It's hairy and it's got lots of legs...

Don't you just hate that moment when your eye tells your brain that something's not quite right about the bath... that there's something standing out starkly against the white enamel that just shouldn't be there... The hairs on the back of your neck begin to stand on end, your body tenses and you prepare for fight or flight... or maybe in my case, grabbing the nearest beaker and sheet of card.

What is it with the giant house spider and the bath tub? Are they particularly clean creatures? Do they like the smell of my bubble bath and fancy a hot soak? Or... much more sinisterly... do they desire a bite on my ankle, then a quick run up my leg heading for the face? EEK! I'm scaring myself!

Despite my fear of those many legs running across my flesh, I always take the second bravest option to deal with the intruder. The first is naturally just to ignore it and celebrate the fact that it eats flies (and was used by my ancestors as a cure for Malaria and Leprosy... apparently... I read it in a book - you had to eat them!). My preferred method is to approach with trembling hand and nausea and place a cup (or bowl, depending on size of creature) over its many legs, poison-dripping fangs and hairy body; then I slice a sheet of card underneath and carry into the garden hoping a passing bird may take a fancy... This release back into the wild is always done at arms length with a bolt back through the door and deadlocks applied. Heart beating wildly I'll return, shaking and covered in a sheen of fear.

Spiders and I just don't mix. What possessed me to want to draw one is quite beyond me. I had intended to draw a pretty little birdie and was flicking through a nature book for inspiration; but then I got sidetracked by the Illustration Friday theme of 'scary' - influced by all these Halloween-themed programmes on TV -  so I drifted onto ideas of zombie crows until, these hairy legs just 'spoke' to me (in a sinister spider-like fashion naturally).

I kind of like the way it is unfinished and cropped close; makes you wonder what's going on and what move it's going to make next... It's looking right at you don't you know?

Posting too for Sunday Sketches. I'm sorry if I make you shiver and shudder!

Mysterious goings on...

Have you ever wondered what happens to the characters in a book when you close the last page? Do they actually sail off into the proverbial sunset living in a state of perpetual bliss or are they perhaps destined to just begin again at page 1?

Imagine being Cathy and Heathcliff and having to relive that nightmare existence over and over and over? How many times has poor little Oliver had to ask for more? For Scarlett tomorrow would never come and Bridget Jones... well, could her liver cope with that much wine?

Every time we read these stories our imaginations bring each character to life. We give them soul and meaning. We take their hand and lift them from words to create our own picture. We create life only to shut it away once we've drunk our fill of joy and sorrow, exhileration, passion and despair.

One day maybe they will revolt. Will Elizabeth Bennett mysteriously take real form from the words on the page dragging Darcy in her wake then dive into a copy of Dracula to add some bite to their life? I'd have to caution Miss Jones from entering Wuthering Heights. Heathcliffe is just the sort of wrong man she'd fall for! And Peter Rabbit should avoid the Fantastic Mr Fox for obvious reasons. Alice and the Hatter would be sure to have fun at Hogwarts and I'm sure that Sauron and Voldemort would have a great deal in common!

Or, once free, these characters may just prefer to hang out in the 21st Century spending time analysing our behaviour for a change - especially those who are the favoured texts of examiners. Frankenstein might be only to pleased to have a chance to explain why he is so misunderstood...

The idea for this post came from when this mysterious lady started taking shape from the pages of a romantic novel... She's for Illustration Friday's Mysterious theme. I rather like this whole train of thought. Think I'll do some more... Watch this space!

The Muse in disguise

It's funny, I've written so many posts about my Muse over the years, yet as soon as I find a writing prompt to do so, she deserts me. I can hear her now, laughing hysterically in the background, at my foolish belief that she'd bend to my will. Fickle creature. I have a cunning plan though... I will leave this post for a while and sneak back when she is least expecting...

You see the Muse might be her own woman, but she does have a tendency to turn up while you are creating. She's nosy. Once you've got her in your thrall then she just can't help giving you a little idea or inspiring thought here and there. Suddenly from nowhere, the word feather will appear and you'll realise it's just what you needed to finish your piece.

The Muse loves mermaids. Perhaps that's where she goes when sneaks off - to swim with sirens? This mermaid wanted to go to the Reef Masked Ball. It's a sumptous affair with everyone having a whale of a time proudly displaying their coral and pearl jewels. Melissa wanted to be a little different so had a word with Freddy the Flying Fish (he's well known to be able to procure anything and he owed Melissa a favour after she got him out of trouble with the loan shark).

