Mermaid’s Pool, Peak District (41)

I spent a year living in the UK recently and was there for Christmas 2008. While looking for a suitable photo to paint and use for my Christmas cards, I came across this scene of the darkly mysterious Mermaid’s Pool in Mum’s trusty book of Peak District photographs. The pool lies on the bleak moorlands around Kinder Scout in the Peak District.

My painting, although representational of the photo, looks almost abstract because of the dramatic colours and unusual textures of the subject. I love the way the light shining on the iced pool creates a mother of pearl-like effect, and how the thawing snow surrounding the pool leaves interesting patterns of light and dark.

I find this scene haunting, which is weird because I found out after I’d painted it that there is a legend attached to the pool. It is said to share a mystical link with the Atlantic Ocean and a mermaid appears in the pool once a year on Easter Eve at midnight. Anyone who sees her is either given the gift of immortality, or drawn into the depths of the pool to face their doom …

This painting will be exhibited at Fidels, Essex Street, Fremantle from 26th January to 25th February 2010.