Water Spirits
Nereids: nymphs of the Agean sea, the 50 daughters of Nereus and Doris. Depicted as beautiful girls crowned with branches of red coral and dressed in white silk robes trimmed with gold, but who went barefoot
Kelpie: shape-shifting water spirit inhabiting the lochs and pools of Scotland. Depicted as a melancholy dark-haired maiden balanced on a rock
Naiad : nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water. Distinct from very ancient spirits that inhabited the still waters of marshes, ponds and lagoon-lakes
Rusalka: water spirit in Slavic folklore. Depicted as a young woman who lures young men, seduced by either her looks or her voice, into the depths of said waterways where she would entangle their feet with her long red hair and submerge them
Swan Maidens: mythical creature who shapeshifts from human form to swan form. key to the transformation is usually a swan skin, or a garment with swan feathers attached.
Selkies: maighdeann-mhara (“maiden of the sea),mythological creatures found in Scottish, Irish, and Faroese folklore. Said to live as seals in the sea but shed their skin to become human on land.
Frankie Phillips-Water Whisperer, 20 x 24 inc gesso, acrylic and string on canvas, 2014