Melissa's mask has feathers thanks to Freddy (probably best not to ask where he got them from... although have you seen that parrot without a tail?

Shh.... the Muse is back and she's in a playful mood...

We made this together but can't quite decide if we prefer the original (immediately above) or the one with a little PhotoShopped texture (up top). Freddy says he likes the first one, but he would as he supplied the texture.

It's disguise theme at Illustration Friday this week. We're sneaking in under cover...

A duet of adorable cute

It is with great honour that I share with you that today I shall become Godmother to my twin nieces. I am already Godmother to their sister. What a lucky lady I am.

They celebrate their first birthday this week too. A duet of adorable cute keeping their parents dancing. You can't look at them but shower them with hugs and kisses.

I would also like to share that this picture up top is at last the finished piece I have been working on for too long. I had despaired of ever having the perfect gift and, if you saw Friday's contribution to Paint Party Friday you will have learned the fate of versions I and II of this piece... It became an eye... That canvas just did not want to be a fairy, I am telling you. What can I say? I am weird!

There I was lying in bed this morning trying to convince myself of good reasons not to get up when I spotted the soothing portrait of Madonna and child that I have by Flor Larios. At last it came to me how my piece should look. I attribute this to Flor's wonderful style - you should pop by her websites and take a look if you are not familiar with her work.

Sharing this piece and the rather special one below for my nieces, Sunday Sketches and the perfectly appropriate Illustration Friday theme of Duet.

Let me present to you now Len and Sid. Firm childhood favourites, this little pair of scamps reside in the Blackberry Farm series of stories. My son and I thought a picture of them would be most appropriate for the other twins in our lives, and given the mischief they are apt to get up to, well we couldn't very well pass up the opportunity to turn them into a card now could we? I admit he had a little help... I sketched the outline and then, as it was for a very special occasion, let him loose with my Inktense pencils to colour in. We turned the pencil to paint together (I did the small bits!). He was over the moon when I said I would share his work of art on my blog!

Setting limits

I haven't joined in with the Wishcasting crew for months but felt particularly prompted when I saw the question this morning - What limits do you wish to set?

Limits is not really a word I carry around in my vocabulary. I prefer words that form sentences like - leap without looking and where angels fear to tread. But lately, I've come to the realisation that perhaps for my own sanity I need to set maybe one or two little ones here and there.

I think I've been pushing myself too hard. There's so much I wish to achieve, yet not enough hours in the day or, more realistically, energy in this mind and body. By trying to win at everything, I think I'm coming in a medicore average at all. Some focus wouldn't go amiss, a concentration on one thing at a time. My mind is a tangle of thoughts, ambitions and ideas all competing for attention and getting themselves mixed and messed up.

Night time offers no rest when dreams get mixed in with reality and I awake in a state of confusion. It took me a while to realise this morning that I hadn't actually just had dinner with the Queen, Princess Anne and the late Edward and Mrs Simpson. Edward and I shared a cheeky glass of vintage wine that he'd hidden from his father... Interestingly, the Queen and Princess Anne resembled their current selves but Edward looked like Guy Pierce... (guess what I watched at the weekend!). Colin Firth was strangely absent. Perhaps he was busy off being Mr Darcy in someone else's dream.

The illustration for this post was prompted by Illustration Friday's 'swarm' topic and the book I am reading - Of Bees and Mist by Erick Setiawan. One of the characters - Eva, a rather wicked woman carries a swarm of bees around her to torture those she seeks to influence. A kind of nagging annoyance that saps the spirit and bends you to her will.

My head feels like it has been infected by her bees at the moment and I think it's time they found someone else to bother - or better still, went back to the business of making honey - a far sweeter occupation. Is a bee invasion a warning that I'm reaching my limit?

Layers

No prize for guessing what movie I've been watching*. It was rather good... I'm not going to say any more than that because if you haven't pirouetted your way to seeing it yet, then it would certainly spoil it to say more than it's a film about a ballet dancer! Go see it and enjoy and let the director, cast and cinematography tell you its story.

Then, put on some Tchaikovsky, grab your artist materials and follow Nina and... let go...

