Return to the Sea
The Selkie looks around, torn between the land and the sea. For years she’s been trapped on land, her seal skin hidden by the man she loved who wanted to keep her forever with him. The sea calls to her, her true home. So she will leave and never see this stretch of land or her husband again.
In Irish folklore Selkies are shapeshifters who shift between seal and human forms by putting on or removing their seal skin. In many tales the Selkie is trapped on land by their human husband who steal or hides their seal skin, she then lives for years on land often having children but it forever unhappy. The selkie always longs to return to the sea and will should she find her seal skin again.
Sketched in Procreate, painting ArtStudio Pro, final color and texture adjustments in Krita. Completed 2026
