Painting mermaids, the spidey sense knows

I wonder if my urge to paint mermaids the last two weeks was my spidey sense tapping in to upcoming storms. In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, yesterday I woke from a nap with the urge to fill up the car and cans with gas. Then I read a Facebook post that said, “Fill your gas tanks. The south may encounter shortages related to hurricane damage: shutting down gas lines.” I saw Hurricane Irma in the news, forming offshore. The first thing I always do when there’s a new storm forming is check the phase of the moon. I see that Harvey hit Houston 3 days after the storm’s path turned north at the time of the new moon. According to what we know about New Moon and Full Moon effect on storms and hurricanes, the storms to watch will be two weeks afterward at full moon. That’s this Wednesday Sept 6th. Irma might be a powerful one. Maybe my spidey sense knows some folks might benefit from having a mermaid tail.

MERMAID SYMBOLISM I like the symbolism of mermaids. They are able to adapt, to live comfortably between several worlds, and co-exist with many species. I’m not a swimmer and don’t care for water sports, but I recall how powerful it felt the first time I tried swim fins on. I could dash across the pool in a flash with very little effort on my part. Feeling so powerful in the water made me less afraid to be in it. Mermaid medicine to me has to do with adapting to whatever situation I find myself in, going with the flow yet staying in control of where I’m heading and becoming aware of strengths I never had to test out before, fearless all the while.

The top painting of the 3 mermaids in wheelchairs — In progress, 9 x 12 acrylic. I got inspired when I saw the photo (seen right) of La Vita Bella’s seniors in Dickinson, TX sitting waist deep in flood water in wheelchairs awaiting rescue after Hurricane Harvey. Woman in viral nursing home flooding photo recounts experience