Gloomcoast Mermaid

My name is John Bell, and my piece is titled "Gloomcoast Mermaid." The piece is rendered in sepia tones and off-white on an aged brown background. In it, the moon hangs low in the sky over a darkened bay. To the left, a large castle stands silhouetted atop a cliff, its crumbling towers revealing its ruined state. To the right, a shipwreck juts from the water in front of more cliffs, framing the entrance to the bay. In the foreground, a mermaid perches atop a rock in the water, back arched, her long-finned tail wrapping around the rocks for stability as a wave crashes behind her. She grips the stone with both webbed hands, lionfish spines protruding from the deeply etched carapace of her forearms and back. The mermaid's head is that of an anglerfish, one bulging pale eye visible and staring forward over a mouth full of too-long, needlelike teeth. The anglerfish lure dangling in front of her face illuminates her body as she waits for the light to draw in victims.