Last week while on my photographic assignment - to capture some magic - I snapped a shot of the movie poster inside the British Film Institute. Tonight I drew... It was the first page of new sketchbook - all pristine, no paint sploshes, no crumpled sheets. Just 110 pages of delicious anticipation. What shapes and forms will appear over the coming months? What magic? What pain and disaster? (not much I hope, but we do learn from those!)

For Sunday Sketches - see what everyone else has sketched this week.

I thought it was also rather appropriate for Illustration Friday's 'layers' - once you see the film you'll know why...

*Postscript: If you don't know what I'm talking about - it's the new Natalie Portman film, Black Swan!

Sweet surrender

This piece really was total surrender. My head span with music and wine and I just painted with littlecare over end result. I was using an old canvas that I'd ripped some collage off and primed again with gesso. There was all manner of interesting textures left behind by the glues and papers. Layer after layer built her features and brought vibrant life to her surroundings.

What music do you think she is caught up in? Definitely something with fiery passion - I can definitely hear Spanish guitar... maybe some flamenco. The beat is hypnotic, she is at one with the magic it creates. She lives in the song. She surrenders to the rhythm and let's go...

I just love how a creative prompt - in this case Illustration Friday - Surrender - can pull the ideas from you. There's lots wrong with this painting. Her feathered hat looks a trifle odd (I bet you were wondering what on earth had died on top of her  head!). Her necklace doesn't quite sit with the correct angle of her body either - but hey, those rubies look pretty realistic!

Who cares! It was fun. I came. I saw. I surrendered and I'm very glad I did! I love art! Did I mention that before? Yeah, OK, only about a few times...!!

I'll probably keep tweaking. Would appreciate some suggestions on how to get her just right. What do you think?

Mixed media on canvas - primarily acrylics with some collaged sheet music.

Wishin and Hopin...

Lightbulb moments have been prevalent in this house today for, not only have we been watching Despicable Me... where the master villain utters utters this phrase repeatedly - but I had one myself. Clearly, watching kids' films is great for the Muse.

There I was ruminating over the Illustration Friday theme - dusty. I just didn't know what to do with myself. My mind wandered into old book shops with wizened old men sitting on stools in the corner surrounded by piles of dusty volumes... I dreamt of vintage bottles of vin rouge gathering a murky outside coating in the cellars of French Chateaux. I even contemplated sketching something in the dust on the TV. Until, at last the Muse rapped on the back of my eyelids then started singing something into the windmills of my mind. I think she was rather wishin and a hopin that I'd listen. She knows I'll try anything and, given that my weekly Sunday Sketch is beginning to have a theme of boundary pushing, then an attempt at an accurate portrait seemed perfect.

Have you guessed who it is yet? Does it look remotely like her?

Hmm, given the first batch of comments, I'm wondering if perhaps her fame didn't spread quite as far around the world as I'd thought!

Another clue? Well, I was listening to her songs on my iPod while I sketched her which was really rather wonderful. She serenaded me as (an approximation of) her face slowly appeared on the page. It is of course, Dusty Springfield!

I'm not chicken

It's coming something of a theme that my Sunday Sketch pushes comfort zones, so this week I decided could be no exception. Particularly when the theme at Illustration Friday also happened to be chicken! Come on, what you do?

I was also experimenting with a different sketching technique from Carla Sondheim's Drawing Lab (for Gumnut's work through of the book) - though I think it needs some serious perfecting! I drew a sketch of my bird on tracing paper, turned the paper over and brayered on some black acrylic paint. the instruction was then to draw over your sketch again to transfer the paint to your paper. Slight problem here... can you guess what? Graphite pencil over black disappears somewhat! Also, I didn't put enough paint on.

Take 2. Sketched my patient model again - who only paused to peck at the earth twice - this time I outlined my sketch with white oil pastel. Success! Still not enough paint though.

I'm not sure tracing paper was the best medium for this (or maybe, seeing as I wasn't actually using 'tracing' but 'greaseproof' paper...). Anyway, might try it again using thin plastic sheet - the kind that gives you a see through view of your cake in the supermarket!

Finished my little chickie off with some neo-colours. Rather rough and ready I'm afraid, but the cats were making her nervous so I had to hurry up!

Hares, ravens and perpetual tea

Sometimes I think I might be mad as a March Hare. Certainly this week I've been charging around like a lunatic - but then what's new? I saw a hare on Saturday - it pelted across a steep hillside, ears pricked and safe in the knowledge that nothing could catch it - a wonderful sight.

