The Moon 

Julie Bell created "The Moon" with watercolor. The painting presents a sleeping woman under the lunar glow, with the moon's phases subtly aligned above her. A serpentine form emerges from a dark pool, its scales shimmering with iridescent color. This aquatic presence creates a juxtaposition, a dreamlike contrast between the serene human figure and the vibrant, mythic creature. The composition is divided into a celestial realm of lunar cycles and a terrestrial world of flesh and water. This division functions as a semiotic structure, where the moon may symbolize cycles, dreams, or the unconscious, while the serpent evokes primal instincts or hidden desires. Bell uses the watercolor medium to create fluid forms and ethereal gradients, blurring the boundaries between these symbolic realms. The juxtaposition of the naturalistic and fantastical is a key element. It asks us to question fixed meanings, and to consider how symbolic forms operate within the broader cultural lexicon of mythology and dreams. The interplay suggests a dynamic space of interpretation where the rational and irrational coexist.