Mermaid Upcycle

When I was at the second hand store I saw a piece of wood that looked like a pickle jar and I snapped it up immediately. My long suffering husband didn't even flinch. He's used to me shuttling perfectly good things out the door in the name of minimalism, simplicity and paring down while dragging home the most egregiously random crap imaginable. 

It was such a neat piece of wood, I couldn't resist. The shape immediately brought matryoshka dolls to mind but it felt too obvious. So I made a mermaid. 

First I blocked out the general shape with paint and a stabilo.

Then I dabbed in some general landmarks with my pinky finger. It's weird that I think of them as landmarks, but it's how my brain works. I thought hair, face, chest and tail were what needed to get in there. 

She went on a diet this step :)

I wanted her hands to be fins but I'm not sure if that came through. Next time I'll add webbed fingers and see if that is better. 

Then I added in shading, texture, pattern, splatter (oh, gold! How I love you!) and stamping. I also extended her eyes, brow bone and gills.

The wood is an inch thick so I was able to wrap some parts to the image around the sides. 

It also stands up on it's own which is nice if you want to display it on a side table.

When my youngest saw her he said, "Cool mom. You have an OC!" I immediately asked for clarification... OG I know, OC? Huh?

Turns out on Deviant Art (his favorite hang out) OC is an Original Character and he thought this mermaid has a similar vibe to my last recycled mermaid project.