Ok, so there I was,
snorkeling around the reefs off of Grand Bahama... Well actually, I
WAS snorkeling around the reefs off Grand Bahama, and being the
dutiful artist I had brough along my trusty little underwater
camera so I could shoot photo reference. I had a great time. They
were serving Bahama Mommas all the way out to the site, then all
the way back. I came home very inspired.
I have always liked
the mythic mermaid, and as a creature of antiquity I had to set
her in a fabulous environment that would be representative of
a culture as old as history itself. That's how the ruins of the
temple ended up on the reef. It was also my desire to depict the
mermaid as people in ancient times thouht of them. Frankly, I
find it really cliche to drape something over the breasts for
modesty, and I feel that the people who get bent about seeing
a mermaid's breasts are missing the point. A mermaid isn't about
a "peep show." A mermaid is a specific monster from
lore that seduces sailors to their doom by using their very femininity.
To cover that or play it down dilutes the impact of what the creature
is all about.
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