Depth

In Depth, a white-haired mermaid looks directly out from a compressed underwater setting. The face is the main focal point, framed by long pale hair, pearl-like ornament and hands held close beneath the chin. The body curves away into a tail and fin, yet the frontal gaze gives the upper part of the painting a portrait-like concentration. This tension between direct contact and curved movement gives the painting its visual pressure.

The composition is asymmetrical. The figure sits mainly in the centre and right side of the canvas, while the left side is filled with dark aquatic plants and small fish. These forms act like a screen in front of the background, creating a shallow but layered sense of depth. The tail sweeps down and left, then opens into a broad fin near the lower edge. Hair and foliage answer each other across the canvas: one pale and flowing, the other dark, sharp and broken into overlapping marks.

Colour is kept within a cool range of green, turquoise, blue and grey, with warmer reds used sparingly in the lips and cheeks. This small shift in temperature concentrates attention around the face. The surface is visibly constructed. The shoulders and arms are painted through faceted planes; the tail is built with shorter, repeated touches; the hair and fin carry longer, flexible strokes.

Depth uses a fantasy motif without loosening its formal discipline. The image is held by gaze, tonal contrast and figure-ground relation. It fits the artist’s wider interest in presence and stillness, while giving that presence a darker, aquatic setting.