“A sea of green as far as she could see”

Once the fisherman taught her how to walk the mermaid said goodbye to her lover… but only for a short time. The mermaid set off walking barefoot to become acquainted with her new feet and to learn to walk without the fisherman’s help. She ventured off alone into the green mountains to explore the lush landscape, rivers and waterfalls and its magnificent wildlife. She was new the world above the sea and this was now to be her home. The fisherman knew that she needed to do this on her own. He remained close ; the mountains clearly in sight from his shack on the coast.

The story behind the making of this picture tells of my time spent in a small Brazilian coastal town many years before. In 2014, I was creating art for the foyer of the hotel I was staying at. Those artworks revealed an epic, spirited myth I titled THE FISHERMAN AND MERMAID’S TALE. In brief:

“A mermaid and fisherman fall in love at first sight, leading the mermaid to transform her tail into legs so she can walk the earth with her lover. They travel the world and have many adventures. In their 8th year together, he himself goes through gradual changes to miraculously transform into a dolphin; bringing them both back to the sea.”..

When I returned to Australia,  I debuted The Fisherman and Mermaid’s Tale,  in a 2018  solo exhibition. Eventually I expanded on the storyline through a second exhibition: Into the Lush Green, in 2020, inspired by living in Northern NSW and spending time in the Bellingen hinterlands. The art I made explored  the days soon after the mermaid learnt how to walk. Bellingen is close to the coast,  so it added further magic and helped to set the stage. ROMANCING THE GREEN  is one of the artworks I made for the INTO THE LUSH GREEN show.

*This work on paper comes presented in a stylish, crisp, white matt board and frame, professionally presented by the Bellingen Framers