The Nereids are the 50 sea nymph daughters of Nereus and Doris in greek mythology; they were the female attendants to Poseidon.

Despite conflicting accounts from writers of the time (Homer, Hesiod, Apollodorus, and Hyginus) there is a record of names and even brief descriptions of some of the numphs' domains or powers or translations of their names. I'm using online sites that cross-reference the authors and nymph references to decide on the paintings. To start with I have chosen names with the strongest evidence - those used by multiple authors or with a strong descriptive reference. Unfortunately the vast majority of the nymphs are not written about, named by only one author, or mentioned without any translation or description.

My abstract paintings are an attempt to collate the existing information into 50 final seascape 'portraits'. An interesting aspect of the project is that the nymphs were originally personifications of aspects of the sea, attempts to make tangible features of water, sailing and weather. My paintings now reverse the process by re-abstracting the literal meanings into images.

- provided by Tina Mammoser