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Sea Serpent of Atlantis

Warriors of the Seas, and Guardians of the Mermaids, Sea Serpents bring Justice to the Deep:

Sea Serpent of Atlantis - Guardians of Mermaids and Justice to the Deep
Sea Serpent of Atlantis - Guardians of Mermaids and Justice to the Deep

In the Armouries of Atlantis, in the Vaults of the Reefs - with the Timeless of the Ancient, does a Sea Serpent sleep. In the Arsenals of Atlantis, in the Tides of the Seas - with the Patience of the Endless, does a Sea Serpent sleep. In the Foes of Atlantis, in the Temples of War - with the Councils of the Wise, does a Sea Serpent wake. In the Turbulence of the Oceans, in the Wrath of the Waves - with the Crush of a Hull, does the Sea Serpent strike. In the Depths of the Seas, in the Treasures of the Seabed - with the Pull of the Strong, does a Sea Serpent dive. It's mission complete: a shipwreck is born! I like the fact that this artwork captures the primary concept/idea of a serpent: the Sea Serpent has an S shape, which curls around and pulls you in (like a whirlpool). In doing so, it's easy to miss the fact that this is a baby Sea Serpent! Firstly, there is the fact that the Sea Serpent is on a similar scale/size to the shipwrecks anchors. Secondly, once you've pulled away from the whirlpool, you will notice that the Sea Serpents armour is repeated at the top of the artwork, and given the fact that this repeat is disjoint (from the baby Sea Serpent) - suggests just one thing: that there must be a bigger Sea Serpent above! I feel that the baby Sea Serpent is also sheltering - as he/she is nestled within a shipwreck: there's two anchors and the remnants of a coral covered hull against the side of a cliff (on the left-hand side), whereas the right-hand side (of the scene) appears to be much more open (to the sea). I also approve of the colour use within this artwork, particularity with the striking contrast between the bright fans/frills and the camouflaged Seaweed Armour. The yellow makes me think of Gold (and the Sun of Atlantis). The red and orange makes me think of Fire (and the Wrath of Atlantis). The blue hints at the coolness of the oceans and helps suggest the concept of layers. The blue also hints at an artwork that resembles a stained glass window (as the blue has not been used as a tint for the other colours). It appears that this artwork was painted in oils - as it seems that many of the surfaces are actually raised (especially the edges of the yellow, red and orange fans/frills). It also appears that the artist made use of a transparent medium (possibly Liquin) when painting the Seaweed Armour (as there's a fair amount of blending/variation at the edges of the brownish purple yellow). The use of a medium (such as Liquin) is also hinted at by the transparency/blending that's present on the seabed. The corals present on the remnants of the sunken hull, anchors and seabed (near to where the Seaweed sprouts) appear to be a variation of the oil painters pointillism technique - whereby the (relevant) background colour is allowed to show through (amongst the dots). Overall: I'm impressed with the variety of oil painting techniques that have been used to bring this Sea Serpent to life. This is especially true of the techniques used upon the seabed - whereby hard lines (in black) have been used to add both depth and clarity to the scene. There is also further variation, as the hard lines could have been added to the remnants of the sunken hull (e.g. to illustrate individual planks) - yet this has been avoided. Hurricanes may be the primeval force of the Mermaids, yet when it comes to the control of their undersea domains, Sea Serpents remain their weapon of choice!

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