Smiler From the Depths

'The Smiler From the Depths.'

A4 Charcoal & Pencil on Bristol Paper

"Fishermen from the jagged coasts of Cornwall once whispered of a creature they called The Smiler. They claimed it was older than the sea itself, born when the moon first pulled at the tides. Unlike other deep-sea beasts, The Smiler is said to have once been human - a pearl diver who grew greedy. According to legend, he swam too deep in search of a black pearl, a jewel said to hold the drowned voices of the ocean.

When he pried it loose from the reef, the sea cursed him. His lungs filled not with water, but with teeth. His hands twisted into fins, his eyes widened to eternal black pools, and his mouth became a cavern of serrated grins. He was doomed to lurk in the abyss, smiling forever - not from joy, but from a rictus hunger.

It is said The Smiler rises only when storms churn the water black, when fishermen hear laughter bubbling up from beneath the waves. Those who dive after the sound never return. Their voices are added to the pearl, and the pearl grows darker each century.

Some believe if you meet The Smiler’s gaze underwater, you won’t drown - you’ll laugh yourself breathless, sinking with a smile carved into your face."