Portraits for Mermay 2023

For Mermay 2023 I decided to paint representations of real people I follow on Instagram. Each of these folx is making a difference in the world. Their impact may be small and local, or it maybe international. No matter the degree, the impact they make matters greatly.

Each painting is digital and completed in 4-6 hours.

Click through for the full image and more info on the person.
I hope you enjoy browsing, and leave me a comment letting me know what you think!

Self portrait for Mermay 2023: A brown skinned mermaid with a blue tail snoozes on a coral reef.
Self Portrait With Cat Fish
A digital painting of a reverse mermaid: fish from the waist up and a pale skinned human from the waist down. The fish portion is based on an Atlantic salmon and the human legs are vainly trying to kick in the water.
Upside Down, or Reverse Ladyfish…
Instead of traditional mermaid art, this digital painting is of a nudibranch, or sea slug. The sea slug body is purple with light blue edges and bright orange cerata on her back. The human is a light skinned human woman with red hair and large black-rimmed glasses.
Alena, Artist/Scientist and
Owner of Owl & Bear Studio
The little green creature from the Mandalorian in the Star Wars universe, known as Grogu floats in a dark ocean with little sparkles in the depths. He holds a pale orange egg.
Din Grogu, for May the Fourth
A mermaid with brown skin and a purple tail swims downwards towards the tip of the dorsal fin of a blue whale.
Dr. Asha de Vos,
Marine Biologist
A brown skinned mermaid with natural black hair bends over a frond in a kelp forest. She has a pink tail and is wearing a pale pink puff-sleeved crop top.
Alexis Nelson, Forager
and Tik Tok Star
A drag queen mermaid fairy, with ginger hair and moustache, is modelled after the fairy wrasse fish. Her tail is blue, yellow, an orange. Her fins and wings are fuchsia, orange, and blue.
Pattie Gonia, Environmentalist Drag Queen
A cute mermaid with a pink tail and floating brown hair is accompanied by two greyhounds. They are pictured before a violently colourful coral reef!
Sophie McPike, Artist
A beautiful woman with pink and orange hair and an orange mermaid tail. She is crowned with golden rays and ascends through a deep blue ocean. The light of dawn is just touching the surface waters.
Megan Crabbe, Creator, Author, Presenter + Host
A brown skinned mermaid with natural black hair, and a bright green tail, wears a grey tshirt embroidered with "climate feminist." She displays a climate venn diagram.
Dr. Ayana Johnson,
Marine Biologist and
Climate Activist
Pop star Lizzo with short wavy hair as deep-sea sea cucumber Enypniastes. She has a sparkly scarlet body that ends in sharp fins. She also has a large collar that rests on her shoulders and climbs above her head, it is also scarlet and sparkly.
Lizzo, Pop Star
A pale skinned mermaid with brown hair pulled up into a bun, holds an apple pencil in one hand. Her torso is covered in yellow scales that merge into lavender scales on her tail. Her fins are navy blue, highlighted with turquoise.
Emily McDowell, Artist,
Empathy Writer,
and Human Being
A brown skinned mermaid with a big smile, and caramel locs and a head wrap. Her tail is navy blue with turquoise polkadots. Her upper body is yellow with navy blue splotches, and her sleeves are navy blue.
Parker McMullen-Bushman, Black Environmentalist and Social Justice Activist
A brown skinned male body with hairy arms and chest transitions into a golden seahorse tail. They are draped in a pleated gold dress and adorned with rubies. Their hair is curly with red highlights.
Alok Vaid-Menon,
Gender Non-Conforming Writer and Performance Artist
A light skinned brown mermaid with long black hair. She wears a peachy pink gown and has a matching tail.
Rupi Kaur, Poet
A portrait done all in blue of a black woman. Her hair is in long braids that fall over one shoulder. The highlights on her skin and hair are done in orange and yellow.
Rachel Cargle,
Writer, Entrepreneur, Educator

I’m writing a blog post each week of the month. If you’re curious about my processes (creative, emotional, and physical) you might enjoy them!
Week 1: Building Self-Trust With Mermaid Art
Week 2: Self-awareness And Recognizing Old Habits
Week 3: Practicing Self-Compassion
Week 4: Self-Acceptance And Other Lessons Learned

You can see other artists’ work by checking out the hashtag #mermay2023.

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