A Mermaid Out of Water

My #entry for @tapascommunity’s #mermay challenge, ending April 21! Watch the process video here: https://youtube.com/shorts/KdPc9ICDtd4?feature=share

Check out my feed for an art process reel of this piece!

Media: watercolor and coloured pencil

Sketchbook: @paperblanks’ Chanin spiral

This features my character Malka Spitzer as a mermaid. She is the deuteragonist of my #graphicnovel, “The Book of Joel,” which you can read on @tapascommunity.

The idea behind this piece is that Malka always felt like a fish out of water. Because she is such a dreamer and a romantic, she has difficulties creating realistic goals for herself and meeting them. As such, she feels suffocated by the reality and pace of life in New York City.

As a mermaid, she would be curious about the human world (aka NYC). But she would ultimately feel alienated.

Canonically, Malka often imagines herself and Joel as mermaids stuck in a place where they don’t truly belong. So, we can imagine that this is a painting she would do.