Mermay 2017 Art Litters The Web With Excellence
Mermay 2017 was in full swing throughout May and has produced some awesome artwork across the various social channels. Pick your favorite social platform and search the hashtag “#mermay” and you will be presented with a multitude of mermaid drawings of all styles and looks.
My daughter Sydney is a 13-year old up and coming artist with a flare for digital art. She uses a medium-sized Wacom drawing pad and the free Medibang drawing software on her Windows 10 PC laptop (And I use Medibang on an iPad Pro). Syd has been homeschooled her entire life and she has no formal art training.
She is a fan of “Steven Universe“, “Adventure Time“, “Over The Garden Wall“, “Bee And Puppycat“, as well as many others. Syd has been watching the videos of several YouTube artists for years and has improved her art skills over time.
Mermay 2017 challenges Sydney to practice her art daily
They say, “practice makes perfect.” In the case of Syd and her art, she simply does not put down her stylus. She is consumed with her art during every waking hour of her free time. Sydney also participates on Instagram and shoots photos every day using her iPhone 6S Plus as part of a 365 photo challenge.
Needless to say, art is a part of her life.
Where did this kid’s talent come from?
My wife and I have always dabbled in art. My wife loves art of many kinds and was inspired by Bode, among other artists. I grew up drawing and still pass some time away with it. My influences include Frazetta, Liefeld, McFarlane, Madureira, and more.
I published an independent press comic book with my brothers in the early 1990’s. It was distributed by the second largest comic distributor in the US, at the time. It did well for a small press book and we had orders for issues 2, 3 and 4 from the initial run. The future issues were never meant to be. We disbanded after the first book. But our love of art has remained with us.
My wife’s aunt is an accomplished, full-time artist and has been for years. Her impressionism oils are amazing and she makes a living at it. Her studio is beautiful and it is attached to her home in upstate New York.
It’s easy to see where Sydney’s talent comes from. She is from a long line of artists on both sides of the family. But it’s her passion and focus on her art that keeps it going.
Often, she gets ideas from her family of “art directors” like her Mom and sister. They provide positive and constructive critiques and are always ready to give Syd an idea for something to draw.
2017 Mermay Art Challenge
Sydney has already drawn 20 pieces for the challenge and the month, at the time of this writing, is not over for another 4 days. She is working hard on another few drawings now.
Check out all of her drawings, so far, below:
Mermay
Jelly Fish
Sea Horse
Seashells
One Of The Pod
Sydney studies a variety of body shapes and styles for her drawing inspiration. Her style is not yet set and continues to evolve. We have seen an incredible growth and improvement in her work even over the last two years.
Steampunk
Sisters
Octopus Girl
Hilda Pinup
Waterfall
Koi Fish
Dreaming
Guppy Bubbles
Turtle
Selkie
Geisha
Fierce
Rain
Collection
Treasure Chest
Do you know of other awesome mermay art challenge participants?
We hope you liked our spotlight on Sydney and her artwork and invite you to tell us about other artists that have participated in the challenge. Share with us in the comments.
Syd’s artwork can be followed on her Instagram account @Syddles9000!
