Artist: Mareli van Zyl
Country: South Africa
WASA Member: Yes
Title: Carried By Love
Medium: Watercolor
Size: A3 on 300gsm Coldpress watercolour paper
Details:
A plastic duckling found its way into my thoughts and refused to leave.
Maybe because lately I’ve felt a little like one myself.
Life has been busy, overwhelming, and filled with very little time to paint. And when I can’t create, I lose a little piece of myself.
This painting of a family of ducks I saw made me think about the mom and not just the plastic duckling.
About my mom, who has always seen me clearly, even when I couldn’t see myself. About the way she loved me through every awkward, uncertain version of who I was becoming.
And now, as I watch my own son grow, I understand that love in a way I never could before.
This painting is for the mothers who remind us we belong, even when we feel different. The ones who hold space for us until we can find our footing again.
And selfishly, it’s also a celebration of finally painting again.
So let this be your gentle reminder: you don’t have to earn love by fitting in. The right people will love you exactly as you are.