In European folklore, mermaids—sometimes called sirens— were natural beings who, like fairies, had magical and prophetic powers. They loved music and could be heard singing haunting and wistful melodies. This abstract painting’s muted color palette and texture bring to mind the turmoil of the ocean—a place where folklorish mermaids cast their magical spells, play with the fish, and dance among the seaweed. The presence of human feet, rather than a mermaid’s tail, places us mortal humans in the mermaid’s stories.

The Manta Ray glides along in a fantastical ocean with butterflies and schools of fish, perfectly camouflaged and peacefully one within her ecological home.

The King of Saxony bird of paradise resides in the beautiful forests of New Guinea. The long, unusual feathers on this bird are called “head wires”, and they serve to attract a mate. In this unique portrait, the King of Saxony’s ornamental headdress feathers are happily the focal point.

The Rainbow Bridge is a magical bridge that connects heaven and earth and is said to be a place where pets go after they die, reunited with their loved ones. In some lore, the owl is the helpful guide, accompanying those who have passed from this life to the next.

In the dreamlike, ancient forest, the coyote howls, and the nighthawks perch in the branches of the trees. They dream of exquisite jewel-toned lilies covering the world. On warm summer evenings, nighthawks are guardians of the skies, talismans within this world and the unknown. This could be a companion piece or diptych with the painting, Dreamtime, as the line of rabbits and fawn heads extend into the other painting seamlessly.

Unlike fish with gills alone, the lungfish must take a breath of air periodically. I find this to be a wonderful metaphor for humans who must occasionally get outside of their comfort zone in order to grow. The lungfish is a magical creature—she creates a cocoon around her and can lie dormant in hibernation in order to survive dry spells. In this painting, the lungfish is surrounded by underground treasures as she sleeps and waits for better days.

The act of leaving one place implies entering another. The coyote-figure in this work pauses and looks back at the viewer one last time before entering the realm of the painting. Coyotes are spirit animals, revered by the Aztecs and by many other ancient cultures. Coyotes were a symbol of astuteness, worldly wisdom, pragmatism, male beauty, and youthfulness. This coyote, surrounded by a rabbit and numerous nighthawks, takes us on a journey. He tells the story of why he must leave and where he might be going.

In this folklore tale, during a particularly violent storm, the moon came away from its orbit and sank to the bottom of the ocean. The adorable ghost crab, surrounded by coral and schools of fish, found the moon to be quite tasty.

Inspired by Surrealism, the cuttlefish— a beautiful, etherial mollusk, floats peacefully through a weightless scene, under a bridge of flowers, while the snowy forest below feels like an imagined dream.

In the Dreamtime—the time when all of the world’s animals were created—fawns dreamt of rabbits, brightly colored lilies, and exotic trees into being. You will find something new and wondrous each time you view the work within the darkly rendered but richly colored jewel tones of reds, golds, and purples. This could be a companion piece or diptych with the painting, Nighthawk Magic, as the line of rabbits and fawn heads extend into the other painting seamlessly.