Mermaid along the Bay

I wasn’t sure what to call my new mermaid but wanted to relate how she was watching over the bay as a guardian. “Lightkeeper” was a contender but I ended up with “Allexis” which is a Greek name meaning protector, guardian. This painting is smaller than most of my mermaids at 36×18″. It took a while since I made up the scene. I did use a canvas from years ago that I had started from a live nude painting session at the local university.

Sometimes while painting a figure, I have to guess where the shadows and light is coming from which is challenging. There is a point where the face changes dramatically with each brushstroke and finally she appears. I say “Oh there you are” when I feel she has emerged.