This rather scruffy, half-hearted drawing was antidote to the stresses of the day - a dabble of light relief after taxing my brain and driving for hours. I nearly gave up on the poor fellow on numerous occasions but then how would he ever get his tea? I persevered and moved from coloured pencil to watercolour and ink but I fear he may regret my haste. His fur looks a little mangy and that tea looks barely brewed.

Still a fitting end to a day of mayhem and hopefully perfect for The Three Muses 'creatures of nature' challenge (at least I'm sure that's what it was - I might have a shock in a minute when I discover it's winged things or something decidedly non-floppy-eared! As I was painting, I rather smugly realised its perfection for Illustration Friday too - 'deja-vu'. For after all, what could be more deja-vu then being stuck in a perpetual 6 o'clock tea party answering impossible riddles? Even a Mad March Hare might start thinking things looked a bit familiar!

I was just going to post last week's entry as deja vu, but that was really a bit of a poor effort (if rather funny!). Incidentally, my son is going to take in a piece of blank drawing paper for 'Show and Tell' tomorrow at school. He will announce it is a picture of Harry Potter.... wearing his invisibility cloak! Like mother like son. (I'll probably get hauled in front of the Headmaster for irresponsible parenting).

I seem to be slowly working my way through the Wonderland cast with the Hatter, the Red Queen and Alice all falling under my brush in the last year or so. Who shall I do next?

Resolution

This resolution's not mine (non-smoker, rather than a refusal to give up!). Instead, it's a bit of fun to start off the New Year and answer the theme from Illustration Friday.

I must say, it shows how times have changed when I'm sober and bored enough on New Year's Eve to get the paints out... That can't be a good thing. I did stay up until gone 2am though - what a rebel!

If you read yesterday's post, you'll know that this time next year I'll be waking up in some swanky country hotel looking forward to a bracing walk with the family through the countryside on fresh fallen snow. I'm getting excited already! We'll have tucked in to a hearty breakfast involving copious amounts of local produce, wrapped ourselves up warm and allowed the fresh air to blow away the cobwebs.

Today however it is grey and drizzling... I'm off to do some housework... deep joy...

An excuse to post about fairies

What is it with the fairy phenomenon that we so want to believe? OK, the handsome, yet cynical specimen of manhood sitting next to me might not, but I know you're out there - the believers.... I've even read recently an entire post devoted to fairy circles and a little googling found 'evidence' of their existence in a mysteriously named place called Ann Arbor (is it a town or the woman that works in the library?). Indeed, one of my favourite moments from the Antiques' Roadshow seemingly gives photographic evidence. (I've posted this clip before - see bottom of post, but if you've never seen it and a rather fond of the dainty winged poppets, then you really must watch - the whole thing mind, don't miss a moment...).

I have always loved drawing the little creatures. As wee lassie (I'm not Scottish, it just sounded kind of cute written down), I memorised the Flower Fairy poems of Cecily Mary Barker and painstakingly copied her illustrations.

Here is my grown up version who has a touch of the absinthe about her...

For Illustration Friday - Phenomenon.

Monster Munchie

As a parent, don't you just dread the letter that comes home from school that details the outfit you are required to make for the school play - with just a week's notice too? Last year it was a donkey. I was stacked with work and in a panic... Until Tesco came to my rescue. There I was wheeling the trolley around stocking up on my veggies when there, hanging on a rack, with a very cheap price tag, was a donkey. I've never grabbed anything from that store so quick!!

Not that I mind making these things when I've got the time. I made a fantastic crocodile once for my friend who was going to a fancy dress as Crocodile Dundee (I went as Uncle Albert from Only Fools & Horses - a classy costume, I can tell you, even if the beard was a bit itchy).

Anyway, here's a little fancy dress whimsey for Illustration Friday's Prehistoric encounter and my Watercolour class homework - you know how I love to multi task.

My son has some slippers just like these; I'm surprised he can walk in them!

A sneaky spot of multi-tasking

So much art to do, so little time... Sometimes you just have to grab the opportunity to mix a few challenges into one. I present a sneaky bit of fairy tale story telling sketched out. This equates nicely to:

An entry for Illustration Friday - sneaky. Just look at the cheeky faced Prince as he calls out to Rapunzel "let down your long hair". She's expecting an old hag to climb up her golden tresses but instead will find her knight in shining armour (let's hope he sheds some of that additional metallic weight before he climbs up or the poor girl will have a headache for weeks.)

