Rhondak Native Florida Folk Artist Not Your Mamas Mermaids November 2009

My Life in MERMAIDS …Not YOUR Mama’s Mermaids… RhondaK Native Florida Folk Artist http://www.rhondakwrites.com

My Life in MERMAIDS …Not YOUR Mama’s Mermaids… I’ve drawn mermaids all of my life. I was born in Florida and spent as much time as I could swimming. I spent years feeling my long dark hair trail behind me as I swam in Lithia Springs. My first bar sign doodles had mermaids from the back. But as I kept painting mermaids I began painting all kinds. I noticed a lot of mermaid artists had “their mermaid” type. Mine are all over the place. Slightly realistic, real cartoonish, bad girls, good girls, big boobs, little boobs, visible nipples or not…mean, happy, contemplative…redheads, blondes and even sealife hair...just all kinds of women, moods and histories. This mermaid I painted for a restaurant in Siesta Key. It is actually 8 foot long. This is not the finished version. The real one has Siesta Sista tattoo’d on her side. This is the good part of the story…
RhondaK Native Florida Folk Artist http://www.rhondakwrites.com

While I liked her a lot, she caused a lot a series of seismic rifts. The then restaurant owners wife yelled he was trying to turn the place into some sexed up booty joint. From my point of view that was some good business planning. The X who dropped her off was supposed to get a couple hundred for it…brought me back $20. He then told me why it was worth $20 and how he and some character had given the owner all these cool new ideas for decorating the restaurant that I needed to GET TO WORK ON. I believe, too, he said hurry. He may have added, HURRY, I need some money. While like Warhol I do believe that selling art is the ULTIMATE art…I do believe the actual artist should get the bulk of the money and have some say so. So, you can see that was not a good soul or business relationship. Frankly, it is sort of funny in that clown frown kind of way. That’s why I call my girls Not Your Mama’s Mermaids…they have stories. They have attitude. They might take a wrong turn, but they get back in the swim of things. They are not sweet. They are not perfect. They aren’t too many of them that are alike. They find their own people who know them when they see them. When they sell, I actually miss them. I’ve had fantasies about going to get my Siesta Sista because I fear she isn’t loved the way she should be. RhondaK Native Florida Folk Artist http://www.rhondakwrites.com

This more folk art style mermaid where the “tail” begins higher is hung at the owner of Cortez’s Sea Hag’s home. I consider that an honor as she’s an avid mermaid collector and loves one of a kinds. I have not repainted this mermaid in 2 years. When I do…she’ll likely be very different. The NIPPLES or NO NIPPLES thing is a big damn drama in mermaid painting if you sell on the street. An artist in Gulfport, Florida had the police called on him. Nothing was mentioned about her green HOO HOO, but her bare nipples made the papers. I’ve had a mother yell at me “Don’t you know mermaids don’t have nipples?” UMM. They are..mythological. As a Librarian, I do know their images vary through the centuries from culture to culture. Disney did not create the mermaid. The mermaid has been a being of dreams, myth and sightings for almost all of recorded time. RhondaK Native Florida Folk Artist http://www.rhondakwrites.com We SHOULD invent, create and give life to our OWN mermaids.

This mermaid sold to a woman who has since bought more of my work. She’s opening a beach bar in Mango, Florida. In getting past my girl dreams of the mermaid as free, solo and flowing, I realized the mermaid was in fact a complicated figure. Sometimes a temptress. Sometimes she drowned her lovers. Sometimes she saved strangers who would not have saved her. She didn’t always do the right thing. She was sometimes evil and and often magical. Sometimes she seemed to accept her fate..but only to that point where she took her fate back into her own hands. The key thought was…the mermaid was a woman who swam with sharks every second of her life. Women who run with wolves only live Part Time—not all “running with the tide time.” RhondaK Native Florida Folk Artist http://www.rhondakwrites.com

RhondaK Native Florida Folk Artist http://www.rhondakwrites.com Finding YOUR Mermaid ...

RhondaK Native Florida Folk Artist http://www.rhondakwrites.com This is “Fish-Nu”…a India inspired mermaid. She began as a doodle. This is based on a historical style of mermaid that has two tails. Sometimes the two tails are only knee high—a very sexy mermaid. “Fish-Nu” has so far been 2x and one is left in my Tampa Gallery, The Creative Native. I try to paint her on damaged, found wood.

RhondaK Native Florida Folk Artist http://www.rhondakwrites.com This is my thigh high tail mermaid. I usually have troubles when I see her on the street. The one to the left is a custom mermaid for a couple. They use it for the front of their home…in a nudist resort! Of all my mermaids, I would think this one has the most FUN life. I do these rarely, but it I one of my favorite mermaids, but she’s too sexy to sell in the street. I have sold one on eBay.

RhondaK Native Florida Folk Artist http://www.rhondakwrites.com More and more…many of my mermaids are hanging out on bars…on the land…sometimes with other people like my “island girl” who is loosely based on me. She’s got dreads and likes a firm barstool.

RhondaK Native Florida Folk Artist http://www.rhondakwrites.com The “Signs you’re a mermaid” or “signs you might be a mermaid” paintings are doing well. These are original work that I wrote and designed myself. I’ve copyrighted the series to try to protect my own work…so I can end up like the Mermaid above. JOY. FIERCE.

RhondaK Native Florida Folk Artist http://www.rhondakwrites.com My Mermaids don’t just sit in a studio or store…they go on the road with me. To find the person they belong to…takes time.

RhondaK Native Florida Folk Artist http://www.rhondakwrites.com This is a short show of the many mermaids I paint…that I live with that live IN me. If you want to buy an original RhondaK mermaid…ask me what I have on hand and I’ll send you images. If you ask me today, that would be 3 images. I’m not into mass production. What does YOUR mermaid look like? And what DOES she say? Most of my original images and sayings are copyrighted. Write me for licensing information. [email_address]

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Rhondak Native Florida Folk Artist Not Your Mamas Mermaids November 2009

by RhondaK Native Florida Folk Artist on Nov 28, 2009

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Rhondak Native Florida Folk Artist Not Your Mamas Mermaids November 2009 — Presentation Transcript