Becoming
Becoming
As a child, I dreamed of being a mermaid when I grew up. My favorite movie was Disney’s The Little Mermaid, and I have vivid memories of sketching mermaids with highlighters on perforated printer paper, while I waited for my mom at Jenny Craig. I don’t know exactly why I was drawn to mermaids, but I am certainly not alone. Isn’t the entire mermaid myth about being lured in by the beautiful siren? And yes, I recently discovered that “professional mermaid” is an actual career path… clearly, I missed my calling.
This painting is a return to that dream. It’s about surrendering to the currents that carry us, trusting the waters even when they’re deep, and remembering that the wishes of our childhood still shape who we are becoming.
I began by painting water, fluid, shifting shapes that mimic the way light refracts beneath the surface. Using watered-down acrylic on a large 48 x 60 inch canvas, I let the paint drip and flow, allowing chance and movement to influence the outcome. I stopped when it no longer felt interesting. That’s how I knew it was finished, before it became overworked. To honor the memory of my childhood sketches, I layered in bright yellow and pink, echoing the highlighters I once used to draw mermaids.
As an adult I think of how being a mermaid might mean slipping into another world where I could move freely, weightless, surrounded by color and light. Perhaps it was always a dream about transformation, belonging, and magic.
The mermaid here is both a memory of the girl I once was and a reflection of the woman I am now. Learning to soften, to flow, and to rise toward the light.
Medium: Acrylic on canvas
Size: 48 x 60 inches
Shop the
Collection
