The painting «Mermaid soul», 90x80cm, was the last one of 2020. This year was pretty stressful for all of us, and I decided to end it with an imaginative portrait of a beautiful maiden. Perhaps you might have met people who seem to be a fathomless sea with secret fantastic creatures, treasures and sunken ships at the bottom? I’ve met and tried to solve their riddle. The main character of the painting depicts a certain girl, whose illusory ghostly world of dreams and experiences becomes visible and takes a certain forms.
One of the characters piercing her hair is a Water dragon. He seemed to be hiding in her hair, protecting our heroine from imaginary enemies. Also there is the image of the mermaid, which is close to the image in the painting by John William Waterhouse. It is a reminder of the fateful nature of those who have the soul of a mermaid. The very archetype of such women is very complex and multifaceted, they are free and not free at the same time, and therefore their image is so attractive. Most of all, I would like the Viewer to plunge into this ghostly world and find their own personal interpretations.
The painting is mainly done with different mixtures of blue, purple, mars brown and burnt umber. The scales of the dragon and its fragments on the face, hands and clothes are also made with different mixtures with mother-of-pearl paint, which gives the impression of shimmering.
And remember that art is not an escape from reality, but the best way to experience its different sides.
Thank you very much for your attention. You can see the process of creating a painting on my instagram @liyalynn_art, and don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions:)
