Ashly Lovett brings you an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's 1830's "The Little Mermaid." The little mermaid has always yearned for the strange and exciting life of the humans. For humans have ever lasting souls and mermaids merely return to the ocean as sea foam upon their death.

After saving a human man during a sea storm, she soon desired his love and an eternal soul. Naive and desperate, the little mermaid turns to the banished sea witch among the world pools. The exchange to be human was high. Scared, but determined, she begins her journey to find love and a soul.

This is a special 2nd edition colored print run of “The Little Mermaid” by Ashly Lovett. The first black and white editions were successfully funded on Kickstarter in 2019.

“Exquisite and darkly sublime, her work is a marvel of tone and atmosphere. Yet the serene and lovingly rendered pastel belie a razor-edged strength and a deadly elegance. Ashly’s work is transportive. With ease, she guides the viewer from the familiar world to one dappled in a strange light. That world is steeped in a kind of bewitched nostalgia. There’s nothing mawkish or wistful there, rather, Ashly’s haunting portraits feel like a pang of remembrance, the shudder which comes from recalling a forgotten memory at long last. 

With ‘The Little Mermaid’, Ashly invites us to stand alongside her and watch a storm sweep across a moonlit beach, to feel the lash of a cold ocean, and respond to the pull of a darkening tide. And it’s that pull in her work, like an undertow of perilous beauty mingled with sorrow, which beguiles at every turn.

It reflects, in the contemplative sense of the word, in the way it gently asks you to stop and consider. It also reflects like a mirror, exposing elemental human fears to the beholder: darkness, separation, and deep water. And yet through it all echoes the other side of the song: selflessness, sacrifice, and love. This fantastic swirl of emotions, enchantment and melancholy, which Ashly balances so well with her work are on full display in this book. Like looking through ripples in water and catching a glimmer of something beloved but you dare not reach because you never know just what else lies beneath the surface.

Move toward the light and the shadow on the crashing waves.

Take a deep breath of salty air and sink into a familiar story now seen through new, luminous eyes.”

- Cory Godbey, Writer and Illustrator

“The Little Mermaid” first edition launched on Kickstarter June 2019and was successfully funded raising $21,000.

Backers had the option of a hardcover trade back or a limited edition collector’s book that was a lay flat coffee table book. This was a project 2 years in the making and I’m still in awe over it’s support and success. You can see the original campaign here.

Ashly Lovett is known for her ethereal and hauntingly beautiful chalk pastel work. She began her career as an illustrator in 2015 and has since worked with clients and galleries across the world. Inspired by folklore and mythology, she hopes to bewitch her viewers with a deep sense of wonder and dark nostalgia. Read more at About Me.