Look forward to staying in touch.

    Amelia.x

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  21. Your mermaid is very beautiful, love the colours you have used! As for the merman, very coooool!! Dont they just love being buried in the sand! Ha ha!! Looks like you both enjoyed yourselves!!!

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  22. Happy Memorial Day Friend! I adore your blog & I'm so glad I found you. I look forward to following you through life's adventures!
    Smiles,
    Susie

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  23. It's a beautiful piece, Lisa, and I love the way your mermaids magically appear :-) Diane

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Thank you for your comments - I always love to hear what you think :)

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