Fairy tale was coincidentally the prompt from the Drawing Lab I found begging for attention on Gumnut's blog. I'm a bit late with this one, but hey better than never.

Then we have the location of this piece - in my 'storybook sketchbook' for the Sketchbook Project - that's another page ticked off.

Art Every Day Month is satisfied.

And finally, it's a sketch - albeit a fairly detailed one, so we'll see it on Sunday Sketches.

Phew, not bad for an hour's work! All that experience of being a woman helps I think :)

I fancied a bit of whimsey and was pleased with my young Knight. I did struggle with his wink though. Any hints on how to draw a whimsey wink would be most appreciated. The tower is rather out of proportion/perspective on purpose - bit of artistic licence going on there...

A Hunk A Hunk... (well, three actually!)

Three of the same for you today. See which you prefer...

Lord Almighty,

I feel my temperature rising

Higher higher

It's burning through to my soul

When I saw the prompt for Illustration Friday as 'Burning', Elvis just grooved his way into my soul, ground his hips and crooned the inspiration for this piece. I also knew where I'd find my models, having spotted them hiding in the pages of Elle just this morning - advertising 'Guilty', a fragrance by Gucci and looking smouldering and sexy. Guilty pleasures...

I was on fire myself. A quick first sketch on a bit of scrap paper, then two more. Naturally, the one I just slung together without much thought probably looks the best. I don't know... What do you think?

The second was the 'proper one', on nice paper and of course proved the hardest. I still like it though, even if it lacks some of the freedom and energy of the first.

Finally, I was enjoying myself so much I decided to make a third for my Sketchbook Project.

Can you feel all that burning desire?

See what happens when you take up an Art Every Day challenge - it lights the touch paper. I can't stop... I don't want to stop... What can I paint next?

All three mixed media - mainly neo-colour pastels, coloured pencils and ink.

Every picture tells a story

Well, it looks like that's it. The rain is falling in stair rods and lashing the leaves from the trees. Winter is peeking out from the clouds and readying to hold us in its grip for a few dismal months.

However, all is not lost, for is not the party season upon us? Why as soon as tomorrow night I shall be donning my glad rags and stepping out among the glitterati.

Thoughts of little black dresses inspired this piece for Illustration Friday's 'afterwards' theme and also finally got some work into my sketchbook project book. Look at this girl, how prim and proper she looks as she prepares for the office Christmas Party. She spent a fortune at the hairdressers getting that hair pinned, her make up is applied with the delicacy of a pre-Raphaelite working on a Greek beauty and the crushed velvet of her brand new sparkling party dress skims her curves perfectly.

Hours later she stands surveying her reflection once again. Every picture tells a story my friends and I think hers speaks of too much sparkling wine, an overdose of uninhibited dancing and someone else wearing her lipstick - look at that secret grin and try telling me otherwise!

Spent

Weighed down with sweet treats she returned home spent. She may be tired and a little unravelled but is feeling decidely pleased with the night's haul!

A bit of fun for Halloween. Tomorrow my son gets his first foray into the world of trick or treating aka collecting a large quantity of teeth-rotting substance. Given that the tooth fairy has had to pay us two visits this week already, I think I may have to put some form of rationining into motion on our return. He is fully prepared with pumpkin bucket and terrifying mask.

I'm thought I might go in disguise too (so the neighbours don't know who it is out begging!).

Interesting to see just how much has been 'spent' on Halloween in the UK this year in comparison to 'ye olden days'. Check out that link to a BBC news item. Spending in the UK has increased 23-fold since 2001!

I've been learning 'whimsey' from Tam at Willowing this week so thought I would use the new skill to spooky effect for Illustration Friday 'spent' and Sunday Sketches.

Racing in the anticipation of a dream

“Behind closed eyes, colors fade and blend into beautiful new creations. Fate is left at the shaking hands of our imaginations. Places new and amazing, faces remain unseen. How, then, does our heart feel as if racing in the anticipation of a dream?”

Anon

I'm not sure what you should look at first today. My initial sketch, the finished version or the breathtaking spectacle that is Vincent & Flavia's Argentine Tango in the clip at the bottom of this post. I think you should certainly have the sensual musical accompaniment, for this piece most certainly is infused with liberal does of Latin passion.

