Artist: Catherine Herold
Title: Portrait of a Kelpie
Medium: Watercolor on paper
Size: 5.5 x 7.5 in. framed 9.5 x 11.5 in.
Artist Statement: 
This watercolor painting depicts a solitary kelpie making his way through a forlorn swamp, hoping to offer an ill-fated ride to any passers by. A muted color palette adds a melancholy sense to the piece. Kelpies are a type of shape-shifting faerie found in Scottish folklore who inhabit lochs and rivers. They normally appear as a horse and coax weary travelers onto their backs for a ride, where upon the traveler becomes stuck to the kelpie’s back, unable to escape as the kelpie returns to the water and drowns the rider.