Boy Meets Mermaid (You know the Rest...)

For the past month, I’ve been working on two commissioned windows for a repeat client—a colorful character who spent his career in the Navy. He’s having custom cabinet doors made and asked me to create stained glass panels to fit inside each one.

His life has been full of adventures, and he wanted me to depict one of his stories in these windows. You can see part of the design here, along with a painting he provided for inspiration. What you can’t entirely see in this photo (but you can on my Instagram, where I’ve shared more progress shots) is that she’s stabbing a trident through his heart.

It’s the classic tale: boy meets mermaid, mermaid stabs him in the heart… you know how it goes.

One of the best parts of working with clients multiple times is that the projects evolve—and the art gets more interesting and satisfying. A few days ago, he called and asked to come by. He had some concerns about her face and wanted to make sure she looked the way he remembered. When he wasn’t quite satisfied with what I’d done so far, he promised to send more photos of her from different angles so I could refine the design.

I told him I won’t move forward until she looks just right. Because while she may be a mermaid, accuracy matters!

Head over to Instagram to see how she’s progressing—and to catch a peek at the other piece as it takes shape.