Sea Turtle with Raccoon Butterfly fish design

New design - Sea Turtle swimming with school of Raccoon Butterflyfish

“In one drop of water are found all the secrets of all the oceans”
​– Kahlil Gibran

My mind wanders a lot. It's no surprise then that I'm working on a dozen different ideas at the same time, inspired by everything and everywhere my mind goes. It seems like my focus changes daily - yesterday I was working on an abstract painting inspired by melting sea ice, today I'm drawing sea turtles and raccoon butterfly fish... tomorrow might be all about abstract colorful bird paintings. It's always different and I embrace that.

But sometimes a subject sticks with me for awhile. Sea Turtles seem to be one of those kinds of inspirations that lingers for long periods of time. In addition to their color and form, I just find them so fascinating: How they return to the same beach they were born to lay eggs, despite swimming thousands of miles away... how they can't actually retreat into their shells like land turtles, but still have the same overall shape. And how they have been swimming in the world's oceans for over 100 million years, continuously providing a critical part of the marine ecosystem.  There is a beautiful mystery that surrounds them as they glide freely through the water. 

So tonight, I created a new graphic inspired by the endangered green sea turtle swimming among a school of raccoon butterflyfish: 

​The green sea turtle is endangered due to bycatch, habitat loss, hunting, egg harvesting,  and unfortunately, the rising temperature of the oceans isn't helping either. Fortunately, there are organizations like the World Wildlife Foundation and Association of Zoos & Aquariums that are creating programs to save sea turtles and offering opportunities that you can get involved with to make a difference. 

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