How do you feel about fantasy creatures?

How do you feel about fantasy creatures?

My love for mermaids started many, many years ago when I first saw the movie Splash. In the movie, a young mermaid saves a young boy from drowning. Then, later in life, the two of them reconnect again in the water. The mermaid is eventually able to live in our world, but when she goes into the water again, her “human” legs go back to fish form. Love ensues, and they live happily ever after, of course.

I’ve always loved swimming and water, so I became obsessed with mermaids. I began drawing them in fun colors over and over and over again. I must have been in about fourth grade. Here is an example of what one of the mermaids I drew looked like then.

Luckily I created a scrapbook back in the day! 1987 – 1989

I loved picking a color scheme and giving the mermaids different patterns and different hairdos! It was so much fun.

Then Disney’s The Little Mermaid came out, and I was obsessed with that movie. I watched it so many times. My love for that movie is what truly launched my art career. In seventh grade, I drew The Little Mermaid. It turned out so well that I decided to pursue art from that point on.

I don’t remember exactly when dragons and fairies came into the picture, but they go hand in hand with mermaids and the fantasy world. I loved drawing all of these fantasy creatures. For a while, I wanted to be an illustrator for Dungeons & Dragons. I had a few books that I would look through obsessively, enjoying all the beautiful artwork. Here are some D&D examples.

I’m happy to introduce mermaids back into my repertoire with this new series, The Little Things.

Find Me in the Abyss, 9×12, watercolor and acrylic ink

But alas, I don’t have the patience for imagery with the amount of detail in those D&D books. I’ll stick to my octopuses, animals, and abstracts.

So, how about you? Are you or were you ever into fantasy art?

Do you want to see some of my old dragon artwork?