Models / mermaids in La Herradura

This large acrylic painting is part of my new series about women who were either models of artists or artists themselves, often both. With this series I want to honour women, who in their time, did not get the acknowledgement of society.

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In the painting I have created my impression of the artist models: Emma Dobigny, Camille Doncieux, Victorine Meurent, Madeleine Knobloch and Dina Vierny. 

I've created a surreal landscape, representing the bay of La Herradura, a small seaside village in southern Spain where I live, which has palmtrees on the beach and the typical landarm called Cerro Gordo on the right.

In this series there is another image, quite surreal of a mermaid (see under artworks - art nouveau), but she is Japanese and has angel wings and powerful symbolism in her tail. I've decided to include the same symbolism in the tails (which are not obvious, only when you know they are there you can imagine them) of the five models in this painting.

Why mermaids? In some cultures they are seen as symbols for life and fertility. The models were the inspiration for artists and brought their paintings or sculptures to life. In other cultures, they represent destruction, luring sailors into their death. In a sense many models for artists had to also sell their bodies to survive, but at the same time had power over men who desired them. This is not the case for all the women in this painting though. I don't feel I need to specify this. I want to see them as strong, beautiful and inspirational.

Throughout my artistic career of thirty-five years I've never used models, so I also didn't paint portraits. For this series I've decided to give my impression of the faces of these women.