I've been pondering this quote for all day, for when I was searching for inspiration for the Illustration Friday 'racing' theme, it leapt out of google at me leaving the most intriguing sketch in my mind. As I cycled round the reservoir and mixed a little spice for my Thai meal, I've been soaking up what it means and allowed the Muse to flick through my books and magazines and delve into my art boxes and see what she could find. It turns out that she simply had to turn on the television and watch a bit of Strictly...

Flavia stands at the edge of the dance floor and closes her eyes. The music begins and the hypnotic notes course through her blood and begin their control of her feet. But not just yet. She waits and sees the colour of the dance floor in her imagination, feels the movement with the beating of her racing heart and the passion, yes the passion calls her and she is ready. Her eyes open into the dark stare of Vincent's and she steps onto the floor...



Phew, I feel quite flushed after all that. Be still my beating heart!

So, we have here a finished version for Illustration Friday and a half way sketch (while she figured out the choreography) for Sunday Sketches. I would also like to give a nod to the generous Tam from Willowing whose instruction this week on her free art course helped me inject a bit of depth into the background.

When the moon howls

"Hold on, man. We don't go anywhere with scary, spooky, haunted, or forbidden in the title." Shaggy, close friend of Scooby Doo.

Well said my lanky friend, well said. Perhaps I should have heeded such wise words before partaking of a hundred or more Halloween parties yesterday as I rampaged around blogland hotly pursued by ghouls, ghosts and goblins.

If you missed the party of the season at a Fanciful Twist and have a stomach for such things then do hop upon your broomstick and zoom over to follow the cobweb trails and tales... But a word of caution... do so after dark at your own risk...

It seemed perfectly natural that my Sunday sketching this week would be inspired by such gruesome imagery. This was helped along by the Illustration Friday theme 'spooky' and watching my boyfriend playing some zombie shoot 'em up game on the pc sitting next to me. It's a wonder I have managed to remain sane!

This illustration was an experiment. How can you turn a simple sketch of a girl into something far more sinister? Well, you could cast spells and rub her with newt's entrails, but I preferred the contents of my paint box. I oozed, dripped and splodged and sprayed with a ghoulish mist. Rather effective I think? She started out as quite a pretty little thing and now she looks like she's had a run in with the special effects department at Hammer House of Horror.

I always used to think that painting should be such an exact science, but now I've learnt that half the fun can be in the experimentation. When you drip ink over an eye then tilt the paper you lose control, the art makes itself and the story unfolds before you.

"Where there is no imagination, there is no horror."

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

What price Art?

How do you price a piece of your creativity?

Naturally you can pay yourself an hourly rate and attempt to add on a cost for supplies (1/100th of a tube of cerulean blue, 3mm of peach pencil, one sheet of acrylic paper etc..). Then there’s depreciation – how long will that paintbrush last (especially if I forget to clean it)?

But what about your talent? The originality of the idea? The skills involved in execution? How on earth do you place a price on the contents of your imagination and the splashes of your soul that end up in some pieces? Artists like Van Gogh put their heart and soul into every painting, I think that man in particular gave more than he had.

It’s a grey old area make no mistake.

Take this piece. While I didn’t time it, I guess she took around three hours. I used paints, pencils, modelling paste, fibres, wax (I even had to buy an iron as melting wax on the same iron I use for pressing my delicates is obviously going to end in tears. Mind you £3.50 for a bog basic steam number from Tesco can’t be scoffed at!).

Then there’s the costs I wasn’t anticipating. Redecoration and carpet cleaning... Using a pump spray to give that delicate coat of speckled paint to her face caused not just a blue face my friends. The language was not so clean as the stream shot out at a bizarre angle covering everything on the table and finishing up all over the magnolia walls.

Attempt two took me outside into the garden... and back in again with muddy feet all over the carpet.

And so, as I ponder putting her for sale in my shop. What exactly should I be charging?

This is my first ever entry to Illustration Friday – a challenge site I’ve been meaning to join in with for about a year. Well, finally I managed! The theme is ‘Beneath’. My mermaid lies beneath the waves waiting patiently for her prey. I liked the eventual effect of the watery face – trying to imagine what mermaid skin might look like – a touch of camouflage perhaps. If I’d painted her tail, you might spot a barnacle or two!