Mermaids are ready to swim

My mermaids are finally ready to go out. My first attempt at using oil pastels on fabric. The pastels don't seem to have completely dried (not sure that they ever will) but I figure that if I post them in a clear envelope that should protect them from most forms of damage.

In the end it took me so long to get these painted and the sequins sewn on to the tail, I decided to keep the background simple. I used some fabric that I dyed myself in the microwave and added a few cute fish beads.

I couldn't get a good photo of the finished thing though as they all seemed to come out pretty dark. Here is the best that I could get. I also thought it would be fun to show you the original sketch that Mark did for me and you can judge for yourself whether you think I have done his cheeky mermaid justice in my fabric interpretation.