Jolene

 I commented recently on my Facebook page that I wouldn't have been able to get through this extended period of isolation if it weren't for my friends on social media (specifically Facebook). In a time when you can't get together in person with anyone, it really helps to multiply your friend base, even if it's by accumulating a bunch of people with whom you may never congregate, since their location is so remote (Canada, upstate New York, New Zealand) that it seems unlikely you will travel there to see them. Perhaps, in fact, it is especially necessary to have those friends, since the fact that it is impossible to meet them means you don't sit around regretting that, you just make the best of what you CAN have, which is a pretty full relationship if it consists of frequent interaction, the exchange of views, dislikes, hobbies, or whatever.

My friend Jolene Oldham is one of these. We met through a mutual friend, one who had previously been an in-person friend of mine for many years. We initially shared with that bridge person a concern for animal rescue, but began later on to find multiple similarities in outlook, philosophy and, let's face it in these days, politics. 

One unique thing about Jolene is that she is a mermaid. Yes, you read that right. She dresses in a long tail and goes swimming with her similarly attired friends, and she also hand-crafts some of those tails, for herself and others. She has an alter-ego name and title for these activities, so I chose to depict her as such when I decided to paint her. I looked at and combined attributes from three different photos.

Here is Pearlie Mae, Empress of the Sea.

Pencil, Daler Rowney inks, black Uniball, white gel pen, on Fluid watercolor paper, approx. 9x12 inches.