Turn Loose the Mermaid

This painting is inspired by the Nightwish song of the same name, from their Imaginaerum album. Many thanks to German model La Esmeralda for allowing me to make use of her fabulous original source material. I've adapted the original photo of her in mermaid garb by creating a sunset backdrop over the sea, as well as some modifications on her outfit to naturalise the mermaid look. This painting took a long time - there was a wealth of detail to work into the piece, and even now I can see plenty of detail still to be played with! But one has to call a halt at some point...
16" x 20" , Acrylic on block canvas, 2012