Sketches + Process
I waffled around a lot with which direction I would take. At first I had her in a pond looking at the viewer, but I found it to be too focused on merely her looks. I was then inspired to face her away into a mirror, to have her look at her own beauty.
This was to focus more on her as a character in a scene over just how she looked. Plus, the story is just much more interesting!
The before, mockup done in Procreate.
An early version of the painting, painted on panel with iridescent watercolor ground for a very unique texture. This very unique texture was difficult to work with and caused me to restart with the new color palette on paper.
Mermaid Mirror
July 2025
Watercolor & colored pencil
After a trip to the aquarium and ocean with my friends, I was very inspired to paint a mermaid. When brainstorming this piece, I realized most deep sea mermaids would have no access to their own reflection.
I imagined a shipwreck of a fancy ocean liner leaving an ornate mirror at the bottom of the ocean. The mermaid finds it and becomes entranced by her own beautiful reflection!
The piece featured iridescent watercolor textures on the mirror and on her tail scales.
The after color palette, done in watercolors.
Color + Critiques
I started with the mermaid in these purples and pinks, something that could contrast with the green kelp in the background. However, after a long critique session with my friends, I found that the purples leaned a little too cosmic and less watery. Another piece of feedback I received was the shape of her tail being distracting from the main narrative, and also an uncomfortable angle for her to be resting at. With both of these in mind, I shifted the color palette to blues and green and moved her tail down.
Final sketch used to transfer onto watercolor paper.