My Mysterious Mermaid

A mermaid is a mythical creature that is half woman and half fish.  The name comes from the 'Mer" meaning sea.  Some mermaids are described as being ugly and monstrous but when I think of a mermaid she has long flowing hair with a gorgeous tail and surrounded by jewels.  As I painted my mysterious mermaid she went through so many changes - I even decided to slim down her waistline - she was a bit more "fluffy" at first.  If only in real life it could be so easy!   I added a lime-green tint to the skin to give her a more mesmerizing appeal.

There is so much mythology connected with mermaids - I guess that is why I am so fascinated by them.

One such legend is that each mermaid has a special stone that is meant only for her and that their life is spent looking for this particular stone.  When the mermaid is lucky enough to find the stone her tail will change to the color of the stone and her magical powers will be enhanced. My mermaid is not wearing her stone but she is holding an emerald necklace and has several strands of amethysts draped sensually around her hips.

As I have said she went through so many changes along the way - even her tail changed in shape and color.  It began as bright pink with blue highlights but I thought she just needed more color!  As I painted the rest of the picture I added purple, teal and white.

My magical mermaid is surrounded by many sea creatures - some fresh water and others salt water. 

I began with two Koi swimming closely around her.  Koi are a fresh water fish and as I added more plants and sea creatures they began to vary between.  Technicalities!   

Since the Koi's early beginnings in the Nigata region of Japan in the early nineteenth century, Koi have been selectively bred and developed to produce the many varied types of coloured fish that we have today.  After researching many color variations I went with the dark orange/red and golden Koi.  I added two playful clown fish next to the Koi - to add more orange into the center of the picture.

A

A carefree turtle glides through the water toward the lovely mermaid. 

The bottom is a combination of many different creatures, plants, sponges and corals.

A group of Cameta golden-yellow discus fish and a green-blue River Discus fish pass over the sea bed.

Swimming above the Koi are three african cichlid, two blue hippo tang next to an amazing turquoise seahorse.

I created a sand by layering shades of beige, golden brown and raw umber.  Shells litter the bottom with a blue crab crawling over a sand dollar. 

This was a fun picture to paint and will go nicely in the bathroom I am remodeling.  I will be sure to post the finished bathroom when I am finished.

A Seashell Wreath

Often when I go on holiday I make sure to buy something to remind me of the place I visited.  Then at a later date I gather up my treasures and try to make something so I can remember those long ago times.

Through the years I have acquired a ton of shells - some I bought and others I picked up along the beach.  I had a great assortment of shells ranging in neutrals, as well as shades of oranges and purple. 

Somewhere along my travels I had bought a unique wreath that was made from tree limbs and woven together with grape vines.  I decided to use this as my base - it was a bit uneven but I decided that would bring character to my project.

backside of wreath after I glued on the shells

Before I began to glue the shells onto the wooden wreath I laid them out roughly in a circle on the table - this way I could pick and choose how the wreath was going to look when it was finished - what shells would go where depending on size and color.  Using a hot glue gun I kept adding shells - layer upon layer - angling the shells different ways and filling in spots.  Using a can on fine iridescent spray glitter - I lightly sprayed the wreath.

The wreath still needed something - I had a bouquet of small cream colored tea roses - I glued the roses around the wreath.  In between the shells I added small loops of white iridescent ribbon.  

Still my wreath was lacking.What to add???  When I visited New Orleans, I found a small shop on Magazine Street that had some of the most unique Christmas ornaments that I have seen in a long time.  I ended up buying a few Cloisonne sea creature Christmas Ornaments to bring home - one never knows - right!

A bright ropical fish.

A golden brown sand crab with moving leg joints.

A golden brown shrimp with moving tail.

A dark green alligator with a moving jaw and tail.

A golden brown crawfish with segmented tail and golden long antenna

I set the ornaments on top of the wreath spacing them out evenly and then I glued them on.  Done at last - so what do you think?  I am remodeling my bathroom - I have decided to add sea accents - I think this might just